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“You behave as if you expect violence from me at every turn,” he commented, taking the towel from me. “I know my kind can be . . . unpredictable, but have I behaved in a way that would give you pause?”
I swallowed.
He looked over at me as he drew the towel across his chest. “It’s an honest question.”
“Well, you did take me to the ground that night in the barn and threaten to drown me in your blood.”
“I was not quite aware of myself at that moment.”
“And when I first entered your bedchamber, you held me against a wall,” I continued.
One eyebrow rose. “The bedchamber you entered uninvited and unexpected.”
I shifted my weight from one foot to the next. “You asked why I’d expect violence. Those were just two examples.”
“Just two?” he replied. “There’s more?”
I glanced at the tub. “I did come here under false pretenses.”
“Yes,” he said. “There is that. Are you to speak with the Baron upon leaving my quarters?”
“I’m to meet with him in the morning, before he speaks with you.”
“What will happen if you have no real information to provide him?”
“Nothing.”
He lowered the towel, his stare piercing straight through me.“Na’laa.”
“I do not like that nickname.”
“You would if you knew all the meanings.”
I gritted my teeth as he continued to wait for an answer— for the truth. “He will be . . . disappointed.”
“Will he punish you?”
“No.” I looked away, uncomfortable with the idea that he would think that. Uncomfortable with the fact that I’d expected it from him. “He might not even remember sending me to you, to be honest.” That was unlikely, but there was a sliver of a chance. “He was quite intoxicated.”
A low rumble radiated from the Prince. My gaze shot back to him, my eyes widening. There was nothing remotely human about that sound. It resembled that of a . . . a wolf or something far larger.
“Tell him I’m not here to collect tithes,” he said, turning from me as he drew the towel around his waist. “That I’m here to discuss the situation with the Iron Knights. That should be enough to tide him over until I can speak with him in more detail. Do not tell him you confided in me. I will not speak a word of it.”
My mouth dropped open in shock. His pardon— and that’s what his silence regarding telling him the truth truly was— was unexpected. Yet again, he was unknowingly saving Grady and me.
He nodded, walking from the bathing chamber. “You seem surprised.”
“I suppose I am.” I trailed off, following him. “I didn’t expect you to tell me or . . .” Or for him to cover for me. I cleared my throat. “I also hadn’t expected it to involve the issue with the Iron Knights.” I watched him pour himself a glass of whiskey. He looked back at me, and I shook my head at the offer of a drink. “Is that the kind of information you were seeking when you were here before?” I asked, heart lurching as I thought of Astoria. “Does the King believe that Archwood is somehow sympathetic to the Iron Knights?”
“What I came for before is unrelated to why I’m here now.” He faced me, the towel knotted at his waist and the edges of his hair damp. Tiny drops of water still clung to his chest, drawing my gaze as they traveled down over the dips of his stomach. “And the situation regarding the Iron Knights has changed.”
I started to ask why, but my eyes met his and I fell silent. My skin tingled with awareness. The sense to drop the conversation slammed into me, and this time I listened to it. I glanced around his quarters, my hands going to the sash on the robe. I wanted to thank him for making sure I bore no consequences for what I had taken part in this evening, but I had to choose my words wisely. “I . . . I appreciate you telling me why you have come to Archwood.”
Prince Thorne inclined his head in what I assumed was acknowledgment.
A keen sense of nervousness invaded me as he stared. “If there’s not anything else I can do for you, I should be on my way.”
He stood silent, watching me.
