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I stood in the hall for another moment and listened to the laughter of the children who had given me such joy only a few moments before. Then I marched towards the stairs, wove through the halls, and paused before the receiving room where guards stood. One reached to open the door, and I shook my head. I needed another moment to steel myself for facing this man who had betrayed me.
He loves you, though.
I winced.If he loved me, he never would have betrayed me.
You know how complicated it is being a prince.
There are lines you cross, and once you have, you cannot return from them.
With that I nodded to the guard and stepped into the room. The afternoon light glowed golden through the chamber. Mother didn’t care for this sitting room—she found it to be too large and ornate to provide intimacy. It was interesting she’d put Lennox in it for his conversation with Veena, though perhaps that was the reason.
Guards lined the wall, and Ishir gave me a subtle nod. It was a comfort for him to stand in the eaves and a reminder that I wasn’t here only for myself but for my people and my family.
Lennox rose. He wore a gray vest that tucked around his trim waist and had a lilac handkerchief in the front pocket.
I faltered a step as I met his eyes, the clear blue of them which seemed a window to his heart and the hurts in it. But if he was elemental as Mother suspected, then he’d hidden plenty from me. I cleared my throat and tucked my hands behind my back. “You wished to speak with me?”
“Yes.” He darted his face towards the dozen guards who stood against the wall, their navy uniforms contrasting against the buttercream paint. “I’d prefer to talk alone, however.”
“You do not get the luxury of making requests.”
Lennox’s brows furrowed, he stepped in closer, and goddess if I didn’t want to touch his body desperately, press my nose against the dip in his neck and breathe him in. “Please, Shaan. This is sensitive information.”
I couldn’t decide if he meant sensitive regarding political information between our courts or sensitive as in delicate personal details we’d shared. Either may be best to keep from the guard—until Mother considered it for the former, or to save myself embarrassment for the latter.
“We’ll have this conversation alone.” I gestured to the guards.
Ishir stepped forward and bowed. “Raja-kumara, if you wish for me to stay, I can be discreet.”
“Thank you.” I met his gaze. “I’ll speak with Prince Lennox alone, however.”
He bowed again, but his expression held more than he’d say publicly. I only needed to utter a single word and the guards would return. He would happily escort me away from here. I gave him a nod as he followed the rest of the guards out of the room. I waited for the thunk of the door before I shifted back to Lennox.
“Out with it. What do you want?”
Lennox’s eyelashes fluttered. “Perhaps you’d like to sit.”
“If you think I came here to offer you tea and have a chat with you like Veena did, you are mistaken.”
“I don’t remember you being this stubborn,” he whispered.
Him speaking like he had a right to intimate details about me left me clenching my teeth. “You saw a side of me you never should have.”
A sheen spread across the crystal of Lennox’s eyes before he bowed his head. It might as well have been an arrow to my heart. I wanted to hold him until our heartbeats matched. This man wasn’t who I thought he was, however. I could not follow my desires in this. I had to consider my people, Mother who waited for a report, our entire court including the children in the school whose lives might be on the line based on decisions I made. Decisions Lennox made.
“What did you need? Or did you just drag me here away from my work to prove that you could do so?”
Lennox straightened his already impeccable vest and raised his chin. “My father will bring soldiers here directly. He means to decimate your troops and you cannot allow them to fight. We must stop them.”
I scoffed. “As I said before, let him try.”
“Did Sai tell you about the metal we have used to line our jail cells?”
I hesitated. The windows behind Lennox illuminated him, making his hair gleam golden. Sai had discussed that with me the night he slept in my room. He said even being near the bars had made him feel sick and his magic difficult to access. Elisa almost fainted after touching it. Prasanna's greatest strength came from the depth of our magic, so it had intimidated him to face an element that could affect our powers so formidably. “He did.”
“It’s rare and difficult to mine, but I suppose my father must have found a better source. He’s making weapons out of it.”
My fisted hands shot open. “You’re certain of this?”
