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“Fucking spies among my friends,” I said with a laugh, shaking my head. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, as that was why I hired you in the first place. Call me Vasile, or we’re going to have problems. Yes, as a matter of fact it does have something to do with the young lady. Princess Valeria is very important and it’s no exaggeration to say that she may well currently be in mortal danger. I have to leave, and I have to leave her here. But I want you to take care of her. You’re the only person I trust with this. Once she wakes, anything she wants—anything at all—you get for her. I don’t care how much it costs, just do it. But Daniel, you must not reveal that she’s here to anyone else. I mean it. Anybody at all comes here, the top priority is to keep her presence a secret. You have my permission to use deadly force if you have to, and we’ll deal with the consequences when I get back.”
He nodded. “You know I have your back. Today and always.”
“Good man. Now I’m going to saddle up, I have a long ride ahead of me.”
CHAPTER 16
Vasile
My mare and I made kick-ass time through the forests; it was no small distance from Bellemore Manor to my father’s house, but the heavy snowfall on the low lying ground had left only a light dusting on the higher paths and my horse was used to such footing.
I considered going straight to the old man himself, but there were two things I knew I had to do first. Inhaling hard, I found I could still smell Valeria’s juices on my skin.
It also gave me some satisfaction that Petre would never, ever know that sweet, sweet scent, but in order to keep her safe, I needed time.
The wedding was scheduled for tomorrow, so I’d need every second of today to get my shit together and plan for what was to come. Most of all, I needed to know my enemy’s situation: if Petre suspected anything amiss with Valeria, I’d see it on his face instantly. Which meant, un-fucking-fortunately, I needed to stop by to see him in his private chambers first.
Jabbing my heels into Vela’s belly, we thundered down the valley. Even as I approached the estate, I saw things were already underway for the wedding tomorrow. There was an artist on a ladder out in the freezing cold, painting the new crest on the stone shield above the main entrance. Our family insignia, a sickle with three stars, sat now on a purple background, rather than red; purple for the royal blood that Valeria carried in her veins, and that Petre would use to his advantage as her husband.
I always thought that the family crest looked like the night sky, the sickle like the moon, and now its purple background only seemed to make that connection stronger.
Presumptuous little fucker, I thought as I slung my leg off of my mare and hopped off before she even came to a full stop.
As I entered the house, I saw that the new crest was just the start. The place was decked out for the wedding reception, and servants bustled around, hanging purple bunting edged in gold from the balconies around the main atrium.
The old butler, an ancient guy named Ivan, greeted me at the door.
“Sir,” he said, with an exhausted blink. He took my coat from me and dusted off a few snowflakes before carefully hanging it over his forearm.
“How’s everything?” I asked him. “Are your knees still giving you hell? I assume my brother is in his chambers?”
He smiled sadly. “They’re alright, sir. Shouldn’t complain.”
I clapped him on the shoulder warmly. “So, where is he?”
“Asleep, sir,” Ivan said, walking beside me toward the main staircase. “Or, perhaps I should say, he hasn’t yet left his rooms. Will I be seeing you tomorrow, sir?” Ivan asked hopefully. “For the wedding?”
I narrowed my eyes at him. What I really wanted to say was, There’s not going to be a wedding. I fucking guarantee it.
But instead I said a gruff, “Sure,” and ran up the big staircase, taking the steps two at a time.
Rounding the corner to the hallway that led to my brother’s quarters showed me that he hadn’t spent the night alone. A thin girl, sallow and pale, was showing herself out of his bedroom. She wore a silk robe and it hung off her like she was nothing but a skeleton. I shouldn’t have been fucking surprised.
He was a lecherous prick and there was no reason why a wedding would have him change his ways. But even though she was mine, the idea of him going behind Valeria’s back pissed me right the fuck off.
The girl heard my footsteps coming and spun around to face me. I recognized her, but only barely. I’d seen her once before, last holiday season when I’d returned home to spend a fortnight with my mother and father, but back then she looked a fuckload healthier than she did now. She looked so different that it took me a second to remember our previous encounter, but her eyes hadn’t changed: dark brown, sad, mournful. And now she was showing off a brutal black eye and a swollen lower lip.
