Page 117 of My Dark Horse Prince

“You said yourself that he promised you the world before that surgery, and he didn’t deliver. Is it a stretch to imagine that he didn’t bother working so hard, knowing you were going to die?”

“Regardless, he didn’t pose an ongoing threat.”

Charlemagne bumps my arm and whuffles slowly. If a horse could apologize, I imagine that’s about how it would sound.

“The thing is. . .” I don’t freeze up around him anymore. I don’t have nightmares. Yes, it was harrowing. Yes, he made it worse. But he also saved my life, and I haven’t thanked him.

Not once.

“I am grateful that he was there and that I’m still alive.”

“Hey,” Kris says. “That’s progress.”

“It may be all I can handle right now,” I say. “But I’ll think about the apology thing.”

“That’s more than I expected, to be honest,” Kris says. “I think Aleks will be pleased.”

Charlemagne drops his sweaty, huge head on my shoulder and lips at my face with his fuzzy, foamy mouth.

“Eww, really?” I shove him away.

“You’re going to shower anyway,” Kris says.

“Yes,” I say. “I am. I have a date later.”

Charlemagne freezes.

At least I can’t be accused of lying to him or hiding things.

“Martinš, as usual, was making our life a misery. I finally convinced Mom to divorce him, but he was planning to drag his feet and make her as miserable as possible.” I drop my voice. “I was worried that if it took too long, she might change her mind. He’s really done a number on her. She believes she’s the trash he treats her like.”

“Okay. How’s that connected to a date?”

“Danils gave me a ride home the other day, and he offered to help.” I shrug.

“Wait.” Kristiana’s lip curls. “You traded your mom getting a divorce for. . .” Her jaw drops. “And the horses?”

Charlemagne’s pawing at the ground, his nostrils flaring.

I shove her and walk away from both of them. “Please. Stop it, both of you. He did both of those things as gestures. He didn’t have stipulations or requirements. He simply said he did what he should have done all along, and that he would love a date if I ever changed my mind.”

“Whoa.” Kris’s shoulders slump. “Did you change your mind? Because—”

I hold my hands up, palms out. “Stop. Geez. Have a little faith in me. I didn’t change my mind, but I’ve known him for almost my entire life, and he just did me two huge favors. The least I can do is let him buy me dinner and thank him for his help. It’s the courteous thing.”

“Let him buy you dinner?” My best friend is beaming. “I like this new Mirdza. You’re repaying him by allowing him to be in your presence.” She mock bows. “I’m impressed, Your Majesty.”

I roll my eyes.

She bites her lip and then smiles even wider. “I mean it. You’re finally starting to see what everyone else already sees. You’re amazing, and he’s lucky to be around you. Good job.”

When she puts it that way, I feel a little bad.

“Just be careful,” she says. “The ringleader sometimes sets the tone for his minions, and Danils’s minions all over town aren’t wonderful.”

She’s not wrong. I know he’s a powerful man, and in Daugavpils, or really anywhere in Latvia, powerful often means dangerous. I think about that a little more, and it leads me inevitably to think about Grigoriy.

Only, instead of thinking about how I need to be wary around him, I’m thinking about how I may have misjudged him. I don’t like it, but Kris might be right.

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