Scarlet put one hand on Commander Hudson’s shoulder and peeked at the photo. “Holy Zeus with a capital Z!” Her mouth dropped open as the realization hit her just as hard as it had hit us. “She looks exactly like you!”

I had no idea what to say.

I stepped into the lobby of the Royal Quarters with my new entourage, Officer Warwick dutifully pushing my now abandoned wheelchair. I was about to head to the Ambrosias’ suite to meet Kris when I bumped into Vlad. And the first line that crossed his mind was, Damn it.

“How flattering.” I crossed my arms in front of my chest. I started to move past him when I suddenly recalled something. That promise. The one he’d mentioned when we were standing in front of the tree. Now that I could read his mind, I could finally find out what that was about. My hand reached for his arm as he started to walk away, stopping him from going anywhere. “I have to talk to you.”

“Then talk.”

“Tell me about that promise.” I tried to read his mind, but I got zilch. Maybe I wasn’t very good at this, or maybe the fact that I could read two guys’ thoughts caused my signal to get disrupted from time to time.

“The one that stopped you from kissing me that time by the tree.”

I heard collective gasps from Officer Warwick and Officer Hudson, and a light giggle from Scarlet, but I didn’t care. I wanted to know the truth, and now that I had a chance to grab it, I wouldn’t let it go to waste.

“I can’t.” Vlad shook his head.

“I’m going to ask again. What promise?”

“It’s—”

I didn’t give him a chance to finish his sentence. “Don’t you dare say that it’s none of my business because if you’re going to look at me as if you want to kiss me but then pull away at the last second, it is my goddamn business to know what’s wrong.”

“—complicated.” He completed his sentence as if I had not said anything. He was staring at me, a look of utter torment distorting his features. I felt my heart ache—perhaps this bond caused me to have more feelings for Vlad than I had before.

“You promised that you wouldn’t have anything to do with me.” He didn’t say yes, but he didn’t say no, either, so I took it that I had hit close to the target. “Who did you make this promise to?” I moved closer to him, and somehow—maybe it was my gut feeling—I could read him better now that I was nearer. “Tell me.”

“I can’t. I’m a man of my word.”