I’m silent on the walk back to my room but once I’m alone, I grab a pillow and press it against my face. I scream. And scream. And scream.
Katherine is dead but all I can think about is how badly I want the man who is standing outside my room in my bed.
What the fuck is wrong with me?
Twenty-Eight
When my ladies bring breakfast,I make myself eat. I didn’t sleep last night. Every time I got close, I saw the dragon and Katherine all over again.
My face is puffy, and I look like I haven’t slept in days.
After I finish eating, I open my door and find Brevan waiting there. He tenses when he sees me.
“How did you sleep?” His tone is as it always is. As if I didn’t collapse into a crying mess in his arms last night.
“I’m fine, thank you. Can you please ask Juliette if she’ll come to my room?”
He nods, and I close the door.
There’s a knock less than a minute later, and I let Juliette inside.
She approaches me cautiously. “I heard.”
“Did you hear how?” I ask.
“No.”
“Torture. Then, fed to a dragon,” I say.
She blinks a few times, then walks to the sitting area and collapses into an overstuffed chair.
I take the seat next to hers. I need Juliette in my corner even if I can’t trust her. Being obviously angry with her would be suspicious. Afterall, she discovered a spy who was in my service. I can’t show how much I miss Katherine. It takes everything I have to hold back the tears and maintain a steady voice. “She was brave. Insisted she was alone. That she knew nothing else.”
“She could have turned both of us in,” Juliette says. “Did Caiden say anything?”
“No. I suspect he’ll pretend like it never happened.”
“I killed her.” She looks at me. “And I could have killed you, too.”
“I think Katherine would forgive you.” I don’t know if that’s true, but it seems like the right thing to say.
She shakes her head. “I should have just married him.”
Some of my anger wanes. What would I sacrifice to avoid marrying Caiden? And wasn’t I just as guilty as Juliette? I did nothing. Stood by and watched her die while I shared her crime. “Don’t do that to yourself. If you married him, you’d be dead, too.”
“We don’t know that.”
“Don’t waste her sacrifice.” I say it for both of us. I know I’ll need to keep reminding myself. That’s the only thing I can do to honor Katherine. It’s even more important that I succeed.
We fall into a long silence, then after a while, Juliette looks at me with furrowed brows. “Did you say a dragon? Like a real dragon, or was that a metaphor?”
“A real dragon. In a pit in the dungeon. I think they clipped its wings.” My heart cracks again. The beast ate my friend, but it’s locked away, trapped, and probably starving.
“You’re sure?”
I nod.
“I thought they all died centuries ago.” Her brow furrows.
