Page 2 of Claiming Glass

I was running before the man could catch his breath enough to explain.

The rain brought by my curse and magic had finally halted, but dark clouds still hung over the city and puddles covered the courtyard.

Nobles and servants alike stood in the palace entrance, staring out through the open grand doors. In the courtyard, someone was arguing next to a black, unmarked carriage.

The crowd split. My steps slowed.

I blinked, wondering how much I had drunk, when the woman—a slightly plumper, taller, worse-for-wear princess with impeccable bearing and irate expression—turned to face me.

I had stared at her portrait for too long to mistake her. Still, my confused greeting came out like a question.

“Princess Helia von Heskin?”

She strode up to me, offering her hand like a businessman. “Dimitri Ivanov. Finally, someone who can clear this up. Tell them I’m yourbride.”

She looked at me expectantly, hand hanging in the air. I had already been through this. Could not do it again. This time, without my best friend.

Was this woman in on it with the tempest? How could she not be, considering she arrived the day after her replacement revealed herself? Perhaps their only aim was to drive me insane. I wished I had finished the bottle.

All watched us—more passing nobles drawn to the standstill each moment that lapsed.

Thoughts and feelings raced each other while my face remained impassive, and I accepted her hand. There was nothing else to do.

“Of course. Let me walk you to your chambers.” I placed her hand on my arm, and, ignoring everyone and their questions, strode back inside the palace. Leaning close to this stranger, I whispered, “What’s this ploy?”

Helia waved her hand and a courtier lingering close enough to listen in was pushed a step back. I had not been in her presence a quarter bell and her magic use already confirmed her identity. This woman did notactlikea princess. She was one and had never questioned it.

“This is me arriving in your city only to be kidnapped after expressing my reservations for the marriage to my aunt, then be woken with a kiss from a stranger at the palace gates. It would be safe to say you probably know more than me.”

“I know everyone lies.”

She scoffed. “Of course, this is court.”

“Your aunt has been here for a month, together with your luggage and a woman claiming to be you.” I looked sideways, pain shootingthrough me as I remembered the previous night. “The resemblance is remarkable.”

“Did she have a scar?”

The parts of Tempest I had seen flashed through my mind—neck and legs, arms and chest, hidden freckles I longed to kiss and delicate skin. I cleared my throat. “Several, but old and unremarkable. Why?”

“Just a thought.” She gave me a too-knowing look as we arrived at the princess’s chambers.

“Well, you don’t have to wonder. These are hers—your—rooms, and she should be inside.”

Pausing until a servant had passed, I opened the unlocked door without knocking. My chest clenched and temples throbbed. At least there would be answers.

The room stood empty.

“Princess,” I called. Helia gave me a long look, but what other name was I supposed to use? I could not very well call her Helia or Tempest.

First, I thought no one answered. Then a muffled sound came from her bedchamber. Yesterday, I would not have hesitated to enter. I had spent days at her bedside as she recovered from magic overuse. She had spent a night in my bed. The time together kept replaying in my mind, each touch and kiss catalogued. Her body a partly-drawn map, and I longed to fill in the undiscovered parts.

“After you, for propriety,” I said to Helia, pointing at the closed bedchamber door, and putting off the confrontation a moment longer.

Helia waved her hand dismissively. The door flew open with a crash, cracking the wood. Unconcerned, the real princess entered.

“Well,well, well. It’s a welcome gift. I don’t know who yourprincessis, Ivanov, but I think I like her.”

Cautiously, I stuck my head around the doorway.

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