“We disembark at the Jasper City Station. That’s a twenty-hour trip at the very least. Hence tomorrow.”
“Where the glittering hell are we supposed to sleep? Will we move to a sleeping car in the evening?”
“This is a sleeping car.”
“This?” I glance at the cramped space, the lack of bed. “How is this a sleeping car?”
He peers over his broadsheets to give me a patronizing smile. “I thought I was here to secure you a husband, not inform you on how trains work.”
With a huff, I turn to Minka instead. Lowering my voice, I repeat my question to her. “How is this a sleeping car?”
She shrugs, her whiskers twitching. “This is my first time on an overnight train.”
“If I may, Princess,” Mr. Boris says, and I give him a grateful nod. “In the evening, both seats fold out to be slightly wider. Overhead, bunks have been built into the walls that can be lowered into two more makeshift beds.”
My lips pull into a grimace. “So we have to share this room…together.”
“There’s a partition that unfolds to divide the room in half,” Mr. Boris explains. “This train was designed with human propriety in mind. You and Minka will have your own private quarters. Besides, I don’t plan on sleeping. I shall keep watch and ensure you rest easy. Nothing untoward will occur.” He says the last part with a fierce glare at Thorne.
I nibble my bottom lip. The idea of a partition provides some comfort, but I’m still disturbed at the thought of sleeping so close to Mr. Blackwood. “Surely there’s a more suitable room. Sharing a sleeping compartment with an unmarried man can’t be good for a princess’ reputation.”
“No one knows you’re here, much less that you’re a princess,” Thorne says. “I’m a public figure, Miss Rose. I know a thing or two about traveling discreetly. I paid enough moonstone chips to ensure this journey will remain unremarkable.”
I suppose I can be grateful for his foresight. But still. “I would have preferred a separate compartment, Mr. Blackwood.”
“You insisted on the noon train. This was the only compartment left.”
I clench my jaw. “How do I know you aren’t lying? You are part human, aren’t you? Or are those rounded ears of yours a glamour?”
He casts an incredulous look at me as he drops his paper to his lap. “I am half human, yes, but why would I lie about this being the last compartment left? Do you think I want to be stuck here with you? Do you not realize I’d rather be anywhere else where I don’t have to hear your insufferable voice and be inundated with your questions?”
His insult stings worse than I care to admit. I give a haughty sniff to hide my hurt. “You should be thanking me, you know.”
He barks a laugh and refolds his broadsheets with agitated motions. “Thanking you? Really?”
“If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have a clue the curse could be broken in the first place, am I right?”
The tightening of his jaw is answer enough. I expect him to return to his papers. Instead, he lowers his voice to a tone of poorly concealed interest and asks, “How did you get the information out of Nyxia anyway?”
I purse my lips, my refusal to answer more out of spite than anything else, but Minka speaks for me.
“She threatened King Franco!” the feline fae says, her amber eyes as bright as her smile.
I open my mouth to argue but she isn’t wrong. Nyxia didn’t sympathize with my cause until after I brought up the troubles my family’s fate would cause the unseelie king. I am, however, surprised that Minka knows of this. While I suspected the servants had listened in on my conversation with the former queen, I hadn’t been sure just how much they’d gleaned.
Thorne’s expression goes blank. “You threatened Nyxia’s brother to her face and live to tell the tale?”
“I threatened himnicely,” I amend. “Like I said, you should be thanking me. How long has your family been asleep? Five years? Ten?”
“Fifteen,” he says under his breath.
“Why aren’t you asleep with them, anyway?” I recall my family’s shock over his identity. They expected him to be Morgana’s husband at first, not her son. Thorne told me himself that the moon dragon was the only member of the Lemuria family that remained awake. Was that a lie?
He looks from me to Minka, then averts his gaze. “Family matters are private. They’re none of your concern.”
“They are my concern,” I bite back. “They involve me. My family. The reason I was sent to a convent for twenty years. I deserve an explanation.”
“My family kept secrets to save as many people from the curse as possible. Why would I share that information with you?”
