“But I—” Hazel protested.
“No.” Slaide cut her off. “Nobuts.People with power want you dead. Worse still, some of them want to run tests on you, cut you open like an animal and see what makes you special.”
Hazel averted her eyes.Hel. I’ve landed myself in Hel.
“Are you special?” he asked.
Hazel frowned. “What? No. You said yourself I’m just a peasant from a backwater town. I’m nobody.”
“Right. Keep telling yourself that. But as long astheythink you’re somebody, you are. And that’s not a good thing. Believe me when I tell you if given the option between their ministrations and death, you should choose death. Every time.”
She sighed. This conversation was going nowhere. “Why are you so…” Her words trailed off as she tried to find the right way to describe him.
“So, what? Cheerful? Happy?Handsome?” Slaide wiggled his eyebrows.
“Impossible.”
“Now, now. That’s no way to talk to your savior. I still haven’t heard a thank you, by the way.”
“Thanks.”For nothing.
Slaide uncrossed his arms. “We’ll work on the delivery.”
“Why am I still alive?” Hazel regretted the words as soon as they’d left her mouth. Something about his presence scared her less than it should. Hewashandsome. More than he had any right to be. But he was as deadly a man as she might ever come across, especially considering her newfound power. She could not let his looks disarm her.
He shrugged his shoulders. “Why not?”
Careful, Hazel.“Well, the King and damn near everyone else seems to think I have… forbidden magic.” It nearly choked her to say those words aloud. “I’ve always understood this to be a kill first, ask questions later kind of thing.”
Slaide laughed. “You’re not wrong. Look at it this way. Consider me a cat and you a mouse. Maybe, like the cat, I just like to play with my prey every now and again. Haven’t killed you yet—doesn’t mean I won’t.” He winked at her.
“Reassuring,” Hazel quipped.
“Well, what do you want from me? I can’t have you thinking you’re safe here.”
“Oh, no. I think you’ve made that perfectly clear.”
“Good. Now that we understand each other… ground rules.”
“You mean there’s more to this than just ‘don’t die’?”
“Such a loaded question. For now, let’s start small. One: never leave this room unaccompanied. Two: do not under any circumstances try to escape. Three: always dress appropriately.” He looked her up and down where she sat in the chair, eyes landing on where her shift was pulled up to mid-thigh. When he met her eyes, she blushed, looking away quickly. “Which means putting on actual clothes. Don’t want to give anyone the wrong idea.” He smirked.
Smug bastard.
“I had some clothes brought up while you were sleeping. Don’t look at me like that. I didn’t deliver them; Phaedra did. She’s great, isn’t she? As I was saying, she brought up a few things. Tunics. Dresses.Underthings.”His grin was feral. “Though, you can always go without those. Up to you.” He shrugged as though it wasn’t the most inappropriate thing to say to someone he'd just met.
“And that brings us to rule four: be on time. Speaking of which, we’re having dinner with your new dance instructor this evening, so do try to look presentable. I want to give Pimley some semblance of hope.”
“Dance instructor?” she blurted. “You said I was going to be competing in some tournament. Not dancing. What are you going on about?”
Slaide smiled. “It’s a week of fun andentertainmentfor the nobility, sweets. At the end of it all, we drink and dance and celebrate… and fu?—”
“I get it. Thanks.” Hazel cut him off.
“Of course you have to survive that long. Which,” he looked her over in an assessing gaze, “let’s just say I’ve got my work cut out for me.”
Hazel rolled her eyes and scoffed at the absolute audacity of this man.Barging in where he pleases and being a complete prick everywhere he goes.But then a thought struck her. “Slaide,” she began, “when I was… apprehended… I was wearing a necklace. A pendant from my mother. I was wondering—” she stopped talking as he reached into his pocket and pulled out something wrapped in silk.
