ZOEY
I watchKaterina disappear into the palace, my mind racing as I shove the paper into my pocket.
Twenty minutes.
Twenty minutes until I have a chance to find out why someone who hasn’t spoken in over a year reached out to me.
In the meantime, I put each piece back into its place, examining them as I do. They’re all so different—some crude, some smooth—and yet, they still fit together to play the same game.
I’m putting the final pawn into place when Henry materializes beside the table.
“Making new friends?” His eyes flick to where Katerina disappeared, then back to me.
“Hardly. We were just playing chess,” I say as he sits uninvited into Katerina’s chair.
“Were you?” His gaze burns into me. “Because Katerina doesn’t ‘just’ do anything. Not anymore.”
Despite every bone in my body telling me to get up and keep my distance from Henry, I can’t help being curious.
And, from his arrogant smirk, I have a feeling he knows it.
“What are you talking about?” I finally give in.
His smirk widens, and the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
“Katerina doesn’t do anything for no reason,” he says, serious now. “She’s dangerous. You’d be wise to stay away from her.”
“Dangerous?” I scoff. “She doesn’t even speak.”
“And have you ever wondered why?” He leans forward, resting his elbows on the table. “Why someone would choose total silence? What kind of awful things they might be trying to hide?”
“Like what?” The words are out before I can stop them.
“Let’s just say she’s earned her silence,” he says. “Stay. Away.”
I narrow my eyes at him, not buying it. “So, you’re telling me to avoid her because you’re concerned for my safety?”
“Exactly.” He tilts his head, and for a fleeting moment, he almost looks amused. “Katerina’s mine to manage. And if you interfere, well—” His hand darts under the table faster than a viper, grabbing my wrist in a vice-like grip that makes me gasp in pain.
“Let go,” I warn, but when I try to pull back, his grip tightens.
Hopefully learning how to swim will simultaneously improve my upper body strength.
Although, while I might someday stand a chance against Henry, I’ll never stand a chance against the vampires. No human ever could.
As it is, I make sure to not bring attention to myself. Not when there’s a chance I might be able to get information from Henry—regardless of how reliable that information might be.
“Listen carefully.” His fingers tighten further, sending sharp pains up my arm. “You’ve caused enough of a commotion with Jake and Aerix. When the queen learned about Aerix and Cierra’s little misunderstanding in his quarters earlier, she wasfar from happy. She doesn’t want discord between the royals—especially not now. And let’s not forget your friend from home. The one who’s already so fragile from the queen’s attention.”
“What about him?” Ice floods my veins, not liking where Henry might be going with this.
“I’d say he has about a month left in him,” he says. “Two, if he’s lucky. It would be a shame if someone close to the queen encouraged her to speed up the process, don’t you think?”
I stare at him in shock.
“You aren’t seriously hinting that the queen would do something becauseyouasked her to?” I can’t help it—I laugh.
Which, annoyingly, doesn’t bother him in the slightest.
