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  “Lady Vera,” Damian said, his deep voice traveling across the room. “I hope that you were able to rest and recover from your journey.”

  “The room you gave me is very lovely indeed,” she said as she glided toward the only empty chair, across the long table from Damian. It was a place of honor, but it also put her as far away from the king as possible. She lifted an eyebrow but didn’t comment as one of her guards pulled out the chair for her. The other man lifted her napkin and laid it across her lap after she sat down. Once she was settled, Damian reseated himself as well.

  The servants immediately brought out the first course, a fruit salad tossed with lime and honey. Damian leaned back in his chair, his posture one of nonchalance. But I could feel tension rolling off him in waves as he began to eat.

  Vera glanced up at the man in the black and white robes. Some sort of silent communication seemed to pass between them, and after he gave a slight nod, she finally lifted her fork and took a hesitant bite of the fruit.

  “I wasn’t expecting such a large gathering,” she said after her second bite. She looked up at Damian and gave him a brilliant smile. Then her gaze slid past Damian, to Rylan just for a brief moment. Without moving my head, I glanced at him and noticed his stance relax and his lips turn up slightly as though he was holding back a smile. When Vera turned back to Damian, his shoulders relaxed slightly as well, and I wondered what expression was on his face. I couldn’t see it from behind him. Her beauty seemed to have quite the effect on the men, and I had to suppress another surge of frustration.

  “The palace is abuzz with your arrival,” Damian finally responded. “I had so many requests from the members of court to dine with you tonight, I was forced to turn the majority of them away. These are a few of my closest advisors and their guests from the royal court. They wanted to see if you are as beautiful in person as it had been rumored from those who saw your arrival.”

  “And? Do you find me to be as beautiful as you were told?” Her question should have been addressed to the rest of those seated at the table, but her eyes didn’t leave Damian’s.

  Damian sat up taller in his chair and leaned toward Vera. “Though I saw you earlier, I had convinced myself that you couldn’t truly be as beautiful as I remembered. But seeing you now proves me wrong. You are even lovelier than my memory served.” He took his wine goblet and lifted it to her in a salute.

  Vera’s smile was radiant as she took her own goblet and lifted it back. The others at the table hastily grabbed their glasses and joined in the impromptu toast. The young women who had been whispering about me weren’t giggling anymore as they took sips with everyone else in tribute to Vera’s beauty.

  “I heard that there was an … unfortunate event following my arrival earlier today.” Lady Vera’s voice was the perfect tone of innocence, but I stiffened, wondering how she’d heard about the attack — unless she’d had something to do with it. True, the entire palace was probably buzzing about it, but I’d hoped the servants and staff would have known better than to gossip about it with anyone from Dansii.

  “Nothing you need worry about. It was a minor disturbance and was quickly dispelled.” Damian waved his hand. “As are all threats to me or my nation.”

  “It must be so comforting to have such confidence in your safety and that of your people.” Again, Lady Vera’s voice was perfectly innocent, but I shivered inwardly at what I perceived to be a hidden threat in her words.

  Damian didn’t respond right away, choosing instead to take a bite of fruit. When he’d finished chewing, he changed the subject. “Would you care to share the message you brought now?”

  “Let’s enjoy this lovely meal with our eager audience first. Pleasure before business, as they say.” Lady Vera smiled coyly at the king.

  “All right, let’s eat first,” Damian agreed.

  I had to force myself to stare at the wall instead of glaring at Vera.

  After the first plates were cleared away, the servants brought out the main course. It appeared to be some sort of fish with a mango puree artfully drizzled on the top and a garnish of fresh herbs. The smell was tantalizing, but I had no appetite as I listened to Damian flatter Lady Vera, complimenting her on her dress. Her eyes flickered to mine as she used her fork to cut herself a bite of fish, the smug expression on her face making me want to grab her plate and dump it in her lap.

