“Oh? I know before either of us was born, a group of your Turren riders attacked my mother’s family on an unsanctioned mission to avenge your father’s death. I know they were relieved of their crows and Lord Turren was banished.” He moved his horse closer, the hot flesh of the beast’s muscular body pressing against my leg. I couldn’t move away without threatening to step on the items laid out for sale or the people tending them.

Ericen continued, his voice soft and slow, savoring each word. “I know when my mother came to Lord Turren, offering him the power and prestige he once had, he sold his loyalty to her, and his men’s loyalty, and helped us destroy every single crow.”

I squeezed my eyes shut and turned away, trying to block him out, to block the memories out. After the fires had burned to cinders and only the smoke remained, people had wanted blood. Caliza had to show them she was taking action, but nearly half our army came from the Turren Wing. The people she needed to enforce the hunt for traitors had been suspects themselves.

And I’d done nothing but hide in my bed.

Coward.

Slowly, I became aware of something digging into my skin and looked down. I’d twisted the reins around and around my wrists and hands, tethering myself to the spot.

Ericen let out a low, rumbling laugh and dismounted with two of his guards to look at the weapons set out for sale. I stared at my hands, adrenaline leaking from my muscles like water from a punctured jug.

Today was only the second day of my time with Ericen. I couldn’t face an eternity with him.

Loosing a quiet breath, I unwound the reins to reveal angry red and white flesh and stiff fingers. I massaged my hands and scanned the crowd, spotting Ericen at a nearby table and his men at the one across from it.

Even without black gold, Turren weapons were still highly sought after, but the glowering eyes of several smiths made it clear Ericen and his men weren’t welcome. Others, desperate for any coin, called them to their tables, forming a line of tension that turned the air thick.

Ericen’s guards didn’t pay him any attention. The prince ignored them equally, investigating a pair of slim daggers with tiny sapphires set into the hilt. I eyed the weapons. What would happen if I plunged one into Ericen? Nowhere fatal, just somewhere very painful.

If you so much as touch me, if you push me too far…

The words echoed in the hollow space inside me, and I longed to run from them, to hide. The sensation of angry, questioning eyes pressed in on me from all directions. I tried to meet them, but every black stare that gazed back replaced my emptiness with a white-hot weight.