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Oh.
I leaned back against the headboard.
I’d made a terrible mistake.
Arin had told me he’d known I was his enemy from the moment I’d arrived, and I’dbelievedhim. Every word. I knew he could lie, knew he was good at it, but in my arrogance, I’d thought I’d recognize his lies when they were in front of me.
But I hadn’t.
If he hadn’t known about me, then the news would have come as a shock—enough of a shock for the prince to lash out?
But how much did his attacking Draven change things? He claimed to be searching for an imposter. The assassin who had killed the queen. That didn’t ring true now either. He’d lied about knowing me…
Unless I’d been right the first time, and Arin had killed his mother, not an imposter.
No, no, no that wasn’t right. Arin wasn’t a killer. A liar, yes, but not a killer. That was the only true thing I knew about the prince. I’d looked into his eyes, and despite the games and lies, and whatever pantomime he was trying to direct, he could not lie about that.
“Prince Arin vexes me more every day.”
I rose from the bed and paced with Draven’s gaze tracking my every step.
“The Court of War is far more straightforward. But Arin…” I laughed. “Oh Arin, the hopeful Prince of Love. He is trying to play games with me, and I am not one to be manipulated. Despite finding it painfully arousing.” I glanced at Draven. “Forget I said that.”
He shrugged and gestured at his throat,who was he going to tell?
“Arin, Arin, Arin…” Such a contradiction, a riddle.
He’d attacked Draven. I knew that much. But I did not know why. It was time the prince and I had an honest discussion about his motives and what exactly was going on here.
I scooted back onto the bed beside Draven, jostling him over so I could lean against his pillows too. “This is good, I can work with this. You’ve been very helpful. You’re a good listener.”
Draven scribbled on the notepad.PAIN COMING
“Yes, I fear it is.” I side-eyed the Lord of War. Did he mean the courtly pain, or did he mean generalized pain? Both were likely true. “Who told you about me?”
LETTER, he scrawled.NO SENDER NAME
I rolled my eyes. Well, that explained how he could know I was the traitor’s son but not know what it meant. I’d had him right the first time I’d laid eyes on him. Handsome, he’d be a great fuck, but not too bright. “If you want,” I said, “I can finish what we started in the gardens?”
He smiled and wrote:SUCKING COCK WILL NOT SAVE YOU
I laughed at his fine words of wisdom and mirrored his soft grin. “Shame you’ve lost your voice, but then, it’s not like anyone asks warlords for advice, is it?”
ASSHOLE
I hopped off the bed. “Keep the notebook, you’re going to need it. I fear I’m rather between a rock and a hard place. I doubt I’ll be able to help you out of here.”
TRY
“Sad eyes do not work on me, Draven.” I backed away from the man’s impressive attempt at puppy-dog eyes. “I don’t do nice. But hurt me, and perhaps I’ll get down on my knees for you… again.”
He smiled, then wrote one last thing.YOUR NOT ALL BAD
“There’s an apostrophe and another vowel in there, big guy.” I bowed to the lord, as was proper. “If I survive whatever happens next, I’ll finish what we started. Until then, you’ll have to get pleasure yourself. Just imagine it’s my mouth wrapped around your cock. And make it good. You know I never disappoint.”
He soft wheezing laugh followed me from the room.
Now I had a problem. The original problem, in fact. To kiss or kill a prince. Killing him would bring the whole cast of cards down and get me hung, drawn, and quartered. The final act was not mine to make. And despite Arin’s torrent of lies, I didn’t want him dead. He was a spectacular liar. I could appreciate such a skill, one liar to another.
