Olivian stopped, two steps down from me now, vibrating with fury. “Unhand him, you conniving little shit. You have your knife.”
“Oh, me, conniving?” Vick arced his brows. “That’s rich. If you thinkI’mconniving, you should hear the story the prince here has to tell you.”
Oh, no. All my blood dived into my feet and stayed there. I knew exactly where Vick was going with this. How he planned to divert everyone’s attention long enough to escape.
But...I wouldn’t stop him. If I had to choose between Kai’s life and getting Amryssa to Hightower—well, I’d choose both. I’d just have to take my best friend to the capital on my own.
“Tell them,Kyven,” Vick said. “I’m sure the seneschal would love to know who you really are.”
Olivian’s focus shifted. “What in Zephyrine’s name does that mean?”
Kai’s unfailing half-smile kicked into place. “I’m afraid you won’t like it.”
Vick’s attention darted—first to Olivian, then to Merron and the stewards—before settling on the front door. “Tell them. Don’t make me cut it out of you.”
He applied pressure, more blood leaking from Kai’s neck. A grunt tore from my husband’s chest as he raised splayed hands. “I’m no prince,” he rushed out. “All right? The real Kyven Windermere died on the Oceansgate road when his carriage overturned. I’m just...well. An actor. Here at the urging of the gentleman who’s about to saw my vocal cords in half.”
The stewards gasped. Olivian’s hands curled into fists at his sides. “An...actor?”
I wanted to scream.Thatwas the important part in all this? Really?
Kai gave asorry-not-sorryshrug.
“And you thought you could marry my daughter?” the seneschal said, low and trembling. “You thought my Amryssa would marry anactor?”
Kai’s gaze slid to mine. “What can I say? I’m nothing if not optimistic. And I do have a habit of shooting for the stars.”
“Get. Out,” Olivian said. Then, louder, “Out! Get out of my house!”
Vick shoved Kai toward us and ran, taking the dagger and diary with him. He hauled open the doors and disappeared before Olivian had even made it down the stairs. The stewards hovered, frozen.
Meanwhile, relief screamed through me, so complete that my knees buckled. I half-slid, half-scrambled toward Kai, who just stood there, bleeding, like he had exactly zero plans to retreat from Olivian’s advance.
I made it between them just in time. I skidded to a stop and faced the seneschal with my arms flung out. “Don’t touch him.”
“Lioness,” Kai said from behind me. “There’s really no need.”
Olivian lowered his head, the tendons of his neck sharp enough to slice. “Get out of my way.”
“No.”
“Go ahead,” Kai said. “Let him hit me, if he likes.”
“No,” I gritted out. “Only I get to do that. Ifhedoes, he’ll break your face, and you won’t be nearly as pretty, afterward.”
Kai laughed softly, and gods, I wanted to drink the sound. Build a shrine to it, because it meant he was alive, that he would be fine, that he could walk out of here and not look back and live a whole life in Fairmont or wherever the hell he ended up and never think about this place again.
“Just go,” I said.
“Go?” He sounded offended. “Surely you don’t think I’mleaving?”
Olivian flashed his teeth. “Step aside, girl. Or Iwillgo through you. He tried to marry my daughter, and he’ll answer for it.”
Oh, that was it. I’d had enough of the threats. Of Olivian’s bullying and glowering and stomping around. I stepped in and shoved my finger in his face, exactly the way I’d dreamed of doing for years. “Just stop it, will you? Stop throwing your weight around. Stop intimidating people all the time. Stop refusing to look past the end of your own stubborn nose, and give me thirty seconds to talk to Kai without you threatening us, you brutish, tyrannical, hate-mongeringfailureof a seneschal and a father.”
Olivian jerked back, his eyes wide.
I shook my finger again, scarcely daring to believe I’d actually cowed him. “Look. You can throw him out, if you want. It’s your house. But let me talk to my husband first, for pity’s sake.”
