My eye must get worse over dinner. By the end of the meal, the women are fawning over me like a flock of incredibly irritating mother hens. I flap my hands to keep them back. “Shoo! Or I’ll give all of you black eyes.”
Kaia frowns. “Are you supposed to threaten us?” She turns to Griffin, flouncing prettily in her seat. “Is Cat supposed to threaten us?”
He nods. “It means she likes you.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.” Kaia smiles brightly anyway. “I like you too, Cat.”
Griffin grins, obviously pleased with himself.
“You’ll pay for that,” I whisper so Nerissa won’t hear.
Griffin arches an eyebrow and discreetly mimes spanking between our two chairs. I seriously consider bolting, binding vow or not.
“I have an herbal remedy for that,” Nerissa says, grabbing my chin and forcing my face toward the lamplight. “Stay in the castle tonight, and I’ll make it up for you,” she offers.
“There’s no reason to return to the barracks every night,” Jocasta says. “You’d be much more comfortable here.”
“That would be lovely.” Kaia joins the campaign with an enthusiastic bounce. “And I have an excess of night garments positively loitering in my dressing room. You must come look at them.”
Kaia has a tutor now. She’s starting to sound like a real princess. It’s annoying.
I scowl at Griffin. I don’t, in fact, have any nightclothes. “You were supposed to take me shopping.”
He looks surprised. “I thought Jocasta took care of everything.”
“I only brought Cat dinner clothes.” Jocasta turns to me. “I didn’t know you needed anything else.”
Griffin frowns. “It’ll have to wait. I’m going away.”
“Fantastic!” I force an exaggerated smile, my stomach suddenly off-kilter.
“Cat…” A growl starts deep in his throat.
“We have everything Cat needs here,” Nerissa cuts in, putting a stop to what would likely become a thundering argument. “The previous royals had enough clothing to last a lifetime.”
I’m sure that’s true, but I need real clothes, like pants, which I’m pretty sure the former princesses never wore. But that’s an argument for another day. “I’ll stay at the barracks,” I say, coming back to the original point. “But thank you for the offer.”
“I’ll still set aside some nightclothes for you,” Kaia promises cheerfully.
I’m surprised when Kato and Flynn enter the dining room before I leave. “Take Cat back with you,” Griffin orders. “And, Cat, lock your door.”
There’s no chance of that. If I do, Kato and Flynn can’t get in, and I’ve gotten used to them tackling me in the middle of the night and patting my head. “I don’t need an escort. This is ridiculous.”
“Follow your orders.” Griffin’s tone is brusque, his attention on Kato and Flynn. “Be ready at dawn. We leave for Ios in the morning.”
We do? “Good. Panotii needs the exercise. And why didn’t anyone tell me we were leaving for the healing center site?”
Griffin glances my way. “Not you. You’re staying here.”
“What? Why?”
“You’ll be safer.”
“No!” Something close to panic rises in me. I don’t understand it. I don’t know where it’s coming from. And I don’t like it.
Irritation flashes in his eyes. “Stop arguing about everything. It’s infuriating.”
I blink, surprised. How dare he order me around? Me! “You can’t—”
“I can, and I will,” he cuts me off.
“You arrogant son of a Cy—”
Griffin latches his hand around my wrist and jerks me toward him. “You were saying?” he asks coolly.
Sparks erupt from my nostrils, singeing his tunic. My eyes follow a glowing ember to his throat with its hard, lean lines, corded muscles, and masculine hollow. Flush against him, it’s hard to hold on to my anger. Awareness flares at every point of contact, kindling a foolish, fevered craving.
There’s a subtle increase in the pressure around my wrist. I jerk my eyes up. “I was saying I’ll enjoy feeding your eyeballs to Cerberus one of these days.”
Griffin’s mouth twitches. He lets me go.
I don’t rub my wrist. I refuse to rub my wrist.
“Do you need us both?” Kato asks.
Slowly, deliberately, Griffin turns to him. “Why do you ask?”