Kali’s face shifted, anger morphing into sorrow. “You ended up loving her anyway. That’s nice for you, but it’s highly unlikely it will happen for me.”

Kali gathered her dress in her hands and stormed away, and I cursed. I was horrible at court intrigue and politics. Astrid shot me a look and went after the princess, her long robes trailing behind her. We couldn’t fuck this up. We were running out of time.

“You know something about Thad,” Spike accused. I sighed, unwilling to keep it a secret from him. “Is that why you suggested the deal with Erias? You know where Thad is?”

I closed my eyes, activating my blood magicks to reach out and sense the area. When I confirmed there were no spies or servant ears listening, I nodded.

Spike pounded a fist on his desk, swearing. “Where is he then? What is he doing?”

My face twisted in fury, giving me away. Spike shook his head wearily. “They’re both alive then, and that means so are the witches.”

“You assume much,” I shot back, not as convinced as he was. I continued, because we were out of time to negotiate.

Zara strode into my room as if she owned it, throwing herself down on a couch and propping her muddy boots on a clean table. “I saw a pissed princess prowling the halls. What’d you do now?”

I ignored her. “Kali is a tinderbox about to explode. We need her to embrace her heritage and powers and be a backup plan if Erias gets too greedy.”

Zara rolled her eyes. “I thought that was your responsibility?”

I smirked. “She doesn’t want me, not really. She was only coming after me to provoke her father. I think she wants someone else.”

Spike chuckled, his eyes moving to the door Kali had stormed out of. Zara’s eyes narrowed, understanding immediately.

Spike huffed. “As if we all don’t know you would never agree to it unless you wanted to.”

Zara’s face curled into a predatory smile. She picked at a worn spot on her leather armor, inspecting it. “Never had a princess before.”

Spike sputtered and I simply rolled my eyes.

Chapter Eleven

Benedict

It turned out that Erias was already a step ahead of us. The next morning, we were succinctly informed there would be a ball held this evening in our honor, to celebrate our alliance on the last night of our presence in court. I scoffed, realizing immediately what it was; a way to keep us busy and away from the royal family who would be expected to meet and greet courtiers all night long. At the end of it, if we didn’t agree to his demand of becoming Cantrada’s king, then he could say we were the ones unwilling to have the alliance. It was clever.

“Conniving asshole.” Spike stood next to me in the grand ballroom, dressed as a lord of Aldur. His breeches were of the highest quality, with a richly dressed tunic in a fetching shade of olive green. He wore his signet ring on his left hand and not much else in terms of jewelry. Compared to the primped peacocks strutting around us, he looked barely presentable. I felt the weight of the courtiers gazes on my bare chest and grinned lazily.