Page 16 of Vow of the Shadow King

“To what?”

“To guarding Princess Faraine during her stay in Mythanar.”

My brother considers this for some moments. I know better than to hope he’ll let the matter drop, however. “You’re punishing her,” he says at last.

“See it as you will.”

“You shouldn’t, Vor.” Sul stops, turns to face me. His expression is uncharacteristically serious. “She doesn’t deserve it. You know she doesn’t.”

I fold my arms, set my jaw hard. “Hael had one task to accomplish: make certain I did not carry the wrong bride across the boundaries of the worlds. A task she failed.”

Sul mimics my stance, arms crossed, chin tucked. “As I remember, it was you who climbed into bed with the girl without checking first. Hael didn’t make you toss off your trousers and—”

“Nothing happened between Princess Faraine and myself.”

My brother snorts. “And has nothing continued to happen? Because from what I’ve heard, the princess is no longer in the holding cell where she belongs.”

“No. She is where I can be certain she will be safe. She must remain alive until I can decide what’s best to be done with her. Hael is the best person for that job.” I tilt my head slightly. “If you have a problem with that, you may as well come out and say it.”

Sul’s lips curve in a smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes. But he says only, “What I have a problem with is a malodorous monarch. Come! Let’s deal with the most pungent matter at hand, shall we?”

Relieved to have the topic dropped, I allow my brother to guide me to the bathhouse door. We step inside into the warmth and steam. Servants appear, help us out of our garments, and we move into the hot spring water. Taking seats on the submerged benches, we rest our heads back against the lip of the pool. Sul holds his tongue for the time being, much to my relief. Sometimes my brother is capable of surprise. Slowly, my muscles begin to relax. I feel both stress and impurities purging from my pores.

“I saw signs of a stirring when I was coming back,” Sul says after a time.

I grunt. My eyes are closed. I don’t care to discuss city matters just now.

“Any serious damage?”

“No.” I sigh, wait a moment, then add, “The palace foundations are strong, and reports from the lower city have all been positive—”

The words have scarcely crossed my lips when I hear it: a high, trilling giggle. I open one eye. The atmosphere in the room is so dense with roiling steam, I can scarcely make out my brother’s form across from me in the bath. “Sul?”

“It wasn’t me!” he protests.

Movement in the water. I turn, peer into the steam. A soft, warm body presses up against my side. I whip my head around, and stare in shock at the naked woman seated on the pool bench beside me. She’s young, lovely, with a delicate, almost demure face, which contrasts starkly with the voluptuousness of her figure. She smiles at me and flutters her eyelashes shyly even as she trails a hand across my chest and down my abdomen.

I grip her wrist hard. She gasps, and I push her back. With a growl, I wave steam from my face, only to see my brother grinning at me from across the pool, flanked by two more naked women. One of them toys with the tips of his pointed ears, while the other giggles and bats at his hand as he tickles her under the chin. “What is this, Sul?” I demand.

“What do you think it is?” Sul eases back into the water, snugging an arm around one of the girls even as the other drops kisses on his cheek, his neck, his shoulder. “You’ve not eaten. You’ve not slept, you’ve not bathed. And according to you,nothinghas happened between you and your little bride, which leads me to think you’ve not—”

“And I’m not about to!” I push the girl’s hand away again as she tries to catch and cup my cheek. She pouts prettily and sits up on her knees so that the water is no higher than her navel, displaying her large breasts directly in my line of sight. My mouth goes dry. Quickly, I avert my eyes. “Sul, you know perfectly well I don’t . . . I don’t hold for bathhouse girls or their work.”

“And whyever not? They are an industrious lot. Come, Vor, let the poor girl do her job. She’ll scrub your neck for you if you like. I swear, you’ve never been so clean!”

The girl, voiceless but insistent, runs her fingers along the back of my neck and shoulders. I shiver, pulling away and yet . . . my gaze drags back to her revealed form. Gnawing hunger gapes in my gut, a hunger which has gone unsated since my disastrous wedding night. A hunger which has only grown since I discovered Faraine in the crystal garden. I look at the girl again. This time I let my gaze linger. She is not Faraine. But she is here. And she is soft and warm and so very willing.

She slides closer to me. One long leg drapes in my lap, hooks behind my knee, pulls me toward her. She leans in. I close my eyes, let myself envision Faraine’s face. I let myself believe it is Faraine’s breath which tickles my ear, warms my neck. Faraine’s hand which cups my cheek, turning my face toward hers. Faraine’s lips planting against mine, forcing my mouth open, tangling our tongues. Faraine, Faraine,Faraine . . .

“No!”the roar bursts from my throat. I yank back and push the girl so viciously, she falls off the water bench with a screech and a splash. “Vor!” Sul shouts, sitting upright. The two girls with him both let out screams and scramble from the pool, their naked bodies glistening. I surge up from the water in a stream of foam, snatch up a nearby robe, wrap it around my body. The fabric clings and does nothing to hide my arousal. Enraged, I stagger to the door, ignoring my brother’s voice as he shouts after me.

The cold air outside the bathhouse hits like a slap. I gasp and sag against the wall, shuddering, breathing heavily. Pressing my fingers into my eyes, I try to drive sense back into my brain. But I can’t. When my eyes are closed, I see only her.

Her.

Faraine.

Lying on the bed, her gown askew.

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