Page 45 of The Crimson Walls Of Algorath

He chuffed. “You proposed to me, in a way. You offered your hand in exchange for my assistance in keeping…him…alive.”

Him. Azriel. She had not done any of it for the half-vampire. She had done it for her sister, for if he had died…Ariadne would have, too. And Emillie was certain it would not have been figurative. She had been surprised her sister had not done something more brash following his arrest.

“That is true.” Emillie nodded once. Why pretend it to be anything but what he knew it to be? “That does not mean it cannot become something more.”

Something sinister slithered through his inky gaze. He devoured her with a single glance, then said, “I do not believe you wish for it to be more.”

“Is that so?” She watched a stone skitter ahead of them, kicked by her toe as they moved languidly along the path. Her heart picked up its pace as surely as the rock clacked to a standstill. It hammered behind her ribs as her companion edged closer and closer to the truth she had worked so hard to veil.

The Lord Governor’s mouth twitched. “You are quite the prize amongst Caersan men as the sister of the Golden Rose and daughter of the Princeps.”

A shift in the conversation that made her head spin. “So I have been made aware.”

“Yet you never actively sought the attention of anyone this Season.” Alek raised a black brow, though he did not appear questioning. In fact, he merely seemed to search for confirmation.

“A Caersan lady does not search for what is owed her.” The words rolled off her tongue before she could temper them, the phrase a common one her governess once used. She had never agreed with such a line of thinking. As though her very existence meant others should be subservient to her desires.

Alek chuckled and dipped his chin at a passing lord. Returning his attention to her, he said, “If anything, I recall you rather enthralled by Hyacinth Hooke.”

Fuck.

Emillie’s cheeks warmed. That had not been what she expected from him. Not then. Not ever. “She is a dear friend.”

“She is beautiful.” He glanced at her, his lips curling at the corners. “A wonderful dancer and has a lovely laugh.”

The first time Emillie met Hyacinth, they had not yet transitioned, though were close. Emillie had been in her mid forties and Hyacinth no older than fifty. The Caersan’s kinky, golden hair had stood out in stark contrast to her ebony complexion—the perfect balance of hues complemented by any dress or jewelry she wore.

Though Emillie had not realized it then, she had been quite enamored by the woman.

“Her future husband will be quite lucky,” she said with a weak smile. What was the point in hiding her dissatisfaction when he had already seen through her guise?

Then her breath caught. If Alek had so easily spotted her true nature, how many others had as well? Perhaps her father already knew of her preference for women, and that was why—

“You are quite good at hiding it.” Alek cut through her thoughts, tangling them more.

“Excuse me?”

He gave her a subtle nudge. “You and I were friends once, remember?”

A very long time ago, interrupted by his transition into adulthood, his position as the Waer Province’s Lord Governor, and his steady descent into the rumor mill’s darkest corners.

“Of course,” she said, doing her best to claw her way into understanding his roundabout way of thinking.

“I do not care who you take to your bed,” he said, at last speaking plainly. “So long as you remain discreet and uphold my family name.”

Emillie gaped at him for a long moment. “What?”

His black eyes glittered. His voice dropped even lower as he said, “You can sleep with any woman of your choosing. Just do not let the rumors get out of hand.”

As if he were one to lecture about rumors getting out of hand.

“Lord Nightingale, I—”

“Am I wrong to assume?”

She did not know how to respond. On one hand, she should uphold her guise by denying his accusations. On the other, he did not seem upset about her preferences. If anything, he seemed intrigued.

When she did not speak right away, Alek slowed to a stop and shot a glare over his shoulder—a silent warning to Sul to stay away. “Unless I am incorrect and you are so very eager to see if any gossip around me is true.”

---