Page 46 of The Warlord's Princess
For years, I spent my every waking moment that I was not training, serving the princess, until eventually I was allowed into her bed.
But I failed. Again and again, I failed until someone else did not.
And now, I rot here, seeking to restore my honor.
Which would be impossible with Asha.
It is late when I finally make my way back to my hut and find Asha weaving by candlelight.
She trembles when I enter, which I mislike, but I can see why she would. I have not been kind to her, nor do I intend to be. What happened in the cave was a mistake, and I need to make sure she knows that.
She clears her throat. “I, ah, was hoping you could help me with something.”
“I am busy,” I say, my tone flat, uninterested. A lie.
I kick off my clothes and get into bed, staring up at the ceiling, cursing at Grixis in my mind for putting me in this situation.
“Then do you know someone who would bring me about a day’s walk from the village?”
I jerk upright. “Why do you need to travel out a day?”
“I need something called a grensir bug.”
“No, you do not.”
“Except that I do. I need it for something I’m making for Grixis.”
I mutter a string of curses under my breath, furious at her request.
“Never mind,” she says in a dejected voice that makes me eager to rectify the situation.
But I stop myself, because there is no point in pleasing this girl, for she is not meant for me, and I am not meant for her.
RAMSEY
The room is different from how I remember it. The lights dim, with warmth in the air.
The laughter comes, sharp and meant to wound me.
Have I lived this before? It feels like I have, half a thousand times.
Yet somehow, it is not the same.
Men from the barracks crowd her, my great princess, working to satisfy her.
Her laughs used to be reserved for me, and I cherished every chuckle.
Nothing is wholly mine now. Not as it was.
How are there so many men? At least a dozen?
I blink slowly, and everything slows for a moment.
The anger I know I should hold is replaced by confusion.
Laughter rises again, a titillating sound that irks me.
Once the princess sees me, these men will not matter, and they will be dismissed, as they have been before.
