Page 81 of Dhampira

“Don’t punch me again,” he said.

I twisted from his grip, irritation flaring when I realized he’d let me. “I wasn’t going to,” I said, “even though you deserve it.”

He studied me, his eyes narrowed as he appeared to consider his response. “You’re right,” he said finally. “But it couldn’t be helped.”

“You couldn’t help yourself? Someone made you scale the castle wall and jump over my balcony? Someone forced you to put your—” I clamped my mouth shut. “You touched me,” I said, hearing the hurt in my voice and hating it.

His jaw tensed. “I siphoned dead blood from you. Desire is a side effect.”

The Everless rushed back. “You siphoned dead blood from Lorcan. Did you make him feel desire?”

“I couldn’t say how Lorcan feels.”

“That’s a lie.”

Vander stepped toward me. “I’ve told you before, Princess, to use caution when you accuse me of deceit.”

I stood my ground, the ward’s blue glow staining my skirts. “Lorcan drained that acrobat tonight. He doesn’t know how many more gifts he can steal before he goes mad. Why didn’t you track him down and siphon him?”

“He knows what he’s doing. You’re vulnerable and inexperienced.”

And easily manipulated. Vander had laid a trap, and I’d walked right into it. The moon had soared higher in the sky since the time he entered my chamber. It poured through the balcony doors now, drawing my gaze to the prongs of the merman’s trident just visible above the balcony’s edge. When I looked at Vander, he watched me with bright, silver eyes.

Dangerous, just like the tiara. Just like the hairbrush. Why was I forever touching things that burned me?

“Do you know what I think?” I asked.

Slowly Vander shook his head.

“I think you lie like you breathe, Sir Vander. You want me to fight your war? Don’t put your hands on me again. You won’t win me over by pretending to want me.”

His lips parted. Then something like resolve gleamed in his eyes. In one of his lightning-fast moves, he seized my hand and pressed it to his groin.

My stomach dropped. His jacket had hidden his erection. But it was impossible to miss now. He was as big between his legs as he was everywhere else. And he was ready to rip through his pants.

Vander leaned forward, his bulk blocking the moonlight. But his eyes outshone it as his voice rasped in the tense space between us. “It’s hard for a man to lie about this.”

I swallowed.

Our eyes held. Vander’s dipped to my mouth before he released me. Then he gathered his crystals and strode to the balcony. Slipping through the doors, he vaulted the railing and dropped out of sight.

17

Ishot upright in bed, birdsong ringing in my ears and fragments of a dream floating in my head. The woman on the throne had looked at me again.

Are you a tool or a blade?

The bird outside sang louder, its chirping as bright as the morning sunlight slanting over the bed.

Instinctively, I looked at the doors. They swung open seconds later, and Delphine swept inside with a vase of fresh flowers in her hands. She stopped, her silvery curls swinging around her waist.

“Do you control the birds?” I asked, tipping my head toward the balcony.

Delphine hesitated.

“Never mind,” I said, leaving the bed. “What’s on the agenda for today?” I bit my tongue before I could ask if we were doing eviscerations or just the usual beheadings. As I bent over the washstand, Duncan’s face swam in my mind. Shame followed, and I gripped the edges of the bowl as a lump formed in my throat. I couldn’t let myself grow flippant about the death I’d witnessed—and partaken in. That would make me no better than Rasimir.

Delphine swapped the dead flowers for the living ones. “Prince Lorcan will be along shortly, Your Highness. His Majesty would like you to continue your training.” Frowning at the balcony, she crossed the room and pulled the doors more firmly shut. “These stick sometimes,” she said. “We’ll have to be more careful with them.”