Page 92 of Reaper’s Curse

He turned, flipped a cloth napkin over his shoulder, and marched into the next room, where my breakfast undoubtably awaited on the table.

I stretched my arms wide and groaned. “You’re wrong. He didn’t believe that ridiculous story for one second.”

A gasp from the other room, and a second later, Lucas reappeared in the doorway. “Are you suggesting I’m not desirable enough for our fictitious relationship?”

Lucas had been fairly open and friendly with me from the get-go, but since our run-in with Valen the day before, when Lucas claimed that he was interested in time alone with me…well…Lucas had dropped all pretenses and was being himself without fear of royal reprimand.

“You are most desirable.” I hugged my pillow to my chest. “It’s me who Valen isn’t likely to believe is of interest to you. I’m all kinds of wrong.”

“Just stop.” Lucas tossed me a dismissive wave.

He marched back into the other room, where the clatter of moving dishes ensued. He prattled on about the breakfast menu, Neive’s wardrobe plans, and my intended schedule, but I tuned him out. My thoughts pulled to other things. Reaper- and Chace-related things.

Chace had sent me another warning the night before that had given me a few things to consider. The glove, definitely. I’d need to ask Winter about that. But the implications that the prince was dangerous… I wasn’t so sure.

Chace likely didn’t have all the details and therefore didn’t fully understand the situation. Yes, Winter could be dangerous, but he didn’t mean to be. Or at least I didn’t believe he meant to be.

Of course I’d need to keep an eye on his magical addiction. He might have extracted all his lingering magic from me, but if he was drawn to the magic that constituted a reaper, sticky issues could arise.

So, my thoughts when it came to Winter…stupid and reckless when drunk or magically drugged, definitely. Seriously dangerous to me…not likely. At least not on purpose.

“You can’t stay in bed all day,” Lucas called out. “You are a female in demand.”

“Mm-hmm,” I mumbled in reply, yet I made no move to rise.

The line in Chace’s letter that had bothered me the most, though, was the mention of Winter being in possession of Chace’s earlier message to me. After reading that, I had immediately checked my hiding spot, and sure enough, the note was missing. I’d checked the floor and bedding, and the folded slip was nowhere to be found.

If Winter had the message, he could have only gotten his hands on it by coming into my rooms and taking it. He must have been watching when I removed the others before giving them to the raven for hiding. Winter had clearly seen more than he had admitted to.

His lack of respect when it came to boundaries left me fighting the desire to scream. And maybe pummel something.

I wanted to trust Winter, but I couldn’t. Not after all that had transpired the last week. For that reason, I summoned the large bird shortly after having read the latest note and had him fly Chace’s incoming correspondence away to be added with the others, in whatever place the raven had chosen.

The apartment front door clicked.

“Neive is here,” Lucas called from the other room. “So, get up, or she’ll make me help her drag your lazy ass out of bed.”

His yammering brought a smile to my lips, and I minded his request, sliding out of the bed and allowing Neive to choose my attire. Because…thanks to Camilla, I finally had apparel options. Only the options were of a rather foreign style for me, so I deferred to her judgement.

After breakfast, and while Neive cleared the table, Lucas assessed my overall look and deemed me worthy to face the day. He turned to lead us out the door when a soft rattle emanated from the full-length mirror set in the back wall. The mirror swung open, and Winter stepped into the room.

Lucas huffed. “You’re supposed to knock and wait for approval. Not knock and come in regardless.”

Winter’s gaze immediately found me. “Sorry.”

His tone didn’t even remotely match the attempted apology.

I narrowed my attention to the mirror and pointed. “So that’s how you’ve been getting in here. Sneaky. And rather uncool.”

“Told you there were passages,” Lucas said, his tone flat, then he zeroed in on the prince. “She has a schedule, and you shouldn’t be here.”

“Out,” Winter ordered Lucas and Neive.

Lucas shook his head. “Winter⁠—”

“I said out.”

“Sire—”