“I sent some of my spies to Iskvaland shortly after we were betrothed.” He lifts a fork and holds it over his plate. “I know you snuck out of the castle at every chance you got. I know you had a lover you met at the stables. And I know you liked to practice with weapons when your father’s soldiers were away. My spies said you were terrible with weapons, but great in bed.”
My cheeks heat in indignation for the dead woman. “They watched me have sex?”
“I needed to know what I was getting. Thankfully, they also noted that you were insistent that your lover take his tonic every time you met. So at least I know you aren’t carrying another man’s bastard.”
My chair screeches as I abruptly stand. “You’re disgusting.”
He stabs a chunk of potato then pops it into his mouth and chews slowly. When he finishes, he smiles, showing straight white teeth. “I’m also your future emperor. Sit back down.”
“And I am your future empress. You will show me respect.” I glare at him, not caring if it all falls apart right here. I didn’t even know the princess. I thought she must be another spoiled royal, but now, I think maybe she and I weren’t so different. She must have had a rebellious streak. I wonder if she’d have spied for the rebellion. Or maybe she was hoping to kill the emperor herself and that was why she came. I’ll never know. But I feel like I owe her at least a little bit.
“Things don’t work like that around here, little raven. The empress is nothing. Your job is to look pretty and carry my children. If you fail at either of those things, I will end you.”
“You need this treaty more than my empire does. Our armies outnumber yours. They’re stronger, better trained, and not reliant on magic. Your army is fueled by years of nepotism. Your soldiers are wealthy men who serve to gain favor and increase their station.
“Ours are farmers and fathers and hunters who love their country. They fight because they believe in something bigger than themselves. They fight to protect their family and their land. Yours only fight for themselves. Which do you think will win when the time comes? Magic only gets you so far when your legion is full of preening cowards.”
I hold my ground. Staring right at the insufferable prince, maintaining whatever sense of composure I can hold on to while I curse myself internally. That was too far. That wasn’t the rant of a princess. And I don’t know if anything I said about Iskvaland is true. It was all rumors. Stories I heard growing up in the mountains at the border. Propaganda, I was told. Lies. But based on how he is looking at me, I don’t think any of it was a lie.
After a long silence, he sets his fork down and stands, then walks toward me slowly. I hold my chin high, my only regret that I couldn’t complete the mission. I told them I wasn’t the one for this job. I am good at strategy and plans. I’m not cut out for the field. I know speaking to him that way was wrong. I know that isn’t how I am supposed to act, but I couldn’t stop myself.
The prince stands behind my chair and straightens it, then gestures toward the seat. “Please, sit.”
I stay where I am. “I will not marry someone who disrespects me. And I certainly will not marry someone who spies on me. I am not breeding stock. If that is what you are looking for, find someone else.”
“I will be more respectful.” He inclines his head to the chair.
“And you will not spy on me?” I ask. “How am I to ever bathe again knowing you may have your men watching me?”
“I will not spy on you,” he agrees.
“It’s a start.” I sit, and he pushes me in before returning to his chair.
“Please, eat. I had them prepare something simple because I don’t yet know what you like.”
“So you can be kind.”
“Don’t tell anyone,” he says.
I pick up my fork and knife and cut off a piece of chicken. “I don’t think they’d believe me, anyway, Your Highness.”
“You’re probably right,” he says. “And call me Caiden. You are going to be my wife, after all.”
Four
The roomsthey gave me are something out of a dream. In addition to the bathing chamber and sleeping area, there’s a separate sitting room, a writing nook with a desk, and a dining space with a table that seats eight. There’s also a small bed tucked away in a tiny room for a servant to sleep near me in case I need anything. Everything is tastefully decorated in black, gray, and cream. It’s luxury like I could never imagine and it’s more space than the house where I grew up. I didn’t know just how different things were between the royals and everyone else.
A log falls in the fireplace, making a series of cracks and pops that sends sparks beyond the grate to the stone floor around the hearth. Marian insisted on building a large fire since I am not allowing her to stay with me.
I pace around the enormous space taking in the floral tapestries that hang on the walls, and pause at a bookshelf near the writing nook. There’s only a handful of books there, and they’re all about plants. I pick one up and carry it to the large feather bed. It’s covered in furs and pillows, and while I hate knowing that my bedding must have cost more than mostpeople will ever see in their whole lives, I can’t deny that it’s comfortable.
Settling against the pillows, I open the book and begin to read. The plants listed are all native to Pendralia, though someone scribbled notes into the margins next to some entries. After seeing the columns earlier, I know these must have belonged to the empress. I set the book down and look around again. This must have been her room.
Which means, the emperor’s room can’t be far.
I crawl out of the bed again and slowly move around the room, lifting the tapestries and feeling for any creases or unusual cracks in the stone walls. Didn’t emperors and empresses usually have their rooms near each other? Didn’t castles have secret passages? Or was that just in the stories?
“Taylan?”
