He nodded. “Thanks to you.”
“You could have thanked me by givingmea magical cleaning before I got your sheets all dirty,” I mumbled.
A wry grin twitched at the corner of Kaden’s mouth, and he snapped his fingers.
Immediately, the dried blood caked along my neck and in the divot between my collarbones disappeared, as if my skin had been scrubbed clean. My hair unraveled from my ratty braid, settling around my shoulders in loose, silky strands. It felt lighter without the blood and grime, and I no longer reeked of that rancid water. The dark-green silk that made up the bedding took on a more illustrious sheen, and I nearly cried with relief at beingclean.
“I’m sorry,” said Kaden softly.
“For what?”
He sighed and dragged a hand through his hair. “For what I said to you after Caladwyn’s party.”
I loosed a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding.
“I . . . didn’t mean it,” he murmured.
“I thought the fae couldn’t lie.”
“We can when we’re also lying to ourselves,” he said, his voice so soft I barely heard him as he reached over and took my hand.
My skin heated at the light contact, and I was suddenly very aware of the fact that I was in his bed.
Kaden’s gray eyes seemed softer than usual as they flicked up to meet mine. My breath caught, and I couldn’t speak — couldn’t explain why his words had cut me so deeply.
Maybe because, for the first time in years, I wasn’t alone in the world. Even if I couldn’t fully trust Kaden, we were allies with a shared purpose that went beyond staking vampires and siphoning their blood. He’d been kind to me. Treated me with respect. Protected me before I’d even agreed to help him.
Against my better judgment, I’d come to like Kaden, and there was a small, treacherous part of me that wanted him to be more than an ally.
But before I could untangle my own mess of emotions, his thumb began making slow circles along the inside of my palm — obliterating any hope I might have had at forming a coherent thought.
“I was . . . angry about the bargain,” he explained. “I should have just told you why.”
I waited silently for him to continue, my attention going to those distracting circles he was making on my palm — the few inches of skin that had come alive at his touch.
“Being from the Quarter, I shouldn’t have expected you to know about faerie politics.” He sighed. “In my homeland, the crown of Anvalyn is . . . contested. The currentking Alfrigg has yet to produce an heir, and . . .” Kaden dragged in a breath, and his eyes narrowed as he stared off into the distance. “Let’s just say my cousin hasambitions. Ambitions that include preventing me from ever taking the throne.”
My eyebrows rose as his words washed over me. His cousin? The throne? “Do you mean to tell me you’re some kind of . . . faeroyalty?”
Kaden grimaced and tilted his head to the side in a noncommittal gesture. “A bastard, but technically . . .”
“And Caladwyn is yourcousin?”
“My mother’s sister’s son.” Kaden gnawed on the inside of his cheek but continued those idle circles along my palm. “A lot of people would have to meet the wrong end of a sword for him to take the throne. Some say it would take much more than that formeto become king, but I expect your bargain was Caladwyn’s way of ensuring that I never get the chance.”
I opened my mouth and then closed it again. Kaden was a bastard prince?
It certainly explained some of the looks we’d received from the other partygoers. But as I recalled the exact words of my bargain with Caladwyn, it still didn’t make any sense.
“I don’t understand,” I said quietly. “How would barringmefrom entering the Quartz Palace preventyoufrom taking the throne?”
“I’m not . . . entirely sure,” Kaden conceded, the words coming out slightly strangled. “I’m just speculating. For all I know, Caladwyn might have made the bargain simply to ensure he would not be beheaded by my half-huntress ally on the eve of his coronation.”
“Then why not just tell me?”
It wasn’t as though Kaden’s lineage was a secret, judging by the looks the other fae had given him.
He was silent for a moment. Then he said, “Caladwyn has always enjoyed lauding his own royal status over me, the dead queen’s bastard.” He let out a bitter laugh. “With Alfrigg alive and hunting for a bride to give him an heir, it’s unlikely I would ever . . .” He trailed off. “That’s if any of us will ever be able to return.”
