Page 123 of A Game of Veils

I blink at him, thrown by both his angry demeanor and his vague accusation.

I expected this might be an awkward conversation, but why is he so upset with me already? He’s not even asking what I’m doing here.

Bastien trails behind him, his pace more hesitant but his expression hardening. “Did you think we wouldn’t find out? We tell each other everything—everything important.”

Now I’m even more lost. I step away from the wall, uneasy with the sense of being cornered. “Find out what? What do you think is going on here? Lorenzo mentioned the passages in the walls, and I wanted to?—”

Raul’s voice turns even harsher. “He ‘mentioned’ it because you fucked all the good sense out of his head. Did you just figure he was the easiest target? Seduce the one with the softest heart and then stomp all over it?”

Well, now I know what Lorenzo told them. My own irritation sparks. “I haven’t stomped on anything or seduced anyone. If anything, it’s been the other way around. Or have you forgotten how many attempts you’ve made at trying to entice me into bed?”

Raul stops a few paces away, glaring down at me from his full imposing height. “I haven’t forgotten—I definitely haven’t forgotten how you acted like you were offended by the thought. But Lorenzo was fair game, wasn’t he? Get him head over heels for you so he’d spill all our secrets.”

Understanding snaps into place, fueling my own anger.

I narrow my eyes at him. “You’re pissed off because I gave him what you wanted. Does he know you think you’re so much more deserving than he could possibly be?”

My gaze jerks to Bastien, who’s still standing there stony-faced. “Is that what’s eating at you too? I’m not allowed to dally with any of you unless I dally with all of you?”

He winces, but his expression doesn’t soften. “You did dally with all of us, as far as I’ve gathered. But with the two of us, you were careful not to let it go beyond a kiss or two. It does seem rather strategic.”

“Strategic?” I glare at both of them. “Do you seriously think I risked Emperor Tarquin’s wrath to find out more about Lorenzo’s gift and a few secret passages, neither of which I had any idea he could tell me about? How does any of that information help me at all with what I’m here to do? Is disappearing from my bedroom going to win the trials for me?”

Raul folds his arms over his chest. “You did come running straight here to investigate, it appears.”

“Yes, straight here, several hours later.” In which time, it appears my lover already found plenty of time to gossip about our interlude.

With a twinge of pain, I drop my gaze. “I don’t suppose it occurred to you in all your strategic thinking that I might have felt more comfortable with Lorenzo because he’s the only one who never hurt me? He never sabotaged me in the trials or stole from me or made me ill. Any idiot could see why I’d be more cautious getting close to the two of you. Although considering he apparently ran straight to you to brag about his victory, maybe I misjudged him too.”

My retort seems to stun both men momentarily speechless.

Bastien lifts his voice first, still strained but without the hostility it held before. “He wasn’t bragging. And he didn’t come to tell us. He was practically radiating happiness all afternoon, and it took some badgering before he admitted why. And mainly then because he thought we should know what he told you.”

“Ah.” A thread of relief winds around my heart. I might still end up regretting this morning’s fantasy of freedom, but I’d rather not. “That much is fair.”

Raul has dropped his hands to his sides. “I haven’t done anything to hurt you since you proved you were on our side.”

“I don’t know why I had to prove that in the first place, given our positions,” I mutter.

“Well, if you dislike us so much for it, why toy with us at all? Why pretend you’re tempted if you know you want nothing to do with us?”

“I didn’t pretend—” I cut myself off with a growl, not sure what I can say that will actually soothe his temper.

I never thought that giving in to my feelings for Lorenzo might mean ruining whatever amity I’ve forged with his fellow princes. If Raul continues to think I’ve wronged him somehow, will he go telling stories to the emperor about my indiscretions?

If he knew the truth…

I pause over that thought, rubbing my hand over my face as if I can settle my mind that way. I don’t even want to look at the full truth of the situation that’s brought us here.

Maybe that’s the only salve that can heal the wounds I’ve inadvertently dealt, though.

Raul and Bastien think I didn’t trust them enough. It’s made them believe they can’t trust me after all. I could turn that assumption around with just a few dangerously honest words.

Raul told me I was more shepherdess than lamb, but every dedicat of Elox knows that sometimes vulnerability can win battles that a firm hand won’t. My show of weakness when they stole my ring defused some of their hostility before I’d ever started to earn their loyalty.

I can play the lamb to win them back.

In my hesitation, Bastien clears his throat. “I never demanded anything from you. You kissed me first.”

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