“You said to mix with the lords, but what about the royal family?”
“The queen isn’t stupid, girl. She’ll know exactly what you’re up to the moment you speak to her, and she certainly isn’t going to spill her secrets to you.”
He really thinks I’m an idiot. “I was talking about the princess, Elsbeth.”
That gets his attention. “The princess?” he asks, eyebrows climbing his forehead.
“She was standing outside of the dining room when I walked out last night. We got to talking. She was pretty candid with me. I think she’d be open to a friendship. I doubt they tell her much, but maybe I’ll be able to overhear a few things.” I shrug. Gods, even my shoulders hurt.
Leodin taps two fingers on the table, then shoves out of his seat and steps over to the wet bar situated against the wall. I wonder why his room has one and not mine. Not that I’m a huge drinker, but the option might be nice. He snatches up a decanter and two short glasses, then returns to the table and sets the three items down, the glasses clanking together. I watch in complete and utter confusion as he pops the top from the decanter and fills each glass about halfway with a golden-brown liquid. Is he seriously pouring me a glass of… whatever that is? I quickly glance around myself. Nope. There’s definitely no one else in the room. He pushes a cup toward me, then drinks from his own glass, downing half of it in one gulp.
“It’ll help,” he says, pointing to my face.
Is this his disgruntled way of apologizing? Because it’s a pretty lame attempt. “It wouldn’t hurt at all if you hadn’t hit it,” I reply, because I am obviously unable to control myself.
His eyes narrow. “Speak to me that way again, and I’ll do the same to the other cheek.”
Fair enough. I bring the cup to my lips and am hit with a sharp, almost metallic scent that isn’t in the least bit appetizing. But if iteases the throbbing in my head even a little until I can get back to my room to heal myself, it’s worth a shot. I throw back the liquor the way Leodin did and holy Mother Night. I gasp and sputter, and Leodin chuckles at my reaction. I was wrong. The flavor is nothing like the smell. It is much, much worse—like what I would imagine kerosene would taste like. Lit kerosene because it’s like fire traveling down my throat. “What is that?” I ask once I’ve recovered a bit.
“Brandy. Expensive stuff too, so stop making that face. Now, tell me what you and the princess talked about?”
I take another, smaller, sip of the brandy, and this time it isn’t quite so bad. My head begins to feel foggy almost immediately and the throbbing in my cheek dulls, but only a little. “She said the queen didn’t like her and constantly found things to criticize, like her clothes or hair and such.”Sound familiar, Father Dearest?
“She told you that. The first time you met.”
“It’s like you said.” I finish off the glass. It still burns, but it’s more of a pleasant burning now, like hot tea. Ooohhh, I bet this would be good in tea.
Leodin snatches the now empty glass out of my hand. “Focus, Katya.”
“Yes. I’m sorry… What was I saying again?”
“Good gods, woman. Have you no tolerance at all?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never gotten drunk before. Mama only ever gave me wine, and it was pretty watered down.
“She confided in you,” he says, waving his hand for me to continue. “Why?”
“Oh, that’s right.” I chuckle, then realizing how silly I’m being, I clear my throat and put on my serious face. “I told her about DukeBerezin molesting me under the table, and I guess she felt safe to share. I was thinking about visiting her tomorrow and seeing if she might like to take a walk or have tea or something.”
Leodin scrubs at his jaw, his gaze sharp, like a wolf preparing to strike.
I do not like that look.
“This is promising, but if you can somehow leverage this as a way to get closer to the prince, that would be the most helpful.”
“I’m not having sex with him, if that’s what you’re implying.”
He grinds his teeth. “You’ll do whatever I tell you to do.”
Shoving to my feet, the room spins, and I have to clutch the side of the table to steady myself. Wow. That really went to my head quickly. Leodin’s watching me, an ugly sneer on his face. Maybe it’s the alcohol talking, but I’m feeling brave, so I lean forward, meeting Leodin’s gaze, and say, “You may think you own me, but you don’t. I am highly educated and can read and write in multiple languages. I could leave this palace right now and find work almost anywhere. I am here because I love my mother and brother and want to protect our home, but I will not prostitute myself for you. When I lose my virginity, it will be on my terms with someone of my choosing, not yours.” I finish my sentence with a poke to Leodin’s forehead, and the male looks ready to murder me, but at the moment, I couldn’t care less.
“Thanks for the brandy,” I say and shuffle off for the door.
9
The room reeks of shit, sweat and fear.Ah, the sweet bouquet.
My boots crunch along the dirt floor as I circle my quarry. His head spins, trying to follow my movement, even though the blindfold makes it impossible for him to see me. I didn’t blindfold him to hide my identity. I blindfolded him because when you want to strike fear in someone, the first thing you do is take away one of their senses. It immediately makes them feel vulnerable, and Duke Berezin is no different.
