Page 89 of Song of the Shadow Prince
He grimaced and pushed me off his lap.
Barely righting myself before crashing to the floor, I shouted, “Hey!”
He stood. “Come on, let’s get you out of here.”
“Wait!” I stopped him as he started to put on his cloak. “The vampires. Are you planning to go to Nightfall Citadel tonight?”
“That’s nothing for you to worry about,” he said brusquely as he pulled the hood down low over his head.
“What if I told you there’s an easier way to get inside? A better way?” I grinned and crossed my arms over my chest, feeling a zing of electricity when his gaze dipped to my breasts.
He frowned. “I’m listening.”
My grin widened. “Royal Prince Bai.”
He furrowed his brows in confusion. “I’m not following.”
I rolled my eyes and sighed. “You said all the big players are high profile people. Noblemen, royalty, folks like that. They’re the ones hiding behind the portrait, gambling big money in the underground fights at Underclaw Market. Well, Royal Prince Bai is royalty. Who better to go undercover than him?”
“Undercover?” he repeated the foreign word.
“Yes, like playing pretend. He’ll go there to gamble, while in reality he’s working for us to get information.”
Damien shook his head uneasily. “I don’t know, Cat. I don’t want to involve my uncle. This could be dangerous. If he gets hurt because of me—”
I nodded. “I know there’s a risk, but why don’t you ask him first? He might be willing to help. Also, he’s like, a thousand years old. I bet it would take someone hella strong to bring him down.”
Damien snorted. “You speak oddly.”
I chuckled. “I know. So what do you say?”
He blew out a breath. “It’s not a terrible idea. He could probably get more information than I could. And if he’s invited inside, it could confirm our theory.”
I snapped my fingers. “Exactly!”
Damien nodded. “I’ll ask him. If we could get him into this weekend’s fights, that would be ideal. But first…”
“First what?”
“First, let’s get you home.”
21
DAMIEN
We reached the Ryder residence much faster than I expected. Cat didn’t have a chaperone, but shedidhave a carriage waiting for her, which was better than nothing.
She sat across from me in silence for the duration of the ride.
I hated it. I wanted to reach for her. To touch her skin, her lips, but I knew she wouldn’t let me again. What happened at The Gilded Serpent was due to the circumstances. Circumstances I didn’t think we’d get again. At least not anytime soon. She’d made that perfectly clear.
She was consumed with finding a way back home to her world; the thought made me grit my teeth with fury. She couldn’t wait to get away from here. But I was desperate to keep her… and I would. She just didn’t know it yet.
“My lady, we’re here,” the driver announced as the carriage rolled to a stop.
Cat hesitantly peered up at me. “Thank you for escorting me. Let me know what your uncle says.”
I nodded and leaned closer to her. “Can we meet tomorrow?”
