Page 110 of The Nightblood Prince

He looked at me sharply. “Are you scared?”

“No,” I lied.

“Good.” He straightened. “I am not a ward of Rong anymore. I don’t have to accede to any of your demands or bargains. If you want to play, then we are going to play by my rules.”

I nodded. Yexue was right. He had the power, the leverage, and he had no reason to show us grace. Especially not after Siwang’s attacks.

He was doing this for me. Whatever Yexue felt for me, it was real, and I meant to take advantage of it.

I glanced at Siwang on the ground, his breath still running short. “Let your doctors tend to Siwang first,” I said.

“Or I can watch him suffer.”

“He can’t sign the treaty if he is dead, and if he dies, the Emperor of Rong will stop at nothing to kill you.”

“I’d like to see him try.”

I shot Yexue a sharp look, and he shook his head. Begrudgingly, Yexue bit his finger and placed a single droplet of blood in my hand. “This will last him until the end of the day. I don’t want you to think about him when you are with me.”

56

Yexue met me in an archery field, west of their camp.

I swung Siwang’s silver-tipped bow from my back and stepped into one of the lanes. “What are the rules? Best out of three?”

“You are impatient.”

Siwang doesn’t have the time to waste.

Yexue took a step forward and touched my brow, where my face still ached with bruises. “Did he do this to you?”

I pulled away. “No, he did not. It was another soldier, who thought I was a traitor….”

“Tell me who it is, and I will kill him for you.”

I laughed. “If I wanted him dead, I can kill him myself.” Yexue opened his mouth as if to say something, then turned away. “Best out of three.”

I nocked my arrow and got into position. Instead of following my lead, Yexue sneered. “I didn’t say we could start yet.” He came to my side and placed a finger over my hand, motioning to me to lower the weapon. “What would you say if I asked you to marry me?”

I stumbled back at the suddenness of this question. “Is that yourwish?”

He shrugged. “What would you say?”

“If you asked me to marry you right here and now, no strings attached, I’d reject you.”

His jaw tightened, ever so slightly. “What if there were strings attached? I hold the life of your prince and the entirety of Rong as leverage. What do you have?”

My breath hitched. “Nothing.I have nothing.” A truth that I hated. “I hold no power and no status. I am a country girl born with a prophecy I never asked for, and a magic I can’t control. But that doesn’t mean I am powerless.” I held the silver tip of my bow to his chest. “I am not your toy, Lan Yexue. You might be a prince, but you cannot force your will upon me, not if you don’t want a fight to the death.”

Yexue smiled, and his dimples dipped into existence. “The girl from the mountains is still here after all.”

He pulled my chin toward him, and I forgot how to breathe.

“Look at me,” he whispered. My breathing was too fast, my heart was beating too hard. “Am I so repulsive, Fei?” He leaned a little closer, his lips brushing my jaw, my neck. I felt him smile against my skin as he placed a tender kiss over a vein. “I’ll be good to you,” he whispered, his teeth grazing my throat.

I felt like I was burning.

It took every ounce of dignity in me not to lean into his touch, pull him close until there was no space left between us. My head was light. The heat between my legs pulsed. I wanted him closer. I wanted to feel him kiss more of me, feel his hand on my skin.

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