Page 38 of Dhampira

“Thank you, Sergeant,” he said, darting a look at the guard behind me. “That will be all.”

The man hesitated. “The king—”

“That will be all,” Vander repeated firmly.

The guard bowed and then shut the door.

Vander waited a beat, his gaze intense as he stared at the door. Then he rose, rushed around his desk, and gripped my upper arms. “Corinthe,” he said in a low voice. “What are you doing here?”

All the tangled emotions of the past twenty-four hours rushed into my throat. “You lied to me.”

His mouth tightened, and he tossed another glance at the door. “We can’t talk about this here—”

“Then where?” I demanded, my voice climbing with my frustration. “When? Because if you haven’t noticed, I have to get married in three months!”

With a muttered curse, he pulled me toward a corner of the room.

I struggled against his hold. “What are you—? Let me go!”

“Quiet,” he grunted, maneuvering me into a tight corner made even tighter by his broad shoulders. Bookcases rose on either side of us. Vander kept a firm grip on my arm as he muttered something that sounded like “zid” under his breath.

Blue swelled at my shoulder, and I turned to see one of the books start to glow. When I swung back to Vander, another book on the shelf behind him emitted the same soft blue light. A faint line of blue ran from one book to the other, forming a horizontal boundary that threatened to brush our shoulders. I’d seen it before, I realized, when Vander set the ward in the Wendlewood.

“What kind of magic is this?” I asked.

“Don’t worry about it.”

I jerked from his grip. “More evasion? You don’t need to pretend anymore, Sir Vander. I know exactly what you are. A liar.”

His sharp intake of air was loud in the confined space. He leaned close enough for me to see the individual auburn hairs in the stubble on his cheeks. “I believe I already cautioned you about calling me a liar, Princess.”

“It’s hard not to when you keep lying, Captain.” His nostrils flared, but I plunged ahead. “You said you’d earn my trust. You promised to protect me. You gave me your word as a knight.”

“What do you think I’ve been doing?” he bit out.

I couldn’t stifle my gasp. “You think bringing me here was protecting me? Rasimir is mad—”

“Keep your voice down.”

“—and Prince Lorcan is just like him.”

“You don’t know anything about Lorcan.”

Wait. Was Vander defending him? “You two hate each other,” I said.

Vander’s expression didn’t change. “As I said, you don’t know anything about the prince.”

“I know he drained Alon to death. He ripped away an innocent creature’s life and magic.”

Vander opened his mouth. Then shut it. The red serpent on his chest gleamed like blood against the black leather. The snake’s jaws stretched wide around the skull, which was sewn with the same crimson thread. The skull’s teeth were blunt, with no fangs. The serpent devoured a human, not a vampire.

“It’s complicated,” Vander said finally.

My anger burned hotter. “What I saw today wasn’t complicated. It was murder. And it was dangerous. Drinking dead blood drives a vampire over the edge. Eventually it drives them insane.”

“You think I don’t know that?” Vander snapped.

“I don’t know what to think.” Disgust leaked into my voice. “But you stood there and watched it happen. I was a fool to think you had any honor.” I stepped away from the corner.