Page 138 of My Dark Horse Prince

He did say they were friends of Grigoriy’s—could he be serious?

“You attacked Aleksandr after the Grand National,” I say. “What kind of friends do that?”

“We didn’t hurt him,” Mikhail says. “We wanted to see what he could do and how much of his power had returned.”

“But you’ve been hiding all this time,” I say. “And you kidnapped me. What kind of friends do that?”

“Estranged ones,” Mikhail says.

Boris has been quiet ever since Mikhail took over. Mikhail. . .Kurakin. The name’s familiar. I know they’re the other magical horse lords, but I can’t quite recall who is who. . .until I remember. Grigoriy said that the Kurakins killed his parents.

Burned them alive.

I imagine he wasn’t very close to the redhead after that. “You cursed them,” I say. “They’ve been asleep for a hundred years because of you, and they still haven’t found Alexei.”

Their eyes widen, both of them.

And now I’m giving them information they didn’t have. What’s wrong with me? Apparently my body’s not the only weak thing. I clamp down on my tongue, determined not to say another word.

“Is that what Grigoriy says?” Mikhail rubs his hand along his jaw, the pressure of his fingers making the tiniest scritching sound against the reddish stubble. “He thinks we cursed them?”

“Didn’t you?” I ask. Maybe I can get them to share something, too. “For refusing to help your people grow crops in that famine, you found a witch and you made them pay.”

‘They did refuse us,” Boris says. “That’s true enough.”

“But we didn’t have the power to curse them, and no witch we could have found had more power than any of us.” Mikhail’s laugh is bitter.

“You clearly haven’t aged,” I say. “And you weren’t sleeping.”

“That’s true,” Mikhail says. “But it wasn’t a witch who cursed them. It was—”

Boris shakes his head.

That’s it. A tiny gesture.

“It was who?” I ask.

“Nice try,” Mikhail says. “We need to see Kristiana.”

“Why her?” I ask. “None of this makes sense.”

“Just call her.” Mikhail crouches down again, and this time, he dangles a phone from two fingers. “Tell us the number, and we’ll dial.”

“What am I supposed to say?”

“Tell her to come to an address we’ll give you,” Boris says. “Simple. Easy. Not scary at all. And the second she shows up, without your boyfriends of course, you’re free to go.”

I press my lips together and shake my head. “No way.”

“It’s a simple trade. Your life for hers.”

My head snaps up. “You’re going to kill her?”

Boris rolls his eyes. “You’ve been watching too many shows. We need to talk to her.”

“Talk to her? Do I look stupid?”

“Have we hurt you?” Mikhail’s eyes narrow. “No. We have some questions too, and we need answers. That’s all. We aren’t super villains, no more than your boyfriend is.”

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