Page 33 of Crown of Slumber

Fenn frowned for a moment. “I’d also feel a lot better if you swore you wouldn’t try to kill me.”

I scoffed. “Really?”

“I mean, I swore to protect you, so it’s only fair.”

With a groan, I added, “And I swear not to hurt, maim, or attempt to kill Prince Fennick. I also swear not to instruct my dragons to hurt or kill him, at least until our bargain is fulfilled.” I glared at the prince. “There. Satisfied?”

He smiled. “Very. Consider our bargain struck.”

“Our bargain is struck,” I echoed.

Heat burned between our palms, singeing my skin. I hissed in pain but clenched his fingers more tightly in mine, knowing it was only sealing our bargain. Steam rose from our clasped hands, and the blood between us scorched my flesh. I bit down on my lip to keep from crying out, and Fenn’s grip tensed in mine as he fought the pain as well.

At long last, the heat subsided, and I dropped his hand, lifting it to inspect my palm. I’d never struck a blood bargain before, but I’d heard of marks appearing when the bond was solidified.

Sure enough, as I flipped my hand around, I saw a small black swirl circling my middle knuckle. My breath caught in my throat as I inspected it. It was so faint it almost wasn’t visible. But it was there, forever etched into my skin.

A permanent reminder of this dangerous agreement between me and the Midnight Prince.

I knewthis bargain was a terrible idea. But it was the only sure way to get what we both wanted. What we bothneededfor our kingdoms.

Mother was no fool. She would see right through our ruse.

But the kingdom wouldn’t. To them, it made sense for a royal to accept a marriage contract with a princess from another kingdom. Even if that kingdom had been our enemy for centuries.

I did this for them. It would improve my image to my people. And perhaps one day they would refer to me as the prince who saved them instead of the prince notorious for seducing women.

Aurelia kept shooting me scathing looks as she packed our belongings, attaching them to a clip on the saddle strapped along Mal’s back. I’d managed to grab my saddlebags from the stable. Somehow, Romulus, my horse, was still awake—clearly, the sleeping enchantment only worked on people, not animals—but Aurelia insisted flying would be faster.

“We’ll need horses once we reach the border,” I pointed out, remembering her claim that the dragons had to stay in the Summer Court.

“Yes, and I have a contact in Florien who can get us horses,” Aurelia said in a clipped tone.

My eyebrows shot up. “You have contacts in the Autumn Court? I thought you hated the other courts.”

She snorted. “No. Just your court.”

Fair enough.

“Here.” She shoved a warm, lumpy towel into my hands. When I glanced down at it, I saw several slices of fresh bread wrapped in a small cloth.

I blinked at her. “What’s this?”

“You know, for a royal, you aren’t very smart.” She smirked. “I would have thought you’d recognize bread when you saw it. Unless you don’t have that in your kingdom.”

I rolled my eyes and bit into the warm, soft bread before groaning in satisfaction. My stomach rumbled in acknowledgment.

“I figured you were starving,” Aurelia muttered, her gaze fixed on the ground.

“Why would you care?” I asked between mouthfuls of bread.

“I may not like you, but I’m not heartless,” she snapped. “Besides, it was going to waste anyway. The kitchen staff had just baked it before… well, before all this happened.”

“This is warm,” I pointed out, my tone accusing. Between our visit to the witch lands and our blood bargain, there was no way the loaf had stayed warm for that long.

A blush bloomed across her cheeks. “I might have put it in the hearth for a few minutes. But it was purely selfish. I wanted it warm before I ate my share.”

“Hmm.” I tore into another bite of bread, enjoying the way the buttery softness dissolved on my tongue. “Well, it’s very good. Your staff are quite talented.”

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