Page 77 of My Dark Horse Prince

“It’s not even about that,” Kris says. “You aren’t safe.”

“I’m never safe,” I say. “I’ll take my chances.”

“The mafia bosses always report to someone else,” Kris says. “That means Yevginiy had a boss, and he didn’t bring all his people. You even said there were more people on the train that day. One of them could come after you, or tell his boss who to come after.”

“So could your magical men—the ice and fire people.”

“It’s electricity and fire,” Kris says, as if that sounds less insane.

“I can’t spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder,” I say. “I live a small life, and I’m ready to go back to it. Surely the mafia people would know that if I was going to talk, I would have. And the magical people will come after Grigoriy, so him coming along actually makes me less safe, not more.”

“But he can’t defend you unless he’s with you.”

“It’s a real conundrum,” I say. “I get it. Without me, he has no magic. But with me, he draws the bad guys to me.” I shrug. “I suggest he stays close to Aleks and hopes his buddy can keep him safe.”

“If we all stay close, then I can help Aleks when they come.” Grigoriy steps through my destroyed doorway, pushing the door open as he does. “I think we should all go back to Latvia.”

“You’ve never even been there,” Aleks says. “So you can hardly say you’re going back.”

My palms start to sweat, my heart rate spikes, and my hands start to shake the second they step into my room. “I believe I’ve been quite clear.”

“I have an idea,” Grigoriy says.

“Actually, it was my idea,” Kris says.

I feel a little betrayed. If it were anyone else, I’d just get a train ticket and leave on my own. But it’s Kristiana, my best friend, and she’s having ideas about how to convince me to let them tag along. “What?” If I sound a little terse, I think I’m justified.

“You aren’t scared of him as a horse.” Kris shrugs. “Shift him and let him stick around in horse form.”

“In horse form?” I ask.

“Shift him now,” Aleks says. “We’ll drive back to Latvia with him in a trailer.”

“I’m sure he’d love—”

“It’s fine,” Grigoriy says. “I’ll do it.”

“You’ll spend however long I say as a horse, because you scare me as a man?”

He nods.

“Is this some kind of joke?”

“Some of our happiest moments at the beginning were when Aleks was a horse,” Kris says.

“I’m not going to wind up engaged to Grigoriy,” I nearly shout. “I wish you’d stop comparing us.” I can’t bring myself to look at him. I know he’ll be hurt, but I just can’t. Every time I see his face, I see him dragging that knife across the doctor’s throat. I can’t help my shudder.

“Change me now,” Grigoriy says. “See if you feel better.” His eyes, when I glance that way, look tortured.

“Fine.” I point. “Go out back. I’ll be there in a few.”

He and Aleks both disappear, leaving Kris to smooth things over, I assume.

“You could have warned me.” I sound a little petulant, but Kris understands. She saw me at the hospital after Martinš beat me. She gave me a place to live, and she knows I didn’t leave her compound for months after I was released from the hospital.

“You have to make your own decisions,” she says. “I didn’t want to manipulate you into it.”

Kris always reminds me that I’m strong, even though she knows as well as I do that it’s not true. “When I still want to claw my way up the wall to get away from him, even when he’s a horse, will you let it go then?”

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