The prince tried to block the door and the newcomer’s view of me. “Not now.”
The male laughed, not seeming the least concerned by the crown prince’s surly tone. “Is this what you were doing while you were traipsing around the continent? When you were supposed to be—”
“I said not now.” The prince’s tone left no room for argument, which only made me more curious.
I was standing from the couch and striding toward the door before the prince could stop me. If Prince Norivun thought he could hide me away in the castle and keep my imprisonment a secret, then he had another thing coming. I would relay my unlawful captivity to anyone with the authority to return me home, and perhaps this newcomer was just that.
“Hello.” I brought my fist to my heart in traditional greeting as I peered around the prince’s broad back to his apparent brother. “My name’s Ilara Seary, daughter of Mervalee Territory, and I’m being kept here against my will.”
Prince Norivun cast me a scathing look, but I ignored him and turned plea-filled eyes on Nuwin.
“Brother?” The male laughed, and my breath sucked in at the likeness of the two.
Nuwin was just as tall and imposing as the prince, but his black wings weren’t as large, and a lighter aura surrounded him, making him less intimidating. One look at his fine clothes, sultry smile, and twinkling blue eyes told me that such likeness extended to his personality.
Blessed Mother, maybe he’ll help me.
Nuwin shifted his attention to the prince. “So you were flying with a female when you returned today. I heard a few mutterings among the guards, and Lord Crimsonale is most curious, but I didn’t know if it was true or some strange new political maneuver.”
I tried to push past the prince, but he blocked me. “Please, help me!” I begged of Nuwin. “I just want to go home.”
The prince cut me an irritated glare. “You’re staying here.”
Nuwin glanced between the two of us, but instead of concern, a delighted smile crossed over his face. “So you’ve finally found a female that intrigues you.”
A low growl of discontent vibrated the prince’s chest. “Ilara is none of your concern.”
“I am a concern if you can get me out of here!” I interjected.
But the prince’s brother ignored me completely and laughed again, a rich, booming sound that seemed to fill up the entire hallway. His jovialness was a complete contradiction to the gravity of this situation, and I wondered if he was perhaps simple-minded, but then his next comment knocked that thought clear out of my head.
“Why, dear brother,” Nuwin said, clapping the crown prince’s shoulder, “after all of these winters, you’ve finally taken a courtesan.”
CHAPTER 13
“A courtesan?” I retorted. My cheeks flushed as a snarl cut loose from the prince. “No, I’m a prisoner.”
“She’s not a courtesan or a prisoner, and you’re to address her with respect, brother,” the prince growled.
“Excuse me?” I placed my hands on my hips, facing Prince Norivun. “I’m most definitely a prisoner.”
Nuwin ignored both of us and pushed the door open before strolling toward the ice bar. He gave the Death Master an amused smirk, then pulled out a bottle of alcohol.
“Drink, Ilara?” Prince Nuwin asked, his eyes still twinkling, which got another growl from the crown prince.
“Seriously? That’s your response?” I rolled my eyes at Nuwin when he continued to wait for an affirmation. “Fine, actually, yes. I think I need one.”
Prince Norivun cast me an angry side-eye, but I ignored him and stalked back to the sofa. Nuwin handed me a drink in a crystal cup, then clinked his glass against mine.
“Solls.” He flashed me a wicked grin as the prince fisted his large hands.
“Solls,” I replied, because at this point, what did it matter if we celebrated our drink? It didn’t seem anyone was going to help me.
The prince’s eyes shot daggers at his brother, but Nuwin simply eased himself down onto the chair adjacent to the couch and peered at me over his glass’s rim.
“So the whisperings among the guards that a beautiful, wingless female had been brought to the castle by my dear brother were correct.” He laughed. “And I thought they’d simply had too much to drink.”
“Is there something you need, Nuwin?” the prince snapped.
Nuwin glanced at him before taking another drink. “Not particularly, but I would love to hear more about your travels over the continent and how you came to meet this pretty thing.”
Veins swelled in the prince’s neck. “Now’s not a good time.”
“Oh? Then when is?”
In two strides, the prince was towering over his brother and hauling him to his feet. Nuwin’s wing caught on the chair as he tried to set his glass down.
“Really, Nori . . . such manners.”
“Don’t even think about it,” the Death Master said under his breath as he dragged his brother to the door.
I watched them both wide-eyed from the couch.
Nuwin smiled devilishly. “Think about what?”
“You know exactly what I’m talking about.” They reached the door, and the prince lowered his voice even more, but I still caught his hushed words. “She’s off-limits. Don’t touch her.”
“Have you claimed her?” his brother asked, his eyes widening to saucers.
“No, but—” The prince dragged a hand through his hair, loosening half of the long strands. He cast a glance my way, then shoved his brother out the door, passing through the wards, which muffled any further conversation.
I strained to hear them, trying to pick up something, anything, but the prince was back in my chambers and firmly locking the door behind him before I could.
“I apologize about that.” Prince Norivun’s aura continued to pulse around him.
My eyes narrowed. “Why did you tell him I’m off-limits?”
The prince’s agitated movements stopped. “You heard that?”
“And,” I added, ignoring his probing stare, “what did he mean about claiming me?”
It was such a preposterous thing for Nuwin to say. Only mates claimed one another, and the prince was not my mate. Blessed Mother, I could barely stand being in the same room with the male.
The prince’s jaw locked. “It’s nothing. Forget you heard anything.” He strode toward me and plucked my half-drunk drink from my hand.
“Excuse me. I was enjoying that.”
But the prince dumped the remains in the bar’s sink. The leminai trickled through the plumbing in the icy wall, and I watched as the bright-green liquid disappeared through the bottom, into the floor, and to the nether regions of the castle.
The prince set the empty cup on the bar’s counter. “That drink is particularly strong, and my brother knew that.”
“So?”
He rounded on me, his wings extending slightly. “It would have been an easy way to get you drunk.”
“Again, so? At this point, being perpetually intoxicated may be the best way to exist.”
His eyes flashed. “You’re to stay away from my brother.”
Heat rose in my neck. “Why?”