Page 96 of To Charm a Dark Prince

“Yep.” She picked up one of the muffins herself. Her hand was shaking. She really hoped he didn’t notice how nervous she was. “Usually, we have, like…little paper liners for them, but the cast iron works great once it’s oiled up and seasoned.”

He took a bite from the muffin.

Gwen held her breath.

And suddenly realized she hadno cluehow long the powder might take to start working. And she was damn sure she gave him the right one. But there was always the chance she had screwed it up.

He hummed, apparently enjoying the flavor, and took another big bite from it. “This is phenomenal, Gwendolyn. Do you enjoy cooking?”

“I do. Maybe I should give Mae a night or two off a week. I can make us some spaghetti or something.” She was talking too fast. She needed to calm the fuck down. But how the hell was she supposed to do that? She ate a chunk of the muffin, playing over the hysterical mental image of her passing out on the ground instead of him.

“I have no idea what spaghetti is, but I find myself eager to find out.” He finished off the muffin, brushing his hands together. “That was quite wonderful, thank you.”

“You’re flattering me.”

“Hardly.” He wrapped an arm around her waist to pull her close. “If I were flattering you, I would be far more ostentatious than to compliment your baking. I—” He paused and blinked, rubbing his hand over his eyes.

Well, that gave her the answer to how fast it would start working. She took a step away from him. “You look exhausted. Maybe you should go back to bed.”

“I—” He grunted and shut his eyes. It didn’t take him long to put two and two together. He was paranoid. She didn’t figure he’d be left wondering for long. “Gwendolyn…what have you done?”

“I’m so sorry.” She took another step away from him. “I’m really so sorry.”

He stood, and his knees gave out. He collapsed, half catching himself on the table. She expected him to be angry. But instead, he laughed. “Sleeping powder. Clever, Gwendolyn. Very clever. From my bedstand table. Well played. I did not think you would”—he groaned—“act to betray me so quickly. But perhaps I am glad that you did. I do hate having my hopes shattered.”

Cringing, she took another step back as he tried to move toward her, but nearly fell over and had to grab onto a chair to keep himself upright. It was clear he could barely keep his eyes open.

“I didn’t want to. I really didn’t want to. I just don’t…I can’t. I’m sorry.”

“I—” Mordred never finished what he was saying. He collapsed to the ground with a heavythud.He was entirely unconscious.

Chewing her lip, she felt terrible leaving him there. Gathering up a few pillows and a blanket from the nearby furniture, she tucked the pillows under his head and draped the blanket over him. “I’m so sorry,” she murmured. Not like he could hear her. Not like he would care if he could.

She went to move away.

A hand snapped around her ankle.

She screamed, and whirled, just in time to see Mordred’s eyes roll back into his head as he passed back out. Her heart was racing, and she jumped back away from him like he was a zombie in a haunted house.

“Shit!” She waited to see if he’d move again. But this time he seemed out for the count.

“I guess I should compliment you.”

Gwen shrieked again and whirled. But it was Merlin. The cat was perched on the edge of a table, staring at Mordred, swishing his tail angrily.

“Damn it, stop scaring me. I’ve had a bad few days.” She let out a puff, focusing on breathing normally. The last thing she needed was to fuck everything up with a panic attack. “But I’m glad you’re here. Let’s go.”

“Thought you’d never manage to get this far.” He hopped down from the table and headed out into the hallway. “We might have a problem with the guards. If they try to stop you, are you ready to fight?”

“I…I mean…I’d rather not? I don’t want to melt people.”

“They aren’t people. They’re abominations.” He glanced over his shoulder at her.

“They seem like people to me.” She frowned, thinking of poor Mae and who knew how many other well-meaning suits of armor who were clunking around the keep. “Can we sneak instead?”

The cat sighed. “Fine. But we will not be able to do that forever.”

She followed him, ducking around corners and hiding from the guards as best she could, until she came to the door that led to the stairs of the basement.

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