Page 2 of The Wicked Prince

Her eyes widened, then they narrowed. How quaint. It was a little late for her to be worried about getting caught in a trap. But she nodded.

“Are you certain, Your Highness?” the Sheriff asked, eyeing Robin.

John tightened his fist, showing off his brother’s royal signet specifically and giving the Sheriff a lidded, sharp look. His voice was frozen solid and shook the room despite not being any louder than before. “Are you questioning me?”

The Sheriff immediately signaled for one of his men to take the gag out of her mouth.

It was good to be king. Well, regent.

Robin’s cheeks were still flushed from her screaming. She licked her lips, swallowing as soon as the gag was gone. She didn’t start screaming again, but she was still glaring at him.

“See? Was that so hard?” John leaned his chin on his hand and grinned at her with no substance.

“Get off that throne.”

It was the first time he’d heard her voice in almost six months. Although, the rasping, hoarse quality was likely just because of all the screaming she’d done. Still, it was a wonder they’d believed she’d been a young man at all, given her distinctly feminine, lilting voice. To be fair, stealing didn’t exactly facilitate conversation. And the one time he had spoken with her, she’d tried to disguise it.

John tsked and shook his head. “Criminals don’t get to give orders.”

“There’s only one criminal in this room and it’s not me.”

“Show the Prince Regent some respect!” The Sheriff jerked on the chains, nearly sending Robin face first into the floor, but she caught herself again and didn’t look away from John. She looked at him like she could send an arrow into his heart with her eyes alone. A thrill ran down his spine.

“False kings deserve no respect.” Robin got one of her legs beneath her, pushing herself back up. “And that throne isn’t yours.”

“Well, it’s not like Richard has a use for it while the Esmeans shoot at him. Besides, if they do kill him, then itwillbe mine.” What a fascinating woman she was. “Shouldn’t you be less concerned with my choice of chair and more about your own life?”

“I can do both.” Robin stood up straight, shaking her head to get her hair out of her face. “Don’t underestimate me.”

John grinned. “I’m the first person who didn’t.”

Robin rattled her manacles. “You can talk tough all you want, but everyone knows you’re too much of a coward to risk your own neck.” She strained against them as her lips curled up.

The young woman who looked like she’d been dragged out of a bush stared at him like he was the dirt on her skin. Perfect.

“I bet you won’t even watch when you have someone else execute me.” Her voice took on an airy superiority. “You wouldn’t want to upset your delicate nerves.”

John swung his legs off the arm of the throne and in one smooth motion pushed himself out of it and strode toward her. He tilted his head as he approached. “Who said anything about execution?”

Robin’s brow furrowed and she tried to take a step back, but the Sheriff kept a tight grip on the chain, preventing her even that. Her balance faltered, and John caught her shoulder, steadying her. Her gaze snapped to his and then she ripped herself out of his grip, hitting the floor with a sneer on her lips.

And people thought he was prideful.

They weren’twrong, but still.

“Well, I don’t expect you’re going to let me go with a warning.” Robin looked up at him, her voice still rasping. Her tunic was belted at her waist, wrinkled and as dirt-stained as her breeches. He was going to have to have the servants scrub the throne room floor once they were finished. Had she been rolling around in dirt the whole way to Lathe?

Actually, given the struggle she’d given just on her way in here, that probably wasn’t far off from the truth.

Ugh. He should have had them at least dump a bucket of water on her before bringing her in to see him.

He reached down and grabbed the chain between her cuffed wrists and pulled her back up to her feet. The chain at least looked cleaner than she did.

Robin went completely limp, and John almost lost his grip on the chain. However, one of the Sheriff’s men grabbed her by the back of her shirt and hauled her back up, actually lifting her clean off the ground so she couldn’t do anything to be difficult.

That actually brought her eyes closer to his eye level. Perfect.

John reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of parchment. As he unfolded it, taking care with the edges, he said, “You had to know it was only a matter of time until I caught you when these started appearing all over the kingdom.”

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