Page 29 of Captive of the Stolen Empire

“And succeeded,” Zurina said.

His attention slid from his fellow captain to me. Unwanted butterflies fluttered in my stomach. Absently, I touched the bangle on my arm before flinging my hands down to my sides and squeezing my dress in clenched fists. “You wouldn’t have,” I said. “Because I’d have done it myself.”

Zurina and Reyna burst into laughter. Lucien straightened, but it wasn’t anger that stirred in his eyes. The unmistakable hint of a grin formed in the slit of his helm. My cheeks burned.

“You needed me for something?” I asked, turning to Reyna and trying to banish all thoughts of Lucien from my mind.

“Yes.” She pushed a lock of dark hair behind her ears before she grabbed my hand, entirely too familiar. “Come with me.”

She waved at Zurina over one shoulder and led us in the opposite direction. I fought the urge to look behind me, hard as it was.

“I wanted to give you something,” Reyna whispered. She leaned in close until the floral notes of her perfume overrode the banquet around us, then pulled us to a halt before fishing around in a pocket sewn into the skirts of her crimson dress.

“Here it is.” A narrow, glass vial filled with pale green liquid hovered in the air between us, pressed between her thumb and forefinger.

“What—”

“I’ll take that.” A burly guard with way too much facial hair swiped the vial from Reyna’s hand.

She frowned at him. “It won’t do you any good.”

“No? Passing liquids around suspiciously. What is it? Poison?”

Reyna rolled her eyes. “Really, like I’d carry poison? I’ll prove it.” She plucked the vial from the guard, unstopped the cork top, and let a drop fall to her outstretched tongue.

The guard frowned.

“It’s to help with women’s pains. Do you really want it?” She wiggled the vial at him.

“Fine,” he grunted. “Forget it.”

Reyna replaced the stopper and handed the vial to me.

“What is it really?” I whispered.

She looked both ways before responding. “Contraceptive. Just a few drops after…” She grinned. “You know.”

My mouth dropped open. She thought Lucien and I had… “I thought you believed the rumors were false? I don’t need it.” I tried to give it back, but she closed my hand around it instead.

“Keep it. Just in case.” She winked before slipping off into the crowd without a word.

Drink flowed freely as the feast wore on. The crowd grew raucous, full of laughter, wild dancing, and boasts of prowess. Not long after Reyna delivered her gift, I found my way back to Gabriel. He watched over Elin from the side of the dance floor where she partnered with a young guardsman. Her skills and beauty earned her a string of requests from other would-be partners. While the distractions provided us with the occasional opportunity to talk, we learned little new. Gabriel overheard a guard discuss the intricacies of their training drills, ones focused on fighting on horseback. It seemed they planned to target the city-state of Marsali next, renowned for their skilled riders, but that was no surprise. They were the next closest city-state after all, though they had strong allies who might stand with them. It was the likely reason they hadn’t been targeted earlier.

At least I managed to avoid Lucien and the other captains since receiving Reyna’s odd gift, which I slipped to Gabriel to hold onto for me. He didn’t ask about it, nor did I offer to explain.

A few seats down from us at the table, two men started to arm wrestle. A small crowd cheered them on, thumping their mugs on the table and splashing ale over other onlookers who appeared not to notice.

“Should I give it a go?” Gabriel teased.

Elin perked up. “I bet you can beat them.”

Gabriel chuckled as he pushed up his sleeves, revealing lightly tanned skin and wiry muscles. A darker splotch, roughly shaped like a star, marked his inner arm.

“What’s that?” Elin asked.

“A birthmark,” he replied. “All the men in my family are born with it. My father, my brother, and his son had one before he went missing.”

My brows scrunched together at his words. “Missing? I heard he died.”

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