Page 29 of The Sorrow of Shadows

“How am I supposed to keep my people safe from Prudia when I can’t even keep them alive within their own home?” I ask softly. If anyone understands how I’m feeling, it’s Nolan.

He pulls me into a firm hug and whispers, “This is not your fault. You’ve proven you’re worthy of your position, so don’t you for one second doubt the decision your father made. There’s something else going on here, you just haven’t figured out what yet. But you will.”

Nolan’s reassurance doesn’t fully assuage my guilt, but it does lighten the load. In my father’s absence, Nolan is a comforting presence. I spent almost as much time with him growing up as I did my parents. “You sure have a lot of faith in me.”

He steps back and looks me in the eyes. “I better. I fucking trained you.”

We both chuckle at that. “I should probably get some clothes on now that I’m almost dry,” I say.

“Yeah, you’re probably right. We can’t have the guards getting distracted by their general waltzing around naked, can we?” he teases.

“I’m notcompletelynaked. You try getting into leathers while soaking wet. It’s physically not possible,” I retort.

“Excuses, excuses,” he admonishes. “Now get going, and I’ll get to work figuring out who the servant was.”

I bid him farewell and make my way inside. Once I’m back in the castle, I pull the shadows of the hallway around my body, essentially creating a robe made of darkness. The royal wing is on the opposite side of the castle from where I entered, so it takes me a while to return to my chambers.

Mentally, I’m exhausted and just want to hide in my room for the remainder of the evening. I owe Aurelius an update, though, considering I believe the most recentdeath to be connected to his attempted poisoning. I don’t have the energy to track him down, so I pray he’s in his room as I raise my fist to his door.

He opens on the third knock, an irritated look on his face. “Can I help you, Princess?” he huffs.

I cock a brow at him and fold my arms across my chest. The shadows move and twist around me like a living thing. His eyes narrow as he notices for the first time that I’m not exactlydecent.

“I have something you need to know, but not here. Care to let me in?” I ask as sweetly as I can muster.

“Care to put some clothes on first?” he quips.

“Not particularly,” I say, refusing to budge.

After a few moments, he groans and relents. “Fine.”

I follow him in, letting the door click shut behind me. He walks to the desk in the corner of the room and pours a healthy measure of spiced rum into a glass. I inch toward him, trying to decipher why he seems so bothered right now.

I drop the leathers I’m carrying on the ground and stop directly in front of him. He narrows his eyes at the clothing on the floor, then turns the glare to me.

“Am I disturbing you, Lord Aurelius?” I challenge.

“That’s one word for it,” he says, taking a long drink of the amber liquid.

I snatch it from his hands and down the remainder of the rum. Setting the glass on the desk behind us, I cock my head to the side. “Now, here I am trying to share pertinent information about your would-be murderer and I’m somehow botheringyou.”

His hand darts out, wrapping around my throat, but doesn’t squeeze. I swallow hard as his other hand reaches out and moves right through my shadow robe. He caresses my waist softly, letting his hand finally rest on the small of my back. “How did you expect me to react when you showed up at my door, practicallynaked? My restraint when it comes to you is impressive, but I’m still male.”

I can smell the spices of the rum on his breath, and it makes me want to reach out and taste it. I want to find out if the liquor tastes the same on his lips as it does from the bottle, to see if the rum is as intoxicating as his presence.

“It didn’t seem like your restraint was all that impressive when you pinned me to the wall and made me come with your Gift.” A warmth hums low in my belly at the memory of how hard I came to ruin at his will. I bite my lip, lost in thought at what he could do with more than just his hands.

“Oh, little demon. You’re playing a dangerous game. If I had let my restraint snap that night, I would have had you bent over this desk, fucking you until you forgot you aren’t supposed to want me.” His words make the heat in my belly grow, my clit thrumming between my legs.

“I don’t want you,” I say, but my words fall flat.

His lips quirk in a half-smile. “I can smell how much that isn’t true. Now quit lying and get to why you’re here.” He shoves me back, releasing my neck.

“We found another body,” I start. “A palace servant.”

“Any idea who it is or how it’s connected to me?”

“We’re working on identifying the body right now. Her throat was slit, and she had been left in the river behind the castle. By the looks of it, she’d been there several days.”

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