Page 118 of Bride of the Midnight Prince

“Yes—I understand that. But why this route? Why this scheme? You’re a clever girl. You wouldn’t do something this extreme without good reason. So tell me, Lady Vandermore, what this good reason is.”

He says it all so calmly, but there is just the slightest edge to his tone that betrays his anger.

For a second, I consider telling him that my motive was to kill him to avenge my mother’s death. But I am no killer, and he knows that. “I had to hide in a place where they would never find me. Some place here in Harbright where I could stay hidden until my twenty-first birthday.”

“Why?”

I itch the back of my neck. “Because the terms of my inheritance are that if I remain unmarried until the age of twenty-one, the money reverts to me, and not to my husband. If I married before I was twenty-one, my husband gets the money.”

He massages his chin, a furrow appearing between his brow. “So, this elaborate scheme was for the sole purpose of claiming your inheritance.”

“There were several purposes!” I snap.

“Then enlighten me.”

“It’s hard to do so when you’re staring at me like you’ll bite my head off if I give the wrong answer!”

Rahk leans back in his chair, one hand resting on his thigh. “Better?”

“Hardly!”

“Would you find it easier to talk if we snuggled up in bed together?” He nods his head toward the bed a few feet away.

The cruel remark makes me shove to my feet so quickly I knock my chair over. It hits the ground with a thud. I put as much distance between us as I can manage. When that isn’t enough, I take up pacing. All while Rahk remains seated, watching me with that dreadfully unfazed expression.

“I didn’t know how to avoid the marriage. I needed to be able to stay in town so I could claim my inheritance the day I was due it. I have friends and acquaintances, but I did not feel like I could ask any of them to hide me away from my stepfamily. Perhaps there were plenty of alternatives I could have chosen, but I didn’t have much time to develop an elaborate plan. This was what occurred to me, and seemed to best accomplish what I needed.”

Rahk nods, offering his satisfaction on the subject. I nearly let out a sigh of relief that he accepted my explanation. But we’re far from being finished with this conversation.

“Did you lie about your mother being lost to the Long Lost Wood?”

I shake my head adamantly. “No—well, that is, I lied about the timeline of it. But everything else I said was true. Even the age I was when she was lost.”

“So it is true that Mary is your sister?”

I grimace. “No. That is, she was hired to be my companion when I was younger. When my stepmother and her daughters came into the picture, Mary was reassigned as a house maid instead of my companion. She’s like a sister to me, but we do not share blood.”

He shakes his head, tinges of frustration coming through. “Why did you not confide in me? I would have protected you.”

That elicits a burst of laughter from me. “Yes! Yes, let me run away from my stepfamily and find refuge among the fae who imprisoned and tortured my mother! Yes, let me confide all my secrets to one of their lethal warriors!”

He actually looks taken aback. “After all I have done for you, after all the time we have spent together, do you still believe I intend you harm?”

I throw up my hands, aggravated that he doesn’t seem to understand my situation at all. “Don’t you see? Your intentions never mattered! Yes, it’s true that you’ve been kind—more than kind—to me, butyou are a fae! Why would I show up on your doorstep and beg you to keep me safe? Do you hear how ridiculous that sounds? How far out of my mind I would have to be to do that?”

“I’m not suggesting you should have told methen,” he replies, at last struggling to keep his composure. “You could have told me at any point after that. Or did you really think I would turn you out on the street?”

“What does it matter?” I cry. “You’ve clearly known for ages that I am a woman! I am a fool for not realizing it sooner.”

His fingers flex, then curl into a fist. “I was trying to give you the opportunity to tell me of your own will. I worked very hard to avoid forcing your hand.”

I stop pacing, my gaze shooting to his.

His expression has cracked slightly, revealing an underlying sadness that shocks me. “I wish you would have confided in me.”

My gratitude at his unexpected gentleness is swept away yet again by frustration. He still doesn’tunderstand. And he won’t entirely, because I cannot tell him that I know he hunts me. I growl and rip at my short hair. “But you are afae! You arescary! I knew you were kind to Nat, but I didn’t know if that kindness would extend to someone who had lied to you. You’ve only validated my concern by the way you’ve behaved since discovering my identity! You’ve been nothing but terrifying, refusing to look at me, then looking at me too much—”

“Because I’ve beenworriedabout you!” Rahk exclaims. He seems to regret the outburst a second later, groaning and covering his face with his hand. “Please, sit down. You’re giving me a headache with the constant pacing!”

---