  When the door burst open and a servant ran into the room, everyone paused, including Lady Vera with her fish halfway to her mouth.

  “Stop!” he shouted. “Don’t eat it! Poison! It’s poisoned!”

  SOMEONE GASPED AND one of the younger women spit out her food. But my gaze immediately dropped to Damian, who had already brought his fork to his mouth. Before I could even think through what I was doing, I dove for him. I grabbed his wrist and knocked the fork out of his hand, splattering Duke Tussieux’s wife with flaky bits of fish and bright orange mango. She screamed and jerked back, but I didn’t care. My only thought was to see whether he’d already eaten any or not.

  Damian stared at me with wide eyes, his hand now empty, hanging in the air, with my fingers still encircling his wrist. Our faces were only a foot apart. My chest heaved with fear — and a sudden awareness of how close we were.

  “No, not the king’s,” the servant said, and I jerked back, letting go of his wrist. “It was Lady Vera’s taster. The poison was delayed — he just collapsed.”

  I spun around to see Lady Vera drop her fork, her skin even more pale than normal. “Mine? Someone poisoned my food?”

  “Did you eat any?” I asked as her guard leaned forward to shove the offending plate of fish away from her.

  “No,” she said, pressing one trembling hand to her bosom. “No, not yet.” Her voice quavered. “Is … is he dead?” She looked up at the servant who had brought the warning, and he shook his head. I thought of the poor man in the kitchen. Apparently, Rafe had reason to be afraid after all — though I couldn’t quite believe it.

  “I don’t know, my lady. I was sent to warn you the moment he collapsed. He’d tasted the fish at least ten minutes ago, so it was deemed safe.”

  “Rylan, fetch Lisbet and ask her to tend to the taster immediately.” Damian stood up next to me. “I expect the palace to be searched and the kitchen staff questioned. It is unacceptable for an esteemed guest to have come so close to tragedy.” His voice was sharp as he barked out orders. “Lady Vera, I apologize most profusely for this shocking turn of events.”

  “I hadn’t thought my presence so unwelcome.” Her voice still trembled, but as Damian continued to issue orders, I noticed a fleeting glance between her and the man in the black and white robes. It was so quick that I almost missed it. For that brief instant, the horrified expression on her face slipped. But when she turned back to Damian, the fear in her eyes and the way her hands shook seemed genuine enough. Was I so jealous of her that I was imagining things — or was something going on that we were missing?

  “If I may retire to my room, Your Majesty. This has been most upsetting. Perhaps it would be better for me to deliver my message to you in private at a more convenient time.” Lady Vera stood as Damian nodded.

  “Yes, of course. Again, I apologize. My guards will not rest until we’ve found the culprit.” Damian inclined his head to Lady Vera, who dropped into a deep curtsy.

  “Thank you, Your Majesty. After all, I’d hate to think that you had anything to do with it, King Damian.” Lady Vera’s words were honeyed, but I noticed the thread of steel in her voice.

  Damian stiffened next to me. “My lady, I can assure you that I had nothing to do with this.” His voice was cold. “I hope that you might rest well this night, and I will send for you in the morning so that you can deliver your message. I’ll also have the chef prepare a new dinner for you that he will personally deliver to your rooms, to ensure the safety of the food. Our healer will send word as soon as we know the fate of your taster.”

  Lady Vera stood tall again and smiled sadly a
t Damian. “Thank you for your concern. I had grown fond of him over the last couple weeks of travel. The poor man.” With a shake of her head, Lady Vera signaled her guards. “Until the morning, then.” With a sweep of her voluminous skirts, she turned and exited the room. As soon as she was gone, I noticed Damian’s shoulders sag slightly.

  “I apologize for cutting this dinner short, but I need to ask the rest of you to return to your rooms.” Damian glanced around the table at the rest of his guests, who had watched the entire exchange with frozen expressions varying from shock on the older guests’ faces to curiosity on two of the younger girls’ faces. The third looked so pale I was afraid she was going to pass out. Everyone hurried to rise at Damian’s dismissal and bowed and curtsied as decorum dictated, then left. Duke Tussieux’s wife took her napkin with her and was still trying to wipe the mango stain off her dress as she trailed behind her husband.

