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“We can discuss this once we reach the palace. For now, you should rest,” he said, with a heavy sigh. “I have some business to attend to, but I will not be far.”
A rogue pang of disappointment went through her body, and she flinched, backing away from him. “I…Iamtired.”
“Mina,” he called, grabbing her by the wrist as she moved away from him. “If you want more, all you have to do is ask.”
Her eyebrows reached for her hairline, and she swallowed hard around the sudden lump in her throat. She couldn’t give that strange coil of desire a voice. Could she? It would be a betrayal of everything she’d been raised to believe in, but where her head and heart said one thing, her body demanded another.
Mina exhaled slowly. “I just need sleep.”
He let her go, and gave her a respectful bow, retreating toward the entrance of the tent. “Then sleep well, Princess. There is a water basin by the bed that you can use to clean yourself, I’ll return later.”
She opened her mouth to thank him, but before the words could form, he was gone. Leaving her alone to face the chaos in her mind.
She knew she had to run, but her body was truly exhausted. She’d never get far in such a state. Her mother had lived just long enough to teach her that much at least.Sleep, and figure the rest out in the morning.
She knew that was the best idea, but still, a small panicking voice at the back of her mind insisted she find a way to leave. She had to get out before she was too far from the border to find her way back. The vampire’s kingdom of darkness was a complete mystery to her people. No one had ever come back after they crossed into the mists. Not alive anyway.
Stripping her clothes away, she stood naked before the washbowl, unashamed of her body, and dipped her hands into the cool water, scrubbing herself as clean as she could, and then weakly slipped beneath the furs into the bed.
Sleeping naked was bold, but she didn’t have any of her other clothes, or the strength to care. Her eyes drifted closed the instant her head hit the pillow. She’d think of a way to escape once she was rested. At least that’s what she told herself as she drifted into dreamland.
