‘No oneis immune to punishment, Ravenminder. Not the Knights, not the servants. Not even me.’
And that wasn’t just fury in his ice-blue eyes.
She saw it now.
It was …fear.
But before she could ask him anything else, he was dragging her along again. ‘Walk faster.’
‘Ican’twalk any faster,’ Ezer said, and dug in her heels. ‘Your legs are three times the size of mine.’
‘Then walk thrice the speed,’ Arawn said.
‘Must you always speak like some pompous, headybastardfrom the pages of an ancient romance book?’ she yelped.
Gods, he made her furious.
They were inside the trees again, on the path back towards the golden doors.
‘Let me go,’ she said. ‘There’s no reason to be so rash!’
‘You act like a child who doesn’t listen. I can’t keep tracking you down to save you.’
‘I didn’t need saving,’ she said. ‘And if I recall correctly, the one who needed help first wasyou.’
He barked out a laugh. ‘Anyone would, in the presence of shadow wolves. You should know.’
‘Oh, isn’t that noble of you, pointing out a woman’s painful past,’ she said. ‘I suppose I should pick on you for yours now. What gave you that gash on your cheek?’
He said nothing.
‘Don’t ignore me, Firemage. I asked you a question.’
Still, he hauled her across the path.
‘I don’t think the problem is me.’ She took a gasping breath as she tried to keep up. ‘I think it’syou,a Crown Prince who was sent all the way to Rendegard to pick up prisoners like some grunt soldier. I think you’re in trouble already, and I don’t yet know why. But it’s related to your weak magic, or perhaps the very palpable tension between you and your twin brother. Or maybe it has something to do with someone namedSoraya.’
He turned around, so fast she yelped.
Because then he was in her face, towering over her, and the fury in his eyes …
She’d never seen anything like it on a man.
When he spoke, his voice was a raw whisper. So quiet, she wondered if it was only the sound of the wind ruffling the leaves on the trees.
‘Her name,’ he said, ‘is notyours to speak.’
She held his gaze. They were so close, their chests nearly touched, a steady rise and fall.
‘And my hand,’ Ezer said back, ‘is not yours to hold.’
The spell between them broke.
He seemed to notice, suddenly, how thorough his grip on her was. How small her hand was inside his, a delicate little dove trapped inside a cage.
He released her.
‘I …’
