Ivar didn’t try to stop him but marched over to a cluster of nearby lords and made his introductions as Erich strode across the palace courtyard. The humidity was stifling, and he unbuttoned his top few buttons seeking relief, but it caught the appraising glances of passing court ladies. They whispered behind their decorative fans, their hunger palpable as he passed them by. One woman accidentally dropped her kerchief in his path, and on long-ingrained instinct, he stopped to pick it up and handed it back to her with a smile.
These habits resurfaced like the ghosts of his past life, and he suddenly felt more stifled than before. In Sundland, he’d wielded sexual appeal like a weapon, honed like a knife to pierce the heart of his targets. Because, as Father would say: attractive people were impossible to hate. At the time, he’d perfected his skills as a means of survival, but it wasn’t long before his hunger for more started to take over. Shaking away the specters of the past, he went to work.
The first thing he did was walk the perimeter of the palace, taking special care to seek out hidden alcoves, disguised doors, or seemingly abandoned buildings. But he quickly realized it was filled with them. Servants emerged from behind bushes or descended stairs into cellars beneath small structures.
Investigating one such doorway, he discovered a well-lit underground labyrinth that would take years to map out. He followed one passage that passed beneath salons, apartments, and gaming. Doorways opened out onto them so servants might enter and exit without being seen. He backtracked, thinking of going deeper into the tunnels, when he heard footsteps behind him. While he’d been investigating, he’d been careful not to be seen by the servants who’d realize he was a nobleman at a glance.
“Have you gotten lost, sir?” said a female voice.
Erich turned with a charming smile. When their eyes met, her breath caught, and she clutched at her throat, already in his thrall. And he hated himself for it. It was his father who’d first recognized it, one of the abilities given to him by the dragon curse. A magic sort of persuasion that made the willing highly suggestible.
“I’m afraid I have. I must have made a wrong turn somewhere as I’ve been fumbling in the dark for much too long,” he said, lacing the words with his own magic: allure.
“Who are you?” she asked breathlessly.
“Prince Erich,” he said, taking a step closer to her and reaching out as if to cup her cheek.
But as he did, the smallest frown wrinkled her brow and her gaze sharpened with sudden recognition.
“Your majesty.” She bowed, lowering her head and breaking his controlling gaze.
Was it a coincidence, or had she broken herself free of his spell?
“Perhaps you could show me the way out of here?” he asked.
“My pleasure, your majesty,” she said, again a bit breathlessly.
A prickling sense of unease crawled up the back of his neck as she led him through the tunnels. They ascended a stairwell, and Erich’s hand itched to take hold of his dagger. At the top of a darkened stairwell, she opened a door onto a bedchamber where Princess Liane paced. She turned as they entered.
“Luzie, I’m glad you’re back—”
She froze, staring wide-eyed at him.
The maid bowed. “I ran into Prince Erich, who seems to have gotten lost wandering in the underground tunnels.”
Whatever shock she might have felt was erased from her face. Erich looked from the maid to Princess Liane. Why had she brought him here? More importantly, how did he explain why he’d been caught wandering where he did not belong? Rather than let the silence linger, he cleared his throat.
“Princess, am I wrong in thinking you were looking for me?” Erich remarked, keeping his tone bland
“I wasn’t—What were you—?”She stopped to collect herself. A touch ofpink kissed the apples of her cheeks. He’d noticed she blushed when she was flustered. It was rather endearing. Then she shook her head.
“I hope this time we can speak without blades.”
“I, too, wanted to finish our conversation from before.”
“The one where you accused me of buying stardust? Or the one where I took an arrow for you?” Erich asked. It was a gamble to bring up the stardust, but while he’d been spinning his wheels trying to get an invitation into the palace, he’d done a little digging into Princess Liane. Apparently, she’d made it her vendetta to eradicate stardust from the city. Which explained her point weapons first, ask questions later approach. But if he could use what happened in the woods to his advantage, she might be an ally. If not, she could make his job much harder.
“You’re always around. How did you find me in the woods that day?”
“You were the one who saved me first, remember? I was just paying back a debt.”
“And the stardust?”
“I was led there under false promises, and when I realized what they were selling, I tried to leave. Happy?”
She nodded thoughtfully, as if considering what he was saying. Her stance wasn’t hostile, but not welcoming either, not yet. If he used this opening, he might win her over. A bit of fluff landed on her cheek, and on impulse, he reached up to brush it away. That bare sweep of her soft skin jolted him. Liane’s eyes widened; she’d felt it, too, the spark. It flashed like an ember in the dark, rippling down his arm and awakening the dragon inside him. It stirred restlessly, pushing against its bindings, and he pulled the chains tighter. Not until the full moon, until then, he would smother this animalistic hunger.
Instead of pulling away, he let his hand linger, cupping her cheek and tilting her head up. Eyes soft and lips parted, she inched closer to him. Without trying, he had her under his spell, and it made him sick. He thought he could stomach it, but his conscience wouldn’t let him. Letting her go, he turned his back, breaking eye contact and the spell.
