“I don’t think we’re speaking of the same thing,” the prince interrupted, his grin widening. “I’m talking about how you’ve utterly discomposed the tightly stitched Roark Ashwood. If you keep at it, I think you might be absolutely perfect.”

“Perfect for what, Highness?”

Thane paused our conversation to nod and greet a few courtiers passing by in the hall, then he drew us to a halt and leaned closer, voice low. “I think you will be perfect for a bit of entertainment in this dull fortress. In all our acquaintance, I’ve never seen my dear friend so undeniably frustrated. It’s completely made my morning, Lyra. I thank you for that.”

“I don’t understand.”

Thane placed both hands on my shoulders and spun me toward a wide set of doors. Emi was there, free of her Stav uniform, and clad now in a green dress edged in silver, her long hair free over her shoulders.

The prince leaned close to whisper into my ear. “You’ve done something to dig under his skin, and I must know what it was, for he is the most infallible, unruffled ass I’ve ever met.”

Breath stuttered in my chest when Emi’s companion turned around and I met the sharp golden glass of Roark’s eyes. Soft for a moment, then his stare hardened at the sight of me.

Thane’s deep chuckle pulsed against my back. The prince whispered as he readjusted to stand at my side again, “See what I mean? Perfect.”

The Sentry was dressed in a new tunic, all black from the coat over his shoulders to the boots on his feet. Where had he gone after arriving? Did he have another room? Perhaps one shared with Emi? If they were lovers, and Thane believed me to aggravate the Sentry simply for existing, it would not be long until her calming demeanor wore thin.

The lack of contrast in Roark’s attire only emphasized how lithe and tall he was, how beautifully vicious he might be.

His gaze roved over me, unashamed, as though he were soaking up every surface of my body. To be viewed in such a way was strangely intimate, and even more strange, I didn’t despise it.

A thought I would never admit out loud.

Men in Skalfirth spared a look or two until Kael threatened them at the game halls. He thought I didn’t know, but it was a small village. Folk whispered a great deal in the markets.

Now, to tremble under the watch of the man who’d upended my existence was shamefully laughable.

The prince bowed at the waist. “By the gods, Emi, once more your beauty lights the room.”

Emi dipped her chin, but a smile teased the corners of her lips. “Always the charmer, my prince.”