“We shouldn’t—” I started to say.
“Shh. Someone’s in there,” she whispered. She crept closer to the entrance of the hallway. Kaldur’s study was the first door on the right, which I knew afforded the best view of Vyaan’s villages. “Isn’t that…isn’t that Lydrasa’s voice? With theKyzaire?”
I froze as jealousy pricked at me. Why was she up here with him?
Despite my better judgment, I listened. Velle crept closer tothe door, which was left slightly ajar, a stream of light spilling out onto the smooth stone floor.
After a moment of deliberation, I did the same. Was this where he’d disappeared to? Sneaking away from his own gathering with his former lover?
A churning feeling began in my gut, my heart beginning to pump wildly in my chest. I tried to hold my breath to get it to slow so that I could listen to what was being said.
He’d told me that he’d dismissed her as his mistress, that I was his sole blood giver. Had that been the truth?
I didn’t know anymore. But maybe I could find out.
“I’m just saying, Kaldur, it’s not good,” Lydrasa was saying. “She insulted mymother. A noble. You need to put her in her place.”
Oh gods.They were talking about me.
My face flamed bright red.
“This whole situation is ridiculous. When are you going to stop playing with the human?”
“What have the nobles been saying?” came Kaldur’s voice.
“You know what they’ve been saying,” Lydrasa said. “Or did you think you could escape their notice when you disappeared down an alley with her on a busy morning in the square last week? Itoldyou this.”
“I tire of these games, Lydrasa,” Kaldur growled. “I think the nobles have forgotten exactly who I am and?—”
“Oh, they haven’t forgotten anything,Kyzaire. They know exactly who you are. And you’ve had a taller mountain to climb than your brothers, yes, because of your reputation. But like I’ve told you before, don’t make a fool of your great House. Don’t let history repeat itself here. Not for a keeper.”
She spat out that last word like it was poison.
I didn’t dare breathe. My eyes were locked on a knot of wood in the door. One that was protruding slightly, one that hadn’t been sanded smooth.
“Do you love her?” Lydrasa asked. I nearly gasped. I pressed my fingertips to my lips to keep them closed.
Kaldur laughed, and it sunk something in my chest, the derision and amusement I heard in it. “Of course not. Don’t be foolish.”
“Do you care about her?”
“I like the way she tastes,” he growled. “Like a tumbler full of my favorite liquor. Nothing more. We’ve all gone a little mad for a blood giver a time or two. It doesn’t mean anything.”
A dismissive answer, and it felt like a dagger slipping slowly into my chest, inch by inch.
And yet I couldn’t leave. I couldn’t walk away. I wanted to hearexactlyhow Kaldur of House Kaalium felt about me.
“Have you fucked her yet?” Lydrasa asked next.
And it felt like a betrayal of my privacy when he admitted, “Yes.”
I felt like I wanted to be swallowed up when I saw Velle cut me a sharp glance. Her brow was furrowed.
“Did you like it?” Lydrasa continued, seemingly not surprised by the confession. Even I heard the flirtatious purr in her voice. “Was it better thanourfucking?”
“It was fine,” Kaldur said. I nearly winced, feeling a sharp ache in my chest. So pinching that I looked down just to make sure nothing had imbedded itself into me. “She was… It was fine,zendra.”
Zendra.
