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I want to leave it, because I don’t need gifts. I don’t do this for payment. But this gift meant something to the person who left it. I don’t want to be rude.
This is the Prince Corrick I once feared. The one many people in Kandala still fear.
Mind your mettle. I almost flush. He used to say that to me when we were outlaws: times when we were in danger, or when the sickness was too much to bear. It always helped. It helps now.
Lochlan glances at her. In that moment, something in his gaze gentles.
“You will keep your silence, Consul. If you cannot speak in good faith, then you will not speak at all.”
Harristan knew, though. He was the one who first taught me to sneak out of the palace and lose myself in the Wilds. That’s part of why it was so hard to keep my nightly adventures with Tessa a secret.
In the Wilds, I was able to be a hero. As Prince Corrick, my hands are often tied by a dozen different knots.
No one trusts the King’s Justice when he’s not wearing a mask. I promised Tessa I would do better. I told Lochlan my goal was to change that.
Tell me about his hands, she said, and I blushed like a schoolgirl.
“I’m no one of importance,” I say. “I beg to differ. He’s lucky I didn’t have one of the guards put an arrow in his back for standing over you like that.”
It’s uncommon for him to touch me in public. A blush heats my cheeks. “Well.”
He could steal kisses in the moonlight, and I could taste his breath and remember what it was like to be in the Wilds, just the two of us against the dawn.
“What about you? Any frequent companions for the King’s Justice?” I’m trying to keep my tone light, but he holds my gaze, and I know he hears the true question there. “Ah, Tessa.” There’s something simultaneously wicked and warm in his eyes. “No one dared, until you.”
Are you frightened of me? She said nothing. But that said everything.
Then again, if we were openly involved, I’d drag her into my chambers and we wouldn’t leave for a week. I need to stop thinking like this.
They might not have been involved in the last rebellion, but it doesn’t mean they aren’t plotting their own.
“Hopefully we’ll be seated near each other. I’m eager to learn the truth.” She’ll be seated with me. I almost say it. I almost growl it. The words sit on the tip of my tongue, hot and possessive. But every syllable would sound petty and chauvinistic, and I swallow my words with another sip of wine.
I hate the prince, I often said to him as Wes—followed by I hate you, once I knew he was Corrick.
“Miss Cade, I certainly hope you make the cut.”
Instead, I keep replaying the moments when Captain Blakemore quite obviously captured Tessa’s attention. She’s so clever. So brave. So empathetic.
The captain is so principled. His people are so loyal.
“Miss Cade,” he says, then offers me a bow. As I curtsy in return, my cheeks warm in spite of myself. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to anyone treating me with courtly manners, especially outside the palace. “Captain Blakemore.”
He says nothing for a moment, and in that breath of silence, I feel the weight of his emotion. “Come home safe, little brother.” I give him a nod. “I promise. Be here when I get back.”
Or maybe I’m just irritated because this means Tessa is on board with the captain, while I’m standing down here getting rain in my boots, and the king of Kandala is hiding in a darkened carriage, waiting for me to go.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” he says softly. In his tone, I hear a dozen things unsaid: his longing, his hope … his fear.
The only time he’s ever kissed me like this was in the Wilds. In the workshop. He keeps so much of himself hidden that I somehow forgot he could be like this, all wildfire attraction and unbound passion.
He ducks his head, his eyes seeking mine. “Talk to me,” he says. Quietly. Gently. No command in his tone.
My cheeks are hot again, but I hold his gaze. “I don’t deserve to be treated like a secret, Corrick.”
I want to go after her, but I don’t know what would undo this. A profession of love? A plea for forgiveness? Offering the kingdom on a string?
This is happening. I’m leaving. I’m leaving Kandala. I’m leaving my brother.
I may have fallen in love with Tessa Cade, but as usual, I’m reminded that she didn’t fall in love with Prince Corrick, the King’s Justice. She fell in love with the outlaw Weston Lark. She fell in love with a man who doesn’t exist.
My mouth still burns with the feel of his kiss. Maybe I am naive.
The side of his mouth turns up. Half a smile, but half not. “If I did that, I’m worried Prince Corrick might try to put a knife in my back.”
The hell with your cynicism, Corrick. “I’d love to walk,” I say.
“It’s possible I was too bold,” I say, and he smiles. “No,” he says. “Just bold enough.”
I want to talk to Tessa—but the irony is that I’ve closed that door, too.
It was very different in the Wilds, when I could lose myself in the persona of Weston Lark. I knew dozens of families. Easily a hundred children. I helped dig graves for some of them, when the medicine wasn’t enough.
He leans back against the door and folds his arms, looking as darkly dangerous as ever. I ignore him.
As usual, I need to remind myself that Wes was a part of the man in front of me. That goodness is inside him. But it’s just a part. Sometimes I worry that it’s not quite enough.
At least in the Wilds I could see medicine making a difference. As King’s Justice, I only saw my failures.
I’ve been on the deck three times now, but both times I was focused on what was in front of me: Tessa. Now, I inhale the sea air and look beyond the masts.
while the prince remained scarce. Good. I certainly have no desire to go chasing after him. As soon as I have the thought, sadness hits me in the gut. A wedge has formed between us so fast. I hate it. Is it his fault? Is it mine?
“Last night, you climbed onto the ship and acted like you’d finally been given leave to touch me. Today, you’ve hardly spoken to me, and now you’re trying to charm me into sharing secrets.”
My heart is beating so fast. “Corrick,” I whisper. His eyes finally meet mine. “I know people expect the worst of me,” he says quietly. “I didn’t realize you were among them.”
Then he adds, “If all I wanted was to get under your skirts, I could have had you, ready and willing, at any moment of my choosing.”
Would you rather I had made better use of our table in the workshop? I seem to recall you throwing yourself at me on more than one occasion.”
Just because you believe the worst of everyone doesn’t mean that there aren’t good people in this world.”
“It’s time to think about your own loyalties, Miss Cade. You said you’re not naive. Prove it.”
It reminds me of the way Maxon gave me his medicine. And Violet likely risked her life.
He frowns. “He had Tessa. He wasn’t alone.” I swallow. I’m always alone.
