“When the dust settles here, I will send you word,” Kyllian said.
Erin nodded.
“Yes, Father.” She was not usually obedient.
She was argumentative by nature, stubborn by habit, and allergic to being managed.
But there was no fight left in her body.
Garrick had taken that too, the lying bastard.
He had stolen her anger and left shame in its place.
Kyllian brushed a strand of hair away from her damp cheek.
“And maybe…Magnus will help you recover from this heartbreak.”
Erin said nothing.
There was nothing safe to say.
She was absolutely certain Magnus would laugh in her face.
He had every reason to hate her.
Every reason.
She had dismissed him, hurt him.
Asked him to let her go so she could run into the arms of a man who had made a fool of her.
She would not blame Magnus one bit if he wanted nothing more than to cut the bond out and be done with her.
Maybe that was best.
All she had to do was stay in Blood City and when she returned, they would have the bond severed.
******
“Princess!!!” Carys sang.
Erin groaned into her pillow.
Morning in Blood City was offensive.
The light here filtered through the windows, mixing with the glow of the city below.
It slipped over the walls of the guest suite and landed directly on Erin’s face.
“Princess!” Carys sang again, louder this time.
“You have to wake up!”
“No, I don’t.”
“Yes, you do.”
“I died in my sleep.”
“You do not get to sleep in too late,” Carys said, ignoring her.
“You have to make an appearance.”
Erin lifted her head just enough to glare.
Her hair spilled over her face in a wild mess, and one side of her cheek carried the crease of the pillow.
“Carys!!! Shut the goddamned windows!”
Carys stood at the foot of the bed, hands on hips, wearing a neat black uniform Blood Castle had provided for visiting attendants.
“Up! Up!”
Erin dropped her face back into the pillow.
“What’s the point? My life is ruined.”
“No. New city, new attitude. Come on.”
Carys grabbed Erin by both ankles and pulled.
Erin shrieked, clutching at the sheets, but Carys had years of experience handling princess-related resistance.
“Carys, I swear on every goddess currently ruining my life—”
“Get up.”
“My boyfriend of three years is an asshole. My people hate me. My father is disappointed in me. My mother looks at me like I have broken her heart.”
Carys stopped pulling.
Erin lay half-dragged down the bed, hair in her eyes, chest tight with all the things she had tried not to feel since arriving in Blood City the night before.
The journey had been a blur.
No one had whispered where she could hear.
No one had looked at her like she was a disgrace.
Carys sighed.
“At least you didn’t say anything about Princess Lyra.”
“Oh, I bet she feels on top of the moon.”
Carys folded her arms.
“You should give your sister more credit.”
Erin’s eyes narrowed.
“Are you on her side now?”
“No, no, always on your side.” Carys raised both hands immediately.
“Always. Devotedly. As long as you get out of bed and take a shower.”
Carys smiled brightly.
“There is a lot to see in Blood Castle. Also, I hear Prince Magnus is feeling better now.”
Erin made a sound of pure despair and collapsed backward.
“Ugh!” She buried her face in the pillows.
“Get me a rope to hang myself.”
“Princess, don’t let me bring the shower to your bed.”
“Goddess! You’re relentless!” Erin shoved the sheets aside and got to her feet.
She stood in the middle of the guest suite wearing a silk nightdress.
A knock came at the door.
Carys brightened.
“Ah, that must be breakfast.”
“Tell breakfast to come back when my will to live returns.”
Carys walked to the front door, smoothing her uniform as she went.
She yanked it open expecting a vampire servant.
“Oh goddess!”
“Carys… what is it?” Erin called.
No answer came immediately.
“Good morning, Your Highness.”
Erin’s eyes widened.
Oh, fuck no.
Her entire body reacted.
She spun in place, searching wildly for somewhere to hide.
Her gaze landed on the clothes closet.
She dashed across the room, yanked the closet door open, shoved herself between a row of gowns and jackets, and pulled the door shut behind her.
Darkness swallowed her.
“Is Erin here?” Magnus asked.
Erin squeezed her eyes shut.
Magnus sounded different now.
Lower.
Steadier.
There was something deeper at the edge of his words.
“Yes, Your Highness,” Carys answered.
“Shall I get her?”
“Please,” Magnus said.
“Thank you, Carys.”
Carys giggled.
Actually giggled.
Erin rolled her eyes.
Did Carys not realise her crush on Magnus was too obvious?
The woman practically sparkled whenever he spoke.
One more breathy “Your Highness” and Blood Castle would have to mop longing off the floor.
Footsteps approached.
“Princess?” Carys entered the bedroom, her voice pitched low.
Erin unlocked the closet door just enough to peek out.
Carys stood in the middle of the room, eyes wide, cheeks slightly flushed.
“Not now!” Erin whisper-yelled.
Carys blinked.
“He is asking for you.”
“I gathered that from the part where he asked for me.”
“You cannot hide in the closet.”
“Watch me.”
Carys pressed her lips together, fighting the worst possible laugh.
Erin narrowed her eyes before she shut the door again.
She stood in the dark, one palm pressed against the wood, heart pounding.
This was ridiculous.
She knew it was ridiculous.
She was a grown woman, a princess, the daughter of an Alpha King, currently hiding from a man in a wardrobe like a mistress in a cheap scandal film.
She heard Carys walk back out.
“She’s… uhm…” Carys said.
Erin held her breath.
Please be convincing.
Please.
“She’s in the bathroom.”
Erin closed her eyes.
That was the best she could do?