Page 116 of Savage Is My Kingdom

I must have closedmy eyes, because I woke up alone, Sophie shaking me awake before she tip-toed over to fling open the drapes, vibrating with excitement. “I have a surprise for you, princess. The seamstress stopped by before dawn to drop off your…specialpackage.”

I flew out of bed, my fingers scrabbling for the string, so I could fold the paper back to reveal…

I lost my breath, Sophie gasping over my shoulder.

“You’re not really going to wear those, are you, princess? I mean, we’ve all seen Lyrae around the Keep, but if the king sees you in this, you’ll be confined to your rooms.”

“He was perfectly willing to dress me in one of those.” I snorted while I tipped my head toward the half-open armoire of scandalous dresses. “This, at least, covers every inch of me.” I held up the trousers, testing the stretch of the soft leather.

And reveals all of me, at the same time.

I frowned at the open armoire, the pile of dresses on the floor beside it, as if someone had gone through them, looking for the perfect one. “Did you happen to see Ember this morning, Sophie? I didn’t hear her leave for breakfast.”

“She is…uhm…she is with Crux, your Grace.” She turned so red I knew exactly what Crux and Ember were doing—or presumably doing. “They are…in the eastern bastion, from what the other servants are whispering.”

Fury pounded through me, fury and frustration because Icould not fucking stop what was happening to my friend.

I stripped down, tossed the nightgown aside then dragged on the leather pants. They were strange, like a slippery second skin and by the time I got them buttoned, I was as red as Sophie.

The thin shirt fit tightly, reminding me of the one Zor wore beneath his armor and I buckled my new jacket over it. There was a slight crease in each arm where the iron bands sat, but if you didn’t know they were there, you wouldn’t notice. Sophie braided my hair back into a tight ponytail and gave me an encouraging nod.

I drank down my coffee in one swig, ate two bites of my bread and headed out the door. Today was Requiem Day, the one day my father didn’t hold an audience, the one day all of his courtiers would keep their heads, which meant I had nowhere to be until Zor’s lessons, which weren’t for another three hours.

I’d intended to head to the practice yard, see how easily I could move in my new clothes, but I headed to the bastion instead, afraid of what I’d find.

I heard them first, thank the gods, enough to brace myself for what I’d see when I came around the corner.

I almost walked away.

If only to pretend this wasn’t happening, but that, I decided, would be out of character. No, Ember’s friend would be worried about her not being in bed this morning and come looking.

Perhaps the Reaper was counting on it.

Crux was still mostly dressed and fully armored, his weapons rattling as he fucked Ember, her voluptuous, naked body spread out before him on the stone platform below the arrow slits where the archers would take down an approaching enemy.

His head was thrown back, one hand pawing her breast, the other gripping her hip, his fingers digging into her pale flesh.

Her black eyes tracked my approach, her mouth curved into a malicious smile that only grew wider when she saw me blushing. “Would you like to join us, Anaria?” She crooked her finger at me and I shuddered, glad I’d eaten so little.

“Come closer,little princess.”

“Fuck.” Crux cursed, covering himself up. “Fucking Hades.”

“No thank you.” I didn’t have to pretend to be angry. I was furious, and Crux saw every bit of my rage as he closed his pants before facing me. I didn’t know which of us was more mortified.

“Crux.”

“Princess.”

I shifted my eyes to the door and he took the hint. Obviously, he wasn’t a total idiot and didn’t want to end up between us right now. Or he finally noticed the hungry way the Reaper looked at him, like it was planning where to start chewing first.

“Get dressed.”

She did no such thing, only let her legs fall apart, while I stared anywhere but there. “Get dressed Ember. You can’t go around behaving like this. It’s…” I struggled for the right word. Somehow,unseemlywasn’t a strong enough term.

“Really, it would have been so much better if you’d joined us. Crux would have liked it. I would have, too.” Her eyes flashed from black to silver to black again. “I was always a little in love with you. That’s why I followed you all the way to Tempeste.”

My chest ached, but I couldn’t stop my quick, panicked breaths, not when her smile revealed sharp, wicked teeth. “When you left Ember with Solok, you broke her…my heart. But Crux is a good replacement, for the time being.”

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