Page 50 of A Court of Thralls and Thorns
My pulse quickened.
A prisoner kept in the castle dungeon for decades?
A rebel?
What in the name of Charrem was the king hiding?
I stiffened as Zander stepped up beside me, his presence a sudden weight in the air.
I had been so focused on the guards’ conversation, so intent on every word, that I hadn’t even noticed him approaching.
Solei would have ripped me a new one if she had seen that mistake.
“Something interesting?” he asked, his tone smooth—too smooth.
I willed my pulse to steady, keeping my face carefully neutral as I turned to him. “Kind of.”
His lip twitched, just the faintest hint of amusement. “Care to enlighten me?”
I shrugged, slipping into the first excuse I could think of.
“I’m in a bit of a dry spell,” I mused, crossing my arms. “I was thinking of asking out the guard with the beard.”
Zander coughed, as if trying to hide a laugh.
His expression remained composed, but his lavender eyes gleamed with barely suppressed mirth.
“I’m willing to introduce you,” he said, tilting his head slightly, “but I am unsure Theo’s boyfriend would be willing to share him.”
I barely managed to suppress a groan.
Man, I was going to kill Riven.
I sighed dramatically, lifting a hand to my chest. “Well, you can’t blame a girl for trying.”
“Of course,” Zander said easily. “But you should know that you will be encouraged to seek a partner with compatible bloodlines.”
I narrowed my eyes. “As in fae blood?”
His gaze didn’t waver. “You are a dragon rider. There are responsibilities that?—”
“Stop.” My voice was sharper than I intended, but I didn’t care.
His brows lifted slightly, but I pushed forward.
“If my commoner fiancé were still alive, there would be no decree that could have kept me from him,” I said, my words coming out colder than expected.
The reaction was immediate.
Zander’s face paled, his jaw tightening—not in anger, but something else.
Shock.
For a brief second, his carefully constructed mask cracked, and I saw it?—
Riven was right.
I had hit a nerve. He was mad.
