Page 10 of A Court of Bones & Sorrow

House Harker was home to me.

I smiled at some of the servants as they walked by, heads bent as they whispered to each other and giggled, but then my pleasant mood vanished as I heard Draven’s name. I’d been trying very hard not to think about him for the last twenty minutes. Not exactly a long-term plan, given his reason for being here and what Samara and the others had discovered about him, but not thinking about Prince Draven had been my go-to strategy for almost a year now.

As if summoned by the brief slip of my thoughts, the dark-haired prince appeared at my side and snatched a biscuit off the plate.

“There you are.” He broke a piece off the sweet pastry and popped it into his mouth, then his eyes closed as he savored the flavor, and I couldn’t stop my gaze from lingering on his strong jawline, remembering the number of times I had run my tongue across it before grazing his neck with my fangs. I’d never drank from him, nor him from me—that’d been one of the few lines we hadn’t crossed in our time together.

I snapped my gaze up and clenched my jaw when his eyes opened and he caught me looking at him. “These aren’t for you.” Then I quickened my pace down the hallway, smiling tightly at others who passed us as they tried to subtly check out the prince before looking at me curiously. I knew what they were thinking. Why was the Moroi Prince talking to a simple courtier who held no sway in this House, especially when he’d been dismissive of the higher-ranking advisors all morning?

I gritted my teeth. As much as I loved collecting gossip, I didn’t like to be the source of it.

“So touchy.” He chuckled darkly. “At least you’re speaking to me now. It was quite impressive how you managed to avoid me while you were at the Sovereign House and then not speak to me on the entire ride here . . . I recall you being a bit more vocal in our interactions, especially that one time?—”

A growl ripped from my throat as I grabbed Draven by the arm and dragged him into an empty meeting room. Then I shoved him away from me and slammed the door behind us, dropping the plate onto the table, resisting the urge to throw it at him. He smirked at me like he knew exactly what I was thinking.

“It’s been fun, but I’m bored now,” I said coldly, repeating the words he’d said to me. “Also, watch how you speak to me in the future, courtier.”

The smirk slid off his face as he tossed the half-eatenbiscuit onto the table before letting out a bone-weary sigh. “I had to say that, Kier. The wrong people were noticing how much time I was spending with you, and it was getting dangerous for the both of us.”

I flinched inwardly at hearing him call me that. Until Draven, only Sam had ever called me Kier. Hearing the nickname from his lips again caused all the confusing emotions to swirl up inside until I ruthlessly shoved them back down.

“I’m assuming by ‘the wrong people,’ you mean the queen?” I asked flatly. The muscles along his jawline flexed, but he said nothing. I snorted and shook my head. Queen Velika was a puzzle to me. On the surface, she appeared to be a fair and just ruler who loved her son, although she was occasionally frustrated by his disinterest in helping her rule. But during my time with Draven, I knew there was more to her, something darker.

There was nothing specific I could point to, nothing I’d witnessed with my own eyes, but Draven was a different person around her. It was subtle, but no one was better than me at reading body language. He obeyed her no matter what, but it wasn’t out of love. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he was frightened of her. And every once in a while, I’d catch her looking at him in a way that reminded me of a predator circling wounded prey.

It was why I had probably been the least surprised when Samara had theorized it was actually Queen Velika who was allied with the wraiths and Draven was doing her bidding. What I’d never understood, though, was why she had such a hold over her son.

Draven’s dark eyes met mine. “What have you told Samara?”

“Nothing yet.” I waved a hand at the plate I’d set aside. “But I’ll be telling hereverythingsoon enough.”

“She was always the one you wanted.” He shrugged ashoulder casually, as if our time together had meant nothing to him. “So I can’t say I’m surprised.”

“Fuck you, Draven,” I snarled. “You weren’t a fucking backup plan to me. I fucking—” The words died in my throat, and I took a deep breath. “My feelings towards you were genuine and unique to what we shared. I never hid what I felt about Samara from you. I’m perfectly capable of loving two people at once.”

He sucked in a breath, and for a moment, I swore his heart stopped beating.

“You shouldn’t have ever loved me.” The bloodred threads in his eyes expanded as he pondered me like I was a creature he couldn’t understand. “I told younotto love me.”

“That’s not how fucking feelings work, Drav!” I shoved my hands against his chest, and he staggered back a step. “If you hurt Sam, I swear to the gods, I’ll kill you.”

“I don’twantto hurt her,” he bit out.

“But you will if you’re ordered to,” I scoffed bitterly.

“Please, Kier,” he pleaded. Usually, Draven soaked up attention with his tall frame and broad build, but now, he hunched his shoulders, and there was a desperation to his expression I’d never seen before. I barely managed to stop myself from wrapping my arms around him and telling him that we’d figure it out. That he just had to tell us what the fuck was going on. But I held it all back because, despite the churning feelings burning inside my chest, Draven couldn’t be trusted.

“You don’t understand what’s at stake,” he rasped. “Samara is trapped in this, but you don’t have to be. Go visit your friends in the Velesian realm. Just leave the Moroi realm.”

The urge to hug him instantly turned into a desire to strangle him. Did he seriously think I would leave Samara behind to face all of this on her own?

I picked the plate up off the table. “I don’t abandon those Ilove. Maybe that’s something you should consider in the future.”

His expression shuttered, but he didn’t say anything as I opened the door and left, something inside my soul cracking when he didn’t stop me.

Samara was already seatedbehind her desk in the cozy little study she’d reclaimed as her own upon returning to House Harker. There were larger rooms available in the wing where Carmilla’s spacious study was located—as the Heir, Samara could have kicked out any of the advisors and set up in one of those—but she’d always loved this space the most.

Before she’d left for Drudonia, she’d study here for hours. I’d always keep her company while she buried herself in books, scrolls, maps, whatever she could get her hands on. Even Alaric had joined us sometimes, although that had always devolved into the two of them taking verbal—and sometimes physical—swipes at each other. I let out an amused breath. Nothing had changed there.

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