Footsteps marched toward the balcony, keeping in time with my own racing heart.My side and shoulder burned with pain, muscles screaming as I surged upward.I should have hidden below the balcony, but that was in better sight of the guards and had more chances of being seen.Nor did I think I would be able to hold still on the wall for long.
The door squealed back open.I froze.My limbs turned to stone.The darkness and my cloak might be enough to conceal me if I remained still.Moving would give me away.My breath shuddered out of me, and I squeezed my eyes shut, unable to look down.
“You’re being paranoid, Ezrielle,” Valeris said.“Like I said, it was the wind.Come back inside.It’s freezing out here.”
“Where’s your faithful little bodyguard?”
Valeris laughed.“Sleeping.”
Several seconds ticked by.I couldn’t look.I could only imagine her scouring everything she could see for movement.I couldn’t hold this for long.I was going to fall to my death.My side screamed at the strain, sharp pain radiating from the cut on my shoulder.
Her steps receded back into the room.Once I heard the click of the door, I pushed upward again, not stopping until I reached Valeris’s balcony.
I rolled onto my back, my dress sticking to my skin as I gasped for breath.Irritation roiled through me.I couldn’t do this anymore.That was too close.I shuddered at the thought of what would have happened if his sister had seen me.He had nearly jeopardized everything for me.And the knife nearly hitting him...
I shouldn’t be running errands for him like this.I was done.Whatever his sister was planning was his own problem.I was here to get the ring from his uncle and kill the king.That was all.I closed my eyes, the feeling of his arms wrapped around me in the closet and his voice whispering in my ear rushing back.I slammed the sensations away, wanting to scream.It meant nothing.He meant nothing, and I vowed to stay away from him.He was my enemy—and I kept forgetting that.He had proved it with his recklessness tonight.
I crawled to all fours, wincing when the movement pulled at my side.A light flicked on in Valeris’s room, which almost sent me climbing back over the balcony, but I wasn’t about to do that again.If he wanted my help, he would have to escort me out of his suite himself.
If I didn’t strangle him first.
I rose to my feet as his balcony doors swung open.He had anticipated my arrival, and I questioned changing my mind and shimmying up to the roof.Or throwing him off it.
I jabbed a finger into his chest, pushing him back into the room and kicking the door shut behind me.“Yousaid she wouldn’t be there tonight.”
“She wasn’t supposed to—”
“Do you have any idea what kind of risk you put me in?”I hissed.“What would have happened to me if I had been caught?”
“I would’ve—”
“You wouldn’t have been able to do anything!Do you have any idea how hard I have worked to get here, what I have had to do?She’s a member of the royal family, for heaven’s sake.Even if you managed to get me out of the dungeon she’d still know who I was and could destroy everything I came here for.”
“But she didn’t see you.”
“She could have!”
Valeris raised his voice.“And I would have protected you, as I’ve done ever since we started this agreement.”
“You can’t protect me from your family!”I all but yelled.“And you nearly got yourself killed!I think I’ve given you enough of my time and help.I want out of our alliance.”
He stepped back as if I’d slapped him.“No.Not until it’s fulfilled.”
I invaded his space, my face within inches of his.“I think I’ve more than fulfilled my end.I spied for you.I assisted you at the puzzle ball.What else do you want from me?”
He searched my eyes, and I saw his throat bob, concern lining his brow.
“What happened?”His voice lowered.
I put space between us, staring at him in disbelief.“I just told you what—”
He shook his head, cutting me off as he eliminated the space between us again.“That’s not what I’m talking about.Something changed, and it has nothing to do with what went down with Ezrielle.”
I lifted my chin, seeing the knife again, the fear that gripped me at the thought of it hitting him.“The only thing that changed is I want out.”
I was all too aware of how close we stood, our ragged breaths from the ordeal in Ezrielle’s room, and the way he was now looking at me.The way he was making me feel.Everything I had just vowed to stay away from.
A blush crept up my neck, and I watched him take note of it.
