he

ealized he was gone. He thought he made sure everyone saw he had taken a fae to his bedroom. It embarrassed him to remember how loud he was about boasting how much he’d enjo

an abandoned inn on their way, and he thought it would be a good place to leave the

, red, nourishing blood that h

ng dark hair all over her face. There was a bad gash above her forehead where one of the guard’s arro

st of his family, like the rest of the empire, who was just fine living off the blood of innocent people. Yes, the Fae had

hief from one of his many pockets, he wiped some of the b

ven more. Why had she wanted the map Gallien stole from his men? It was clear from the collar on the girl’s neck that she belonged to someone powerfu

r closer. She was freezing to the touch. Being so close to her sent h

times in his adolescence before he learned the crucial knowledge that had sent him on this path. He still

and lost it, almost dropping her to the ground. There was something strange in this girl’s blood. It was u

it, and he’d have to go without knowing who it was. This girl would be his

r

er eyebrows, and her arms and legs were impossibly t

sit up, and all the memories of last night came pourin

hadn’t seemed like the tricky type. Now she had no ma

t far from where she lay. Outside she could see the sky beginning to

ver her forehead, she was mostly unscathed. A few scratches here and there from where

happened to Count Thorn held her back despite the incessant tug calling her h

ept down her cleavage. It was a tiny knife that looked like a key.

o

*

she knew exactly where she was. The road wasn’t too far from the castle, but she would have to c

nt Thorn. She prayed he wouldn’t question her too hard about what happened. As she moved, she took off most of her clothes: her cloak,

horizon, just as the grey night gave into a gray morning. A g

there?” he

me! Ar

girl? Are you hurt?” the Hova guard said, l

ast,” she said, waving at

ble for hiding you if you’re up to no good. And methinks

dimwit. I need to get

ncy of the matter. The castle gates were at the opposite side of where she stood, and it’d take her

ng,” the guard said, looking around to see if anyone else was around,

boot into it. The guard pulled her up wi

r foot away from the rope and ran into

rvants and guards alike. They all looked at her with bewil

was Princess Lila or Rena. The others she di

d pulled her wet hair back. One of the few servants who knew about this room had thankfully made su

like she always did. Being without weapons made her feel naked and exposed, even if she had expres

. Taking the tunnel, she rushed to Count Thorn’s office and

Count Thorn’s office, was t