Page 22 of Wicked Prince of Carnage
Winter glanced at her over his shoulder. “You can remove your clothing anytime you’d like. I won’t stop you.”
“Hmph.”
He kicked off his boots and stepped out of his trousers. She didn’t shy away from the sight of his ass, though her gaze had flicked briefly to the tattoo on his back.
Once Winter slipped on a clean pair of trousers, he reclined on the mattress. He propped a hand beneath his head and turned on his side to face Sterling. “I visited your brother.”
She inhaled a sharp breath. “What did you do to him?”
“You’ve seen how I treat my enemies.” He shrugged a shoulder.
“I swear to the gods if you—”
“You’ll what?” The most she could do was scream at him, and he’d be damned if he let that bother him. “Break out of that cage and end my life like you did my other wolves? Remember, you had a second chance.”
A knock came at the door, and he called out, “Enter.”
Amalli, a servant, came in with a large silver tray. Her blonde hair was bound in a tight bun, and black swirling tattoos crept up the back of her neck. “The dinner you requested, Your Highness.”
He gestured for her to set it down on his bedside table. Amalli used to cater to his mother, and it was one of the reasons he kept her around. She also obeyed better than any of the other wolves working for the court.
“Do you require anything else, Your Highness?” Amalli asked.
“No, this is all for now,” he said and lifted the top of the serving dish. The savory scent of duck and rosemary potatoes smothered in gravy filled the room.
When Amalli left, he placed a small potato into his mouth. The hint of blood still caked around his fingernails added a bitter, metallic taste to the savory flavors. He grabbed the goblet of mead and washed it down.
“I’m thirsty,” Sterling reminded him.
Winter took an extra-large sip and eyed her over the rim of the goblet.
She scowled. “Do you plan to kill me by denying me water?”
“Don’t give me any ideas.” He ripped a piece of the duck apart and ate it slowly while she watched. The sound of her stomach rumbling made his smile spread. “You’re hungry too, it seems.”
“Isn’t that obvious?”
“I could be tempted to share,” he offered carefully. “Perhaps with your brother.”
“If you—” she breathed.
“If I feed him?” Winter speared a potato with his unused fork and rose from the bed to approach her. He hovered in front of her cage before gingerly pushing the utensil between the bars so the food was in front of her mouth. When she didn’t move to eat it, he twisted the fork between his fingers. “Is this not up to your standards? Your brother looks as if he’s been surviving off gruel, but royal food isn’t good enough?”
Sterling smacked the potato out of her face and it flew off the fork, landing beside her. “Leave Cyan alone.”
“It seems to me that you should’ve thought more about himbeforeyou decided to become a hunter.” He leered at her. “Now… Tomorrow night, I’m enacting an old pack tradition, andyou’reparticipating.”
“Excuse me?”
“You against two dozen humans. The sole survivor earns their freedom. In the extremely unlikely chance you win, your brother goes free. For obvious reasons, I can’t let you go, but I’m sure you understand that.” If she did survive, she would remain an ornament in his room. Would she offer to fuck him a third time to gain her own freedom? As his gaze drifted to her full lips, his wolf purred. He would deny her, of course. Fucking Red Riding Hood would be treason against himself.
“You’re pitting me againsttwo dozenhumans? How is that fair?”
He licked the gravy from the fork and chuckled. “It’s not.”
CHAPTER NINE
STERLING
