The wind howled around the castle wall, its gargoyles swiveling on their perches, haunted eyes tracking my every move as I sidled through the servant’s door. The night was freezing with thick, dark clouds obscuring the light. In the distance, the village glowed with a warm, heady aura that lured me in.
I ran my hand along the rough stone wall, its edges molding to my fingertips. I willed my heartbeat to soften and stop thrashing so painfully within my chest. What would Clement think? That I’d deserted him? Used him? Thrown him away like another casual acquaintance? It was too late to change how I felt about him, and far too late to tell him the truth behind my plan. I’d just have to squash my feelings of guilt far away inside and hope he forgave me one day.
I paused before rounding the corner and stepping onto the central road. The gargoyle towered over me, icicles dripping from its fangs as it inched toward my face.
I loosed my breath and strode into the open.
A single footstep crunched behind me, strong fingers ratcheting around my sleeve. I spun, yanking from its grasp.
“Tamara, Tamara, Tamara,” the prince sighed. “Why do we keep meeting like this?” His face was drained of color, eyes murky in the gloom. No guards flanked him. No servants scurried by. It was just us.
Again.
“I’m going out.” I pulled my thin cloak tighter around myself, my nails quietly lengthening inside the long sleeves.
“I know what you were doing.” He leaned closer, the rose scent overpowering. But there was something underneath, something masked. Blood?
Two guards appeared from out of the shadows, both tense, both with hands grasping their sabers. Neither of them Clement.
“I think it’s better that you stay inside for a while.” He held out his hand. “Just until the wedding.”
The magic burned inside of me, my fingers twitching, nails fully sharpened. I shouldn’t touch him. That was Clement’s warning, but was it for me or the prince?
I could complete both tasks tonight after all. Embed the trackers in the back of his hand, pretend it was nothing but a small scratch, and slip into the night when he turned away. But would Lilyanna be waiting? She should be here already, this was all for her. She’d said she would go.
Could she have told him?
I stifled a curse. The castle was manipulating me and so was the prince. It wasn’t Lilyanna, she was innocent in all this. Something deep inside me trusted her, we’d spent too long in each other’s company now to be anything less than allies. We were family.
The prince pressed closer, his hand still outstretched. The guards withdrew their swords, the curved blades slicing through the shadows as they pointed them toward me.
Slowly, I reached for him. As my skin pressed against his, cold drove through me and my magic recoiled, driving itself back deep within my soul. My nails forcibly retracted, sucking themselves inside my fingertips.
My ribs squeezed, my breath choked out in a strained gasp. He closed his hand around mine and tugged me toward him, his other arm encircling my waist. “Stay close and you’ll be fine.” He backed into the wall, the stone melting behind him. Fire burned in my lungs as I struggled to breathe, and the vise around my chest snapped another notch tighter.
I reflexively dug my other hand into his side, sinking into his flesh, but the magic stuttered. No release, no power.
The stone clawed against my face, tearing at my clothes and slicing my skin. The pressure increased, the edges of my vision darkening, but I kept my grip on his side, trying to force the magic out.
“Hold on, Tamara,” he drawled.
We thrust through the wall, the stone snapping back into place behind us. My heart pounded, my head throbbing. I still couldn’t breathe.
The prince pushed me back against the solid wall, its cold leeching through my cloak. He forced his mouth on mine, blowing air into my lungs, my breasts pressed into his solid chest. I gasped and shoved him away.
Something trickled from my mouth. I wiped it with my sleeve, recognizing the gooey feel of blood as it coated my tastebuds and pooled under my tongue. He’d bitten me. I bent over and retched while he patted me on the back.
“I thought you carried it. I saw the sparks at the festival, noticed the way the castle drew toward you. It took a while as my guards never let me close enough. Clement in particular has a fondness for you. But now, I know it’s there. I taste it.” He smacked his lips together. “It won’t be so bad next time.”
I straightened, turning around in the corridor, completely lost.
“You have new lodgings, my dear.” The prince opened a small trapdoor, visible only by three black slashes in the wood that he inserted his fingers into. “Temporary, of course, but this way you’ll be closer when I need you.”
I spun around, wildly searching for a landmark I knew so I could run and find Lilyanna or Clement.
The prince leaped on me, arms encircling my chest and threw me down into the hole. I landed heavily, dust and ash billowing around me.
The trapdoor slammed shut and silence descended until a familiar groan sounded from the corner.
