Page 22 of Bride of Ash & Dust

No, he’s just trying to make conversation. Out here, where we can’t be overheard. I make a soft noise in the back of my throat, a little purr that he can take as agreement. His hand closes over mine.

“I’m never intimate with people who are drunk or drugged,” he says in that same even voice, as if he were pointing out another path through the garden.

I trip over my own feet, then catch myself. This time, I don’t make a little purr of agreement.

“I dislike drugs,” he continues, with a bit of an edge to his voice.

“After last night,” I reply, “I would have to agree with you.”

He catches my eye, then turns away. For some reason, I remember the look on his face when I told him I loved snakes. Would I have been so bold if I’d known I was talking to him?

We turn a corner, and I can’t help but gasp.

I’ve never seen anything this big before. Of course, a kingdom like Vsenrog would need a massive stable, but knowing something and seeing it are two different things.

This is spectacular.

Exercise rings circle a massive pitched roof just below the garden. Horses knicker and snort as they stick their heads out of their stall doors. The grounds swarm with people pushing wheelbarrows and carrying pitchforks. As I watch, a groom leads a beautiful blood mare through the wide doors.

“I’ll introduce you to the stable master,” he says. “I’ll make sure you are afforded all the privileges I’ve been granted.”

I don’t realize I’ve stopped walking until he takes my arm and turns me toward him.

“I need to leave the city,” he continues in his low, soft voice. “King’s orders. I’m⁠—”

He hesitates. Behind us, a sharp whinny rises in the air. He frowns, and his expression darkens.

“I’m not a prince,” he says. “Not really. Not of Vsenrog, at least. And that means you are no longer a princess. I have no friends inside those walls, and neither do you.”

My mouth hangs open as my mind grasps frantically for a response. And comes up empty.

“Be careful,” he says. “And trust no one.”

With that, he takes my hand and leads me toward the massive stables of Vsenrog.

Chapter 14

Lilias

RACING

“So, you married Zarek,” the woman says, leaning back against a mountain of hay and watching me like I’m some sort of exotic insect she’s captured in a glass. “Well, I’ll be damned.”

I try to stand up straight and smile sweetly. Gods, I wasn’t expecting any of this. Honestly, just a month ago, I thought I’d be marrying Prince Laurance in the Kingdom of Ethiria sometime in the distant, hazy future.

“Yes,” I finally say, when I can’t think of anything else. “I did.”

The woman laughs. “Good luck,” she snaps, like she’s cursing.

I blink. I wasn’t expecting my husband to walk me to the stables, introduce me to a woman named Alia, who is apparently the stable master, and then leave the whole damn city. Without telling me where he was going, or why, or for how long.

“Do you, um, happen to know where he’s gone?” I ask as politely as I can manage.

Alia laughs again. “Honestly, I never ask. Safer that way, you know.”

Great. My smile feels like an ill-fitting mask. Alia narrows her eyes at me in a way that reminds me of what my husband just said about not having any friends.

“He wants me to give you all the same privileges he has,” she finally says. “He must think pretty highly of you.”