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“So you’re thinking, with the stakes so high, why should you trust a stranger?”
“Exactly.”
“I’m about as untrustworthy as they come.” He lies back on the mattress, clasping his hands behind his head. “But our deal was, you tell me why you’re crying, and then I’ll leave. So until you confess, sweetheart, I’ll be right here.”
“I really will call for a guard,” I say.
“Do it then. I doubt he’ll hear you from his post at the end of the hall. These rooms are soundproof, sweetheart, to conceal the screams of sorrow or ecstasy from within. But if the guard does come, I’ll inform him that you’re hiding some dreadful secret. I’m sure he can summon a royal inquisitor who will dig that secret out of you in no time. There’s one inquisitor I’ve heard of who favors something called the ‘pear of anguish’—have you heard of it?”
“No, and I don’t want to.” I scoot off the bed, knotting my robe tighter. “Come on, pervert. Out with you.”
There are no weapons in the room—I’ve looked. The only thing that might serve as a weapon is the gilded hairbrush I used earlier, which has a relatively pointy end to the handle. I snatch it from the dressing table and march back to the intruder.
He chuckles. “What do you plan to do with that?”
“Smack you. Stab you. Otherwise encourage you to get your ass out of here.”
“You’re threatening me with a hairbrush?”
In answer, I smack his thigh with the back side of the brush. I’m a girl who loves to eat, but I also work damn hard, and I’m strong. I don’t think he expects the wallop I deal to his leg, because he yelps in surprise and sits up, clutching his thigh. “Ow!”
“Get up and get out!” I smack the other leg, then his hand. “Go!”
He clambers off the end of the bed to get away from me, and I land a particularly solid smack to his bottom.
“Would you settle down?” He holds out both hands in a pacifying gesture. “This is not how I wanted to—ow! Stop it!”
“Then leave,” I hiss.
“Tell me the other reason you were crying.” There’s no trace of a smile on his face now. “We made a bargain. Fulfill it, and I’ll go.”
I stand there panting, flushed, feeling the crinkle of the tears that have dried on my cheekbones. “The King only wants girls with magic. He wants a powerful wife as queen.”
“I’ve heard as much.”
“Well… I don’t have magic.” The words leave me in a rush. “My brother lied. He swore to the royal guards that I have powers of transmutation—turning one thing into another. He said I can turn straw into gold.”
The man laughs, then sobers again, peering at my face. “Oh, goddess… you’re serious. And they believed him? Straw into gold? Really?”
“They believed him. And now I’m stuck here. I can only hope they’ll test a bunch of the other women before they get to me.”
“No such luck for you, sweetheart,” he says. “Straw into gold? The moment the King sees that ability on the list, he’ll be wildly aroused with greed. I wouldn’t be surprised if they test you tomorrow.”
“Oh goddess.” A wave of faintness passes over me, and my heartbeat kicks into a terrifyingly fast rhythm. “What am I going to do?”
All of it crashes onto me at once—the titanic shift in the course of my life, my fear of being raped or killed, my anxiety about Prain—everything. I’m gasping, yet I can’t seem to drag in a deep, satisfying breath. My dizziness spikes, making the room spin, slanting the floor—I can’t keep my balance. I turn toward the bed, intending to lie down, but I can’t seem to find it… I’m tilting, swaying, toppling over…
The stranger leaps up and catches me. He doesn’t strain or exclaim at my weight, which is gratifying. He’s broad and muscled, and for a second I’m glad of that strength.
Until I realize that his hand is cupping the underside of my right breast, squeezing ever so slightly.
“Pervert,” I gasp. “Aren’t you supposed to be a eunuch?”
“It’s rude to ask about someone’s parts,” he counters. “Now, listen to me. You’re panicking, and you need to breathe. Come on… deep breath, sweetheart.”
I inhale, my chest and stomach swelling against his powerful arms.
“Mmm,” he rumbles, his voice a masculine purr in my hair. His hold on me tightens a bit, and for a second I think I feel something hard against my bottom. But then he pulls away hastily, leaving me confused and flushed, yet somehow able to breathe again.
