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I curl onto the chaise, drawing the blanket around me. It’s thin and does little to help with the cold here, but it’s something between me and him, between me and the world. A pathetic shield, but it’s the only one I have.
His words just solidified that the first chance I get to escape with Sable, I will take it.
“So I’m trapped in here,” I say, the words flat. “So your men don’t treat me like a juice box? I’m a prisoner in this room.”
“A guest,” he corrects, though there’s no warmth in his voice. “One I’m protecting at considerable inconvenience to myself.”
“How generous,” I snap bitterly. “What happens when we find Sable? What do you want from me then?”
He smiles, the gesture not reaching his eyes. “One problem at a time, little mage.”
The endearment, if it can be called that, sends a chill through me. Little mage. Not little human. Not mortal or girl. Mage. The word itself could be a death sentence in most kingdoms.
“I’m not—” I begin, but the lie dies on my tongue. What’s the point? He knows. Denial will only make me look weak, foolish.
“You are,” he says simply. “And if anyone else discovers it, they’ll kill you. Or worse, sell you to the highest bidder. Lycans particularly enjoy hunting mages for sport. So yes, you’re confined to this room for your own protection and mine.”
He moves to sit on the edge of the bed, when it occurs to me that, once again, this room only has one bed.
“Where do I sleep?” I ask.
“The bed. Where else?” His tone suggests this should be obvious, as though we’re travel companions instead of captor and captive.
“No.” The word comes out sharper than I intend, but I don’t retract it. I may have little control over my circumstances, but this, at least, is a choice I can make.
His eyes lift slowly, something dangerous glimmering in their depths. “Then the floor.” He gestures dismissively to it.
“I’ll take the chaise.” I pull the thin blanket higher around my shoulders, already feeling the chill seeping into my bones.
A flicker of irritation crosses his face, but it’s gone as quickly as it appears, replaced by that mask of indifference he wears so well. “Suit yourself.”
I watch as he settles against the pillows, a book already in his hands. When did he get up? I didn’t notice him carrying it. But then, vampires move too fast sometimes for human eyes to track. The thought makes me shiver, or perhaps it’s just the cold.
“How long until we reach the first kingdom?” I ask. I need to know how much longer until we can search for Sable, how much time has already been lost.
His eyes flick to me briefly, then back to his book. “Morning.”
We’ll arrive by morning to search for Sable. Maybe she’ll still be at the docks, maybe the paperwork will have delayed her sale, maybe . . .
“We won’t search until sundown,” he adds.
“Why?”
A quiet sigh escapes him as he closes the book partway, one long finger marking his place. “Because I need permission from the king. I’ll send a guard with a message.”
“Can’t you just . . . I don’t know, use your royal authority or whatever?”
His mouth tightens. “Arriving unannounced will send the wrong message.”
“What message? That you’re looking for a human girl?” I can’t keep the frustration from my voice. “What does that matter to a king?”
“It matters because of who’s looking,” he replies evenly. “King Xavian and I have a . . . complicated history. Arriving in his territory, even for something as seemingly insignificant as retrieving a human, could be interpreted as a provocation.”
Politics. While my sister suffers, I’m caught in the web of vampire and demon politics. The unfairness of it makes my throat tight with rage.
“What if Sable is sold before we arrive? What if she’s already gone?”
“If she’s there,” he says evenly, “we’ll find her. We aren’t certain the ship carrying her was headed there. And if she was sold, I’ll find her location, as long as the paperwork is in order.”
