I took a deep breath, pulled Sam aside, and bent closely enough to where I thought my words might be shielded from his friend.
“...You want to know where I am so you can continue to do what you wish to do and with whom you wish to do it,”I said.
He met my eyes, denying it. “You think I would hurt you so?” he asked.
“If you did not wish to hurt me, you would end your affair,” I returned.
His gaze broke first, finding the floor.
Cyrus exhaled loudly enough that I almost felt bad.
“And now,” I said. I held my head higher. “Now you’ve enlisted the advice of an Oreian expert to discern everything I do or say for you, yes?” I asked.
“His nationality is really just a bonus,” the Prince explained. “But no, I did not enlist him to spy on you; he’s my friend. I asked him to ride with you because I thought it was important to you.”
“Sam,” Cyrus said.
“I donotwish to hurt you, love,” he added.
They shared a look over his shoulder.
“Hurt me?” I balked. “Hurt me? No. Make no mistake, you have not wounded me, no matter what your nanny tells you. Iamfine.It is my duty to be fine, and let us not forget,duty never rests,”I said. “Good day, sir,”
Cyrus and I locked gazes. I felt a chill run down my spine with the reception of his cold look.
“Good day, Mr. Evergreen,” I said.
Chapter 16
Iwandered alone for a few minutes, angry but mostly lost, before Ser Elías spotted me. I could feel him seething from the end of the corridor. He signaled my direction with a sharp gesture and waited for me to make it to his post. When I did, he immediately abandoned it to Ser Willoughby, who hadclearlybeen briefed on what was going on, to the point that the idiot practically hid from me as I approached. He dipped his gaze toward one of the more detailed crucifixes and made a comment on its length.
Elías doubled our pace away from him, scouring me with an invasive inspection of every nook of my face. He basically growled aneerilypolite, “Where does the Prince find himself this morning?”
“Eli,” I said. “Stop it. That’s not funny.”
“Humor is the last of my intentions,” he said. “Where is he?”
“I don’t know. I left him in one of these halls; I couldn’t tell you which,” I said. “They all look the same.”
“The man has disrespected you on such a level that?—”
“How did you even hear of this so quickly?” I asked. “Does Ser Willoughby know?”
“Ser Willoughby knows,” Elías said. “He was the one who toldme.”
“Fantastic,” I said. “Grand. Soeverybodyis aware, I’m sure.” I shook my head. “I’m so embarrassed. I might be sick.”
“Svana,” he said. He led me by the elbow to the side and whispered.“For now, only the three of us know. Willoughby caught the end of your conversation with the Prince. He sought my counsel right after. He’s not told anyone else.”
“Are you sure?”I checked. “What if someone else heard us? I didn’t even see Ser Willoughby.”
“Where did you say Sameer was?”he asked.
“It doesn’tmatter,” I told him.
“He disrespected you,” he said.
“Yes.” I shrugged. “Yes. He most certainly did, but as long as that fact stays between the three of us, I…I don’t care.”
