Page 171 of Collared by the Vampire Prince

I’m a cowar—

Nathaniel’s fingers brush my cheek.

My thoughts stall.

“That look you get,” he murmurs. “It is quite enchanting.”

I blink several times. “Wh-what look?”

“The one where you are deciding how best to kill me.” The faintest curve touches his mouth.

I stare at him. “You flatter yourself.”

“Do I? My apologies. I merely assumed you wanted me dead.”

“I do.”

He arches an eyebrow.

“I do,” I repeat, more firmly.

“There you are,” he murmurs. “I was beginning to worry the fall had changed you.”

His amusement vanishes almost as quickly as it came. His gaze returns to my wing.

“Let me look at it.”

“There is no need. I’ll be fine.”

“Yes, well…that lie was unconvincing the first time.” His gaze passes over me, assessing, before shifting to a narrow lancet window a few feet along the tower wall. It sits within a shallow stone recess beneath the eaves, offering shelter from the worst of the rain. “Come here.”

He keeps one arm around me as we edge along the narrow gallery. The feel of the vampire holding me so carefully is strange enough to make the whole moment seem unreal. When we reach the recess, Nathaniel eases me back against the tower wall, keeping one hand at my side until he is certain my legs will hold.

We huddle in the recess. Rain still reaches us in cold sprays, but no longer lashes directly into my face, and the wind loses its bite.

He steps back, but not far. His hands remain lightly around my arms, his body close enough that I can feel the heat of him through our wet clothes.

I don’t pull away, but I stare past him, over the rain-slick parapet and into the fog.

“I flew,” I whisper, unsure why I’m stating the obvious aloud.

“You did.”

“For perhaps three seconds.”

“Four, I think. Five, even.”

A broken laugh leaves me.

“I should have left when I had the chance,” I say, my vision blurring. “But I wasted it trying to free a dead king.”

After a pause, he asks, “What were you hoping to achieve?”

Mercy. An act of mercy for the princess. For the king. I wanted to remind people of who we are.

“Nothing.” I tip my head back and squeeze my eyes shut, but the tears escape anyway. “It was stupid.”

“I would argue otherwise—but I did just observe you jump from the North Tower.”