Page 101 of Bound to the Shadow Prince

“Does she know about us?” I continue.

Again, the knife is motionless.

“I am wrong,” Nemeth says in a soft voice, squeezing my waist. “My apologies,milettahn.”

“And you?” I accuse back. “Were you reporting back about me?”

He’s silent.

The knife is not. It shivers in my grasp.

Chapter

Fifty-Three

Oh. Nemeth has been reporting back about me to his people.

I let out a shaky breath. Hurt makes my chest tight and I stand up, wanting to get away from him. “I see.”

“My life is not my own,” Nemeth says desperately. His arms go around me, holding me against him. “Listen to me, Candra. Listen. Too many others have a say in things. Just because I am here does not mean that I am in charge of my life. All of Darkfell watches me, just like all of Lios watches over you.”

He’s not wrong. How many times has Erynne tried to push her wants on me? How many times did she explicitly state that I needed to kill Nemeth? “I understand, but…it’s hard to hear that.”

“My heart,” he murmurs, his green eyes desperate as he meets my betrayed gaze. “Mymilettahn. It is true I sent them reports of you in the beginning. Bare details enough to keep them satisfied while allowing me to feel rebellious. But as I grew to care for you, I have sent them less and less. My last report was some time ago.”

“Is that true?” I ask the knife.

It shivers.

I relax a bit with that. “Do you truly love me?” I ask. “Or is that a lie?”

He looks wounded at my doubt. “I love you, Candra. Of course I love you. Why would I ask you to be my mate if I did not?”

“Does he love me?” I ask the knife, and I’m pleased when it shivers in my grasp.

“I am not your enemy,” Nemeth tells me in a soft voice. “I meant it when I said that you and I were in this together. You are my mate, my heart, my comforting darkness.” He strokes my cheek, his eyes full of emotion. “I love you, and I mean it when I say that I came into this tower with secrets, but it has changed me, just as I think it has changed you.”

I lick my lips and then nod. He’s right. We come from warring peoples. Of course they’re going to want him to spy on me and report back. I’m surprised Erynne didn’t ask me the same. Then again, my sister asked me to kill him, so I suppose there would have been nothing to spy upon if he was dead. “I’m with you,” I reassure him. “We will find a solution together.”

“Together,” he says, and kisses me, his lips soft and coaxing on mine.

And because I’m in love, I adore that kiss as much as I adore every kiss he gives me. He’s right. I’m not the same person that I was two years ago, who entered this tower defiant and anxious to escape. I’ve changed. It’s ironic that I would happily stay in this tower with Nemeth forever, given that we had the appropriate amount of supplies.

That’s the real problem here, not Nemeth. I kiss him back and then nip at his lip. “You’re going to need to prove that devotion between my thighs later.”

He chuckles, pressing hungry, insistent kisses to my face and throat. “Later? Not now?”

“We have the knife out,” I say, even though my will is faltering under the onslaught of his kisses. Gods, he’s good with that mouth of his. Even now, he tugs at my clothing as if to undress me. “Might as well use it to figure out our situation.”

Nemeth groans, pressing his forehead against mine. “Right. You’re right, of course. Ask it about our supplies.”

I hold the blade out again, so he can see the reaction to my questions. “Have we been forgotten?”

A shiver.

I make a sound of distress in my throat. “How in all the gods’ forgotten names did they forget us?”

“Something must be going on outside,” Nemeth says, his arms tightening around my waist. “Something terrible enough that sending food to us is no longer a priority.”

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