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“Get into bed,” Kylian says from behind me.

I spin around, clutching the towel tighter. “Absolutely not.”

He’s fully dressed now, in a black shirt and dark slacks, looking every inch the king. He gestures toward the massive bed with its deep blue velvet and silver embroidered pillows. “You’re exhausted. You need sleep.”

“I’m sleeping by the fire,” I say, and before he can argue, I move toward the hearth. The flames are warm and hypnotic, casting shadows across the stone. I settle onto the plush rug in front of it, pulling the towel tighter around myself.

“Stubborn little thing, aren’t you?” he says, and there’s something almost amused in his voice. “You’ll freeze to death.”

I ignore him, staring into the flames.

He sighs, a long, suffering sound, and settles into the armchair beside the fire, crossing his legs.

“Suit yourself then,” he murmurs.

I don’t look at him. I keep my eyes on the fire, watching the flames dance and flicker. As the hours pass, the fire burns lower, and the room grows colder, except he makes no move to get more wood. I’m shivering now, the towel not nearly thick enough, my damp hair clinging to my neck.

“You’re cold,” he says finally.

“I’m fine,” I lie through chattering teeth.

“I should put you over my knee just for your stubbornness, little mortal.” He rises from his chair, closing the space between us, and scoops me up from the floor. I grab my towel with a shriek as he carries me to the bed, and when he tosses me down, I try to scramble out of it.

He drags me back toward him and under the covers. “Stop fighting and go to sleep . . . before you piss me off, and I decide to eat you.”

I freeze at his words, watching him get comfortable, tossing one arm above his head and closing his eyes.

I don’t sleep. Every time my eyes close, I wake to the slightest crackle from the fireplace. I spend the night curled in blankets with the towel wrapped tightly around my body. My hair never really dries, so the cold gnaws at me.

My mind won’t quiet, all thoughts moving to Sable. Is she hungry or cold? Is she still on the ship out in the open elements, or has she arrived at the first kingdom? Both ideas terrify me. If she is still in a cage, she would be freezing and getting sicker, or if she made it to one of the kingdoms already, she could be enduring unimaginable horrors.

Then my thoughts move to Arlo, wondering where he is and how he is holding up. I know Mr. Crawly would have sent him to the flesh markets, so unless a local buys him tomorrow, he too will be shipped off to another island for labor, depending on the state of him once Crawly finished lashing him.

“Sleep, little mortal. I can feel you staring.”

“Like I could sleep in the same bed as a vampire,” I grumble.

He sighs heavily, removing his arm from above his head to peer down at me. His blood-red eyes seem to glow in the darkness, and I shiver at the intensity. “Now I know why I choose to eat mortals instead of befriending them. You are infuriating me already, and we haven’t even left yet.”

I say nothing.

“If I were going to hurt you, I would have already. I have been very hospitable. I’m even sleeping fully clothed so I don’t spook you.”

“I’m still naked, and you could easily kill me if you choose, yet you expect me to be okay sharing a bed with a strange vampire. There is a clear power imbalance here,” I remind him.

He groans, sits up, and rips the blanket off. I gasp and clutch my towel, but before I can shift away, he wraps the blanket around me like a cocoon. It’s so tight I can barely wriggle inside the blankets. He then lays back down on his side, facing me.

“Better? You’re wrapped up like a human burrito now.” He tosses an arm over me and drags me closer. “Now sleep, little mortal! I have no intention of hurting you. I don’t know how I can make that any clearer.”

I ignore him and snuggle down into the blankets with only my head peeping out. “Maybe you shouldn’t threaten to eat people if you want them to feel safe!” I grumble.

CHAPTER 17

• Alessia •

“IT’S READY, SIRE.”

My eyes fly open to Eagan standing near the bed, holding the same stack of folded clothes from earlier.