“Itisn’t his anymore. It’syours.You, darling, have been crowned as the next Duchess Vapula.”
The words had a surreal quality.Duchess Vapula.I turned them over and over in my head. There was so much wrapped up in that name, that title. So much I didn’t want to confront.
“We’re at war. This kingdom, these demons, they will expect me to lead. Or try to overthrow me. Or both,” I muttered. “And my legates… they’re the same ones who bowed to Vapula, and helped him do…this.He had allies who will come for me, like he came for you when you succeeded the Princess. I don’t know anything about war, about leadership. And that name, I just—”
The Prince silenced me with a kiss—deep, passionate, gentle yet unyielding. He knotted his hand into my hair. I opened myself to him, making way as he laid claim to my mouth. Sitri pulled back, still holding me. Heat rose on my cheeks. Our eyes met.
“Do you remember what you told me, darling? When you were so certain that you were about to meet your end?”
“Sitri, I…”
The pleasant warmth on my cheeks turned to a burning fire. I reached for his magic, hoping to read his desires, but the last shreds of his gift scattered like threads in the wind. A new power had claimed me, driven Sitri’s out. That trick wouldn’t work for me anymore, but it would still work fine for Sitri. Something about the way he looked at me, like he was reading an open book, suggested he’d already employed it.
I’d meant it when I told him I loved him, but now…
My chest tightened with the fear that I’d overstepped, that he might not feel the same.
Sitri grinned and swept his hand along my jaw until it reached my cheek. He pressed our lips together for a moment, leaving me too stunned to react.
“I love you, too, Lillia—no matter what your title or your charge. If you will have me, I shall stand with you, ever the shadow at your back. And if the threat of annihilation was all it took to make you confess…” His grin widened, and he laughed, deep and raspy. “Perhaps I should have pushed you harder.”
“Yeah, right. I think you pushed me plenty hard.” I failed to stop a laugh of my own. As soon as it left my lips, pain rippled up my stomach. I groaned.
Sitri’s eyes twinkled with amusement. “Easy now. We wouldn’t want the new Duchess to reopen her wounds, would we?”
“Maybe you wouldn’t,” I said, “but I’m still not sure how many others are going to feel that way.”
My smile faded, and Sitri’s died in turn.
“Are you alright, darling?” he asked.
“I think so. I just need some time to process,” I admitted. “It’s… Everything is happening so quickly, and it’s a little overwhelming.”
“Then we shall take it slow,” he whispered into my ear. “And we will start by getting you taken care of. Is there anything I can do for you, my Duchess?”
My stomach growled almost on cue. “Some food would be nice, if that’s alright.”
“Consider it done,” Sitri said as he helped me lie back. “You wait here, and I shall be right back.”
When he returned, Sitri brought a hearty bowl of stew and half a loaf of bread. The warm, savory smell made my mouth water. I wolfed down the meal, savoring every bite as it eased my gnawing hunger. When I was done, I offered Sitri the dishes, wincing as I reached up to hand them over. His gaze flicked to my stomach.
“There is medicine to ease your pain,” he offered. “I was told it will make you sleep. Do you want it, darling?”
“Can I see it? I might know what it is.”
“Of course.”
Sitri set the dishes on the desk across the room, then retrieved a small glass bottle from the end table. My Prince offered it to me, and I unscrewed the lid. A sweet, floral, slightly minty scent with alcohol undertones wafted out of it to meet me.
Vapula’s magic—mymagic—had returned, no longer a mere muscle, but an entire body of knowledge that yielded answers freely. It was diethyl ether, a potent anesthetic. Diluted in alcohol, judging by the smell of it.
I pulled it away from my face. Even the vapors would affect me if I continued breathing them in, and I wasn’t ready to commit to that. Not yet. The concoction promised me relief from the pain and burdens I carried. A sip or two would dull my suffering, body, and mind, give me the reprieve I so desperately wanted…
Still, I hesitated.
I put the lid back on the bottle and stared at it for a few moments.
Part of me wanted it, wanted to drink until I went numb to the world. That wasn’t what Ineeded,though.
