I coughed against a rough swallow and met Frigg’s gaze. “Pardon?”
She sighed and paused inside the gates. “We know you fools argued before the attack, but I thought with you being a damn warrior maiden and saving his ass, you lot might’ve cleared the air, but you’re not talking. I can’t figure it out. He’s like my annoying younger brother, but Skadi, he is one of the best men I know.”
“Why do you say this?”
“Because you have a look on your face that I noticed the first time you stepped foot on Klockglas. It’s how you looked at him, and I’d take a guess you’re thinking of him now.”
My shoulders slumped in defeat. “Before I was tossed into alver clans, I was quite skilled at hiding my expressions.”
She chuckled. “We have ways to pull out the truth here, I suppose.”
“I told the prince it was better if we kept a distance and didn’t make this more than duty.”
“Gods, that sounds miserable.”
I winced. There was a festering absence I noticed when the prince was not close, and I did not understand how—through all my attempts to shield against him—the man still managed to sink his claws into me from the first kiss.
“He is merely honoring my request.”
“Well change your request.” Frigg’s brows flicked twice. “He’s been sulking as much as you, so I’d say Jonas would be more than willing to shave some of that distance away.”
What if this doesn’t need to be nothing? The prince had asked the question before the attack, and I rejected it. No one looked deeper than the affinity in my veins, but what if Jonas meant what he said?
Risk was there. To trust another with a piece of my heart was a chance I never wanted to take. Not again.
With a sigh, I made my way toward the gardens. “You might be right, I?—”
My voice cut off. In front of the door that would take me to the staircase of our wing, my nightmare prince stood with his back to me.
He wasn’t alone.
Head lowered, I could just make out a woman with her hands on his chest, her body close. Jonas shifted, and I noted the way her fingers fell to his belt without shame.
Gods. I asked for distance, but I did not anticipate the man flaunting his lovers for all to see.
The ache in my heart took me from behind, sharper than I imagined, and hot like a molten spear. I wanted to fade, to forget, to hide in the coldness of apathy. My affinity would shield me for a time, but the deepest indifference required cruel acts.
But there were other ways.
I spun on Frigg before she reached the top. “Actually, I have one more request, if you’re willing.”
She canted her head. “What’s that?”
“You mentioned these taverns. I hear all the time of alver revelry. Care to join me?”
“Oh, I don’t know, Princess.” Frigg glanced over her shoulder. “It might be best to do so with your hus?—”
“Suit yourself.” I drifted around her side. “I’ll have Dorsan take me. Thank you for today, it was wonderful.”
“Now wait a damn moment.” She took hold of my arm again. “If you’re determined to try brän and not wait for the prince, I’ll be required to go with you. It’s a fool’s choice to toss back that ale without a Klockglas native looking out for you. And as a woman who enjoys a fair amount of revelry, I should tell you, I think this is a reckless idea.”
Chapter 22
The Nightmare Prince
Blood was everywhere.Hot and fetid, more than one member of the cooking staff had to leave the rooms to breathe in fresher air.
Being an alver, I was rather accustomed to the cloying scent of the mesmer in my blood, but some never seemed to grow a stomach for it.
