Page 85 of Savage Elites

“You’re changing.”

“Like Corrine?”

“Angrier.”

“I think it’s frustration.” A lump formed in my throat. “Sometimes, I wonder if I’m keeping this whole thing alive by pursuing justice.”

“If you didn’t fight back, your persecutors would ensure a death of some kind.”

“Huh?”

“That sweetness that radiates through your eyes has turned into righteous fury.”

“Is that a good thing or bad?” I asked.

“Either version of yourself wants to do what’s right.” He sighed and placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. “Don’t give up. I’ll stand by you all the way.”

My heart thudded, and a breath caught in the back of my throat. Of all the kings, he was the most distant. The one I couldn’t reach. To discover that he had observed me so closely was both eye-opening and flattering.

I raised my chin and gazed into his glistening, ebony eyes. “What happened to the Prakash who wanted me to leave?”

“Retreat is no longer an option,” he murmured. “The more you defend yourself, the more of a difficult target you become.”

I lowered my lashes. “Thanks. Sometimes, I felt hopeless. Like I’m being selfish somehow for wanting those people who hurt me to be punished.”

“Never think that.” He laced his fingers into mine. “You haven’t done a thing to deserve these people’s wrath, yet they keep coming after you.”

“The police are getting sick of me,” I whispered.

“They’re doing a crappy job in protecting you.” He swept the hand on my shoulders around my back and pulled me into a hug. “Come to my room, and I’ll make you a soothing blend of Kashaayah tea.”

Chapter 20

As we walked through the hallways, I stole glances at the most mysterious of the kings. My memories of the day we had spent together still hadn’t resurfaced, but according to Leopold, we had been getting along exceptionally well.

And more importantly, there was something about Prakash that tugged at my heart. A feeling that he cared more deeply about me than he could ever express. He opened the door to the nearest stairwell, releasing the scent of beeswax polish.

“I suppose you know a lot about tea,” I murmured for want of anything else to say.

“It’s been the family business since the days of Queen Victoria. We’ve had centuries to perfect the perfect cuppa.”

“Oh.”

While Prakash explained that all tea came from the same plant, Miss Claymore’s parting words to me in her office reverberated in my mind. She’d told me that Prakash had seduced Corrine, broken her heart, and driven her to her death.

Swallowing hard, I dipped my head, continued up the stairs, and listened with half an ear to Prakash talk about tea. Miss Claymore had told me Corrine had confided that she had become a nuisance to the wrong person. Had she been talking about Prakash?

“The blend I will share with you contains white tea,” he said. “We pick young buds before they open and dry them without processing.”

“Is it as healthy as green tea?” I asked as we reached the top of the stairs.

Prakash opened the door to the top floor hallway and talked about a scientific study his father had commissioned to measure the phenols and polyphenols in their white tea.

I nodded at the right places and forced myself to focus on the conversation. The time for sneaking about behind his back and learning about him through Corrine’s diary was over. Whoever had burned my things had cut off all options. I had to get the information from the source.

As soon as he opened the door to his room, I placed a hand on his arm. “What happened between you and Corrine Gibbons?”

Inhaling a sharp breath, he walked to the other side of his room, where a kettle and teapot rested on a cabinet. “I can’t talk about it sober.”