Page 68 of Untamed

Thank you, Ancient One.I filled my lungs, tickled by the foreign teakwood and coconut aroma clinging to my dance partner.

Zichri leaned down a fraction. “Don’t worry, I’ll get my regular scent back soon.” He winked at me.

I resisted a grunt. How did he always catch me sniffing him?

We continued our round, shifting our hips to match the beat and spinning on cue. Movement caught in my peripheral vision when King Sebastian got to his feet behind his high table. Dozens of couples stopped along with the music. Men in black doublets embroidered with a white double moon entered the dining hall with full confidence marked in their postures. The man at the front of the new party looked familiar. He held his arrogant square chin high, and his steady dark eyes with long lashes scanned the room.

King Sebastian lifted his arms, palms up. “Friends, welcome.”

Zichri turned his neck and whipped his head back around. “I’ll explain later. We must leave.” He pulled me along as he sped over to Minerva who covered her face with a hand.

She pointed toward the balcony arches, and Zichri kept a firm grip on my hand as he led me across the room. The crowd filled in the open space as we slunk between them. I craned my neck toget a better look at the newcomers, but Jaime and Laude slipped behind us, blocking my view.

King Sebastian crossed the dance floor, separating us further from my brother and Monserrat who had been on the other side of the dance circle. Zichri, Laude, Jaime, and I escaped onto the large empty balcony.

Minerva waved a hand over the dark empty corner. Ripples marked the air, as if the space had become liquid. “Get your things. I’ll meet you—”

Lucas rushed out onto the balcony. “I’ll take Cosme.”

“Where are you taking him?” I asked.

Laude hopped into the liquid air and vanished.

I gasped.

Jaime rushed afterwards. He disappeared.

Minerva called to Lucas. “We’ll wait aboardLa Lavia.”

Zichri signaled for me to step into Minerva’s creation, and I rocked on my heels. The hairs on my neck pricked with terror. What was happening?

“We’ll get your trunks and be off to the ship,” Zichri whispered.

“Why?”

“That, Princess, was my brother Prince Hugo. We have our answer, and he’s not exactly keen on keeping me alive.”

I steeled my nerves and rushed into the void.

Chapter 28

Beatriz

Rushing air tugged atthe corners of my dress as a force yanked me forward. My boots landed on the hardwood floor within the corridor of my guest suite in the palace of Aracibel. Torches cast long shadows in the corners of the decadent passageway. Hugo’s dark eyes burned in my memory. He must be the Black Prince. His presence could only mean that he’d prepared the way for the death of Giddel. My brother’s execution. My death.

Laude swallowed me in a hug. “Prince Cosme?”

Zichri landed a step behind me, boot catching on my heel. He righted himself before tumbling. “Let’s get your trunks.” He swung open the suite door and lugged my trunk out.

“I’ve got Laude’s.” Jaime grunted and dropped the garish trunk on top of mine.

Minerva arrived, curls fluttering, cheeks flushed. Her brown eyes appraised our heavy luggage. “Is there any more cargo?”

“See, this is why I prefer to sleep on the ship over a palace.” Zichri’s ardent nod gave him a boyish appearance.

“The rose bath was terrible and so were the petal soft linens.” I kept a flat tone. “True torture.”

“That’s how they get you to feel in your element before”—he snapped his fingers—“they trap you.”

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