Page 145 of Dhampira

Lorcan pulled trousers over his hips, and I suppressed a groan of disappointment. When he faced me, I snapped my eyes up and tried to ignore the heat that flooded my face.

His gaze stayed completely respectable as he shrugged into his shirt and jacket. Crossing to the washstand, he ran a brush through his hair before gathering it at his nape and twisting it into a neat queue.

The heat in my face streaked to places it wasn’t supposed to go. My heart thumping, I tugged the sheet to my chin and held it there. Never in a hundred years would I have imagined being aroused by a man doing his hair, but I couldn’t deny the signs. Lorcan could have snapped his fingers, and I would have trotted across the room and helped him with his—

“Corinthe?”

He’d turned from the stand, and he stared at me, sunlight outlining his broad shoulders.

A sudden realization struck me: He was outside the ward. But I wasn’t.

I dropped the sheet and stretched my arms over my head. My breasts lifted, and my nipples puckered as the room’s cool air caressed them. “Yes?”

Lorcan’s eyes moved down my body and then slowly back up. When they reached my face, two spots of color burned on his cheeks. “You should get up,” he said tightly. “The king sent word. We’ll train as usual today.”

The mention of Rasimir snuffed my desire as surely as someone pinching the flame from a candle. I yanked the sheet to my chin. “All right.”

“Meet me in the corridor,” Lorcan said. Without waiting for a reply, he stalked to the door and yanked it open, not quite slamming it behind him.

Twenty minutes later, dark thoughts plagued me as we strode through the Drakhold. The fortress was quiet, with just a handful of yawning servants moving about. Undoubtedly, the courtiers slept off the night’s excesses. But the evening would bring new excesses. It always did.

Morning sunlight set the forest aflame as Lorcan and I passed through the courtyard. One look at Delphine, frozen on her pedestal, and my mood plunged deeper, the happiness I’d felt in Lorcan’s arms vanishing in the harsh light of day.

Lorcan didn’t appear to notice, and he didn’t speak in my head as we moved through the forest. Maybe the gift had faded.

Maybe we were both destined to die horrible deaths at Rasimir’s hands—but not until he got what he wanted from us. He’d made it clear that he wanted me to produce magical children to further his line. Possibly I was already pregnant. The thought slammed into me with so much force that I yelped when Vander stepped from behind a tree.

“Zid,” he said, and the Everless appeared around us. His red brows drew together. “What’s wrong, Corinthe?”

“Nothing,” I said quickly. “I just don’t like that walk.”

“Can’t say I love it, either.” Curiosity hovered around him as he looked from me to Lorcan.

Lorcan moved around the fountain, his gaze sharpening. “What’s that?”

Vander and I turned. A soft yellow glow spilled from the nearest temple.

“Careful,” Vander called as Lorcan neared the steps. By the time Vander and I caught up, Lorcan was inside with his sword drawn.

But no enemy greeted us. Instead, the temple was transformed, its white marble walls whole and sparkling. Carpets spread over the floor, and several were decorated with plump pillows. More pillows lined the headboard of an enormous bed draped with sheer purple fabric. Tall, golden braziers crackled with fire that threw off a light, intoxicating perfume. But the most startling feature was a sunken bath.

Steam rose from the surface, which was covered with pink rose petals. More braziers stood at each corner. A wooden stand carved in the shape of a faun held small glass bottles filled with liquid in a rainbow of colors.

A scroll appeared in the air. Lorcan swung toward it, Dark Dream at the ready.

“Wait,” Vander said, springing forward.

Lorcan tensed. “Don’t”—Vander snatched the scroll from the air—“touch it,” Lorcan finished on a sigh.

Vander shot him a defiant look as he opened the scroll and read. “To Corinthe of Nocta, congratulations on your union with the dragon king and Vander. Thought you could use a proper place to celebrate. Your devoted servant, Ruvien Ulanorin, Duke of Vestra, Lord of the Sea Isles, Son of the First Star of Sarys, Master of Ceremonies, and Queen’s Stablemaster. P.S. No strings attached. This one is on me.”

“Duke?” I asked.

Vander frowned at the parchment. “Lorcan gets dragon king, and I’m just Vander.”

Sheathing his sword, Lorcan cast a skeptical look around the temple. “I don’t trust it.”

Vander snapped the scroll shut. “You mean you don’t trust Ruvien.”