  “General Ferraun, a word before you go,” Damian asked as the general also stood to leave.

  “Of course, Your Majesty.” He was a tall, broad man, with graying hair and steely gray eyes. General Ferraun had been stationed at the front of the war, along the border between Antion and Blevon, for the last few years, but Damian had sent word for him to return to the palace soon after being crowned king. He’d only arrived recently, and I still didn’t know very much about the general, other than what I’d seen and heard from him today after the attack. But Damian clearly trusted him.

  “There’s no need to stand on such pretense when we’re alone,” Damian said, sitting back down in his chair heavily. “Not from the man who taught me how to wield a sword when I was barely even able to lift it with two hands.”

  I looked at the general with new interest. So he was the one who taught Damian how to fight?

  “You are the king now, Sire. And I will address you as such — whether in front of the people of Antion or alone in your quarters. The mantle of a king never leaves his shoulders.” General Ferraun’s expression was an interesting mix of concern and sternness.

  Damian sighed, and I couldn’t keep from glancing over at him. His face was drawn and he appeared to be exhausted.

  “And we are not actually alone,” the general continued.

  I looked back up to see him watching me.

  Damian also looked up, glancing around the now empty room until his gaze landed on me, still standing at attention a few feet away from him. Our eyes met for a brief moment before he turned back to the general. “Oh, you mean Alexa. You may speak freely in her presence. There is no one in the palace whom I trust more than her.”

  My heart skipped a beat at Damian’s words. Despite his recent coldness to me — despite my own harsh words to him — he still felt that way?

  General Ferraun’s expression was inscrutable as he gazed at me in the light of the hundreds of flickering candles that had been lit for the now ruined dinner. “I see” was all he said.

  I wondered what, exactly, it was that General Ferraun saw. His pointed scrutiny cut through me. Before, his attention had been focused mostly on Eljin, but now that it was aimed at me, I had to consciously square my shoulders, rather than cower before him. Damian had chosen an appropriately intimidating man to lead his armies.

  “I have no idea who would have attempted to poison Lady Vera,” Damian said, bringing my attention back to the immediate problem at hand. “And I’ve never heard of a poison that has a delay like this one supposedly did. Will you personally look into the matter and report back to me?”

  “Of course, Sire. I will bring you word as soon as I discover anything. And I hope that we might be able to meet tomorrow to continue our earlier discussion.”

  Damian nodded. “Yes, of course. I believe I have time immediately following breakfast. Assuming no one else is poisoned before then.”

  General Ferraun nodded grimly, then saluted Damian and turned on his heel to march away but paused to give me one last hooded look before going.

  When the general was gone and the door shut behind him, Damian dropped his head into his hands. I stared down at his dark hair, acutely aware of the fact that we were completely alone. It was the first time since he’d come to see me as I recovered from my wounds. When he’d told me he loved me.

  For the next couple of weeks after his coronation, he had treated me with kindness — he’d sought me out, tried to speak with me alone. But I’d rebuffed him again and again, even though it hurt me as much, if not more than him. Until, finally, over the last few weeks, he’d backed off. Grown cold again. I still wasn’t sure which was worse — having to reject him over and over or having him treat me with icy indifference.

  I stood at attention, forcing my hands to stay motionless, even though I wanted to reach out to him — to brush the hair back from his forehead. To cup his face and stare into his eyes until everything else faded away. The hopeless dreams and wishes that I could usually force into the dark recesses of my mind, except in the stillness of the night, surged up, washing over me in a wave of longing.

  “She’s very beautiful, isn’t she?” His quiet question broke into my thoughts.

  Heat suffused my face. Here I was dreaming about touching him, and he was thinking about Lady Vera.

