“Princess, I wanted to talk to you,” he said, lowering himself onto my bed a fair distance away from me. “I know what happened today. I do not need all the details, but I do have one question.”
“Uh, ok,” I replied, completely clueless as to why he was so solemn.
He straightened his tunic, steadying himself, then asked, “Do you love him?”
I blinked at him. “What? No,” I sputtered. How did he even hear about me and Sin?
“It is okay if you do,” Dey said wearily, folding his hands in his lap. “I know that I have not proven myself worthy of you.”
I jumped up, staring at him in disbelief. “Dey, I have no clue where you got this idea that I’m in love with him, but it was one kiss. And it was a huge mistake.”
Pain swam in Dey’s amber eyes. “You do not need to spare me. I know that it was much more than a kiss. I just hope that you and Cam are happy together.”
“Wait, what?” I took a step back. “Did you say Cam? You think I slept with Cam?”
Dey’s face crinkled in confusion. “Of course. Who else would I be talking about?”
“I thought you meant Sin!”
“Sin?!” Dey leapt to his feet, eyes blazing. “You slept with Sin?”
“No!” I threw up my hands in exasperation. “I didn’t sleep with anyone.”
“Then why did a servant tell me that they saw Cam sneak you into his cottage, and you were wearing his tunic when you left?”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” I swore. “Everyone in this damn castle needs to mind their own freaking business.” I took a deep breath, trying to reign in my frustration. “I got injured earlier inthe weapons room. Sin said he wasn’t a very good healer, so I found Cam. We only went to his cottage to clean off the blood, and I borrowed his tunic for the walk back to my room. That’s all.”
“You did not have sex with Cam?” Dey asked, cautious optimism on his face.
“No! I adore Cam, but it’s not like that.”
Dey collapsed onto the bed, his entire body sagging with relief.
I perched on the edge of my dresser, crossing my arms. “It wouldn’t matter if I had though. You don’t have any claim over me.”
“I know that, Princess,” he replied softly. “I can still hope that someday that will change.”
I grabbed the discarded brush and began raking it through my tangles. “I don’t know if that will happen, Dey. It’s hard enough for me to even consider being friends with you right now given your opinion on humans.”
He leaned forward eagerly. “So teach me. Explain to me why you believe humans are worth defending so vigorously.”
I continued to fight with the rat’s nest on my head and thought about what Jo said earlier. That I should give them a chance. I didn’t know about the whole of Rivella, but I guess I could give Dey a shot. “Okay. We can start over.” A smile blossomed across his face, and I quickly clarified, “As friends.”
Dey chuckled and got to his feet. “In that case, I will leave you to prepare for dinner. Perhaps this evening I might escort you?”
“Sure,” I agreed. “Why not?”
He stepped toward the door but halted abruptly and turned back around. “Princess…” he said, his eyes narrowing. “What exactly happened with Sin that you assumed I was referring to him before?”
Crap. I really hoped he had forgotten about that.
Focusing intently on a particularly nasty tangle in my hair, I said, “Ummm… Sin and I sort of… kissed. In the weapons room.”
The stony silence was a palpable weight in the air, then my door swung open violently, slamming into the opposite wall. I looked up in time to see Dey disappear.
“Shit,” I cursed, leaping to my feet to run after him.
Dey must have the speed of a cheetah because he was already at Sin’s room before I was halfway down the hall.
