His smile grows impossibly bigger, showcasing perfectly straight teeth.Gods,do all Bray men have to be so attractive? As if being born a royal in a crumbling society wasn’t a great enough prize, they’ve also been gifted looks that other men would kill for.
“Serafina,” I finally say, but I don’t move toward him, not that I’d need to. He’s already pushing himself off the wall and standing far too close for a stranger I’ve only just met.
He extends his hand.
“It’s nice to meet you, Serafina.” He dips his head and squints his eyes, analyzing me the same way Jax always seems to. I take his hand, hiding a wince behind a sigh, attempting to mask the pain the sudden movement causes. “Now tell me, what are you doing in my cousin’s secret room?”
“Not so secret if you know about it.”
He smirks at that. “Even so, my question remains. Are you two…” He cocks his brow, and my eyes widen at the mere thought of what he’s implying.
“Of course not!” My face heats as the words fly out of me, and I rip my hand away.
What a preposterous thing for him to eventhink,let alone say.
He chuckles. “I did not mean to offend you. It’s only…I’ve never known Ryjax to allow a woman into this room. Other than the servants, of course. I was starting to think he enjoyed denying himself certain…” His eyes rake over me again. “Pleasures a companion such as yourself might provide. Pity to hear that may still be the case.”
He lets out a long sigh as my mind tries to make sense of his words.
Does the prince not have lovers? I would expect him to havecountless.
“So if you and my dear cousin are notenjoying each other’s companyin the most scandalous of ways…then what exactly are you doing in here, Serafina?”
“I…uh…” What the hell do I say? What the hell do I…
A sharp knock sounds at the door, the most welcome interruption I’ve ever heard.
“Serafina.” His deep voice washes over me, and Theo turns so he’s standing just beside me. His arm brushes against my shoulder.
“Well, this just got interesting,” he whispers, more than entertained by this particular turn of events. “Why don’t you come in, Cousin? We were just talking about you.” He raises his voice, but the door doesn’t open.
One. Two. Three seconds pass, and still, it does not open.
Until finally, it does.
Ryjax enters, every muscle in his face appearing tight as he takes in the scene, eyes moving from me to Theo. Me to Theo. His nostrils flare, but neither of the men say a damn thing.
“I thought you saidsomething came up?” I say before glancing up at Theo, whose face is consumed by a shit-eating grin.
“You’re looking at it,” Jax says, and my eyes flash to him instead. He is not grinning. He looks quite furious actually. “I was surprised to hear you’d already left Bragunda.”
Bragunda.
The country across the ocean.
I’ve only ever heard stories of Bragunda, and none of them have been pleasant. It’s a place of merciless cruelty, even more so than what the people of Velegoria face.
With the country being so much larger than ours, they’ve employed additional means to curb the population, forced famine in certain regions and water denied to entire cities.
Not to mention their trials are far more brutal than what weexperience here. For in Bragunda, the nation’s youth are encouraged to kill when competing in their trials, and only after significant blood has been spilled are the trial winners announced.
“Not by choice, I assure you,” Theo says, unmistakable anger weaves its way into each of his features. “My mother requested my return. You know how she gets around this time of year. She demanded I be home for the celebration.”
“Celebration?” I blurt out.
“The third trials will be starting soon.” Theo shrugs, as if that response is all I need to understand, and I feel sick because I do understand.
“You celebrate the murder of nearly half the—”