  “Yes, Your Majesty.” My voice was practically strangled as I forced out the words. Embarrassed, I cleared my throat, hoping he’d think I’d just had something stuck that made me sound so odd.

  Damian looked up at me sharply. “Do you suppose her purpose in coming is to engage my interest?”

  The intensity of his vibrant eyes was almost more than I could bear. Why was he asking me this? He lifted one eyebrow when I didn’t respond right away. “I couldn’t say what her purpose is, Sire,” I responded quietly. Once, he and I had shared our darkest secrets with each other. Now there was a void between us that made me afraid to even tell him the truth about my concerns. A void of my own making. “Not yet. But that does appear to be at least one of her goals.”

  “Yes … it does, doesn’t it? And how would you feel about having a Dansiian noblewoman as your queen? It would strengthen the alliance between our two kingdoms quite strategically, would it not?” His gaze never wavered from mine; his expression was almost fierce as he stared into my eyes. His questions hit as though he were stabbing me; I could hardly tell where the pain his words caused me originated from — my heart, my belly, my head? All of me hurt at the thought of him marrying another — especially Lady Vera. But it was I who had told him that he must do exactly that.

  Willing my voice to be steady, I responded, “I would respect your decision and know that you had chosen what was best for yourself and the nation of Antion, Your Majesty.”

  “Alex, don’t you dare do that to me.” Damian stood up to face me, shoving his chair back so forcefully it crashed to the ground. I flinched but didn’t move. His expression was thunderous as he stalked forward, closing the gap between us, so that only a foot separated our bodies. Half of me yearned to throw myself into his arms, and the other half screamed to back away, to put distance between us. Instead, I held my ground. My heart beat painfully beneath my ribs, slamming against my lungs and making it hard to breathe normally.

  “Did you not want me to agree with you, Sire?”

  “Enough, Alex! Stop using my titles. Stop acting like you are nothing more than my guard.” His eyes flashed with anger, and his hands clenched at his sides.

  “But … I am nothing more than your guard.”

  “You and I both know that is a lie.”

  Despite how weak my legs felt and the way my body trembled, I stood tall. “No, it’s not,” I said, and I couldn’t keep the sadness from my voice. “You just asked me if I thought Lady Vera was beautiful, and I won’t lie to you. She is absolutely breathtaking. But be careful. I don’t believe we should trust her … yet,” I added, just in case he ever did decide to marry her. The thought of standing guard over him, knowing he would be going to her at night, was more than I could bear. If he chose Vera for his wife, I w
ould resign my post — promise or no promise. But he didn’t need to know that.

  A muscle in Damian’s jaw stood out and he closed his eyes, as though he were fighting an internal battle. “The first time we’ve been alone in … too long … and I’m wasting it by fighting with you.” He opened his eyes and the anger was gone, replaced by such a deep pain and longing that my heart lurched, and it was all I could do to stay still, to keep my hands motionless at my side. Everything in me cried out to reach for him, and it took every ounce of willpower I had to resist.

  “I could have died today, if you hadn’t reacted so quickly.” He took that last step and closed the gap between us so that our bodies nearly touched.

  “It wasn’t just me,” I said, my voice slightly breathless, much to my chagrin. I knew I should step back. I should put space between us. Do it now, I told myself. Now.

  But I didn’t — couldn’t — move.

  Slowly … hesitantly … he reached up, pausing just before his fingers would have brushed my cheek. His hand hung in the air, shaking ever so slightly. My eyes burned and I squeezed them shut to keep him from seeing the truth of my feelings. There was a charged moment of silence, of nothing — no words, no sound, no touch …

  And then his fingers finally brushed my skin, so softly it made me shiver. My breath caught in my lungs. The heat of a need I’d been denying for a month raced over my skin and made my entire body tremble. I wanted nothing more than to turn my face into his hand, to have him take me in his arms and —