“Bathe,” he said. “You will not have the chance for the next week.”
I glared at him but rose, wanting to wash all evidence of his claim to me from my body. At my thought, he chuckled.
“That is not possible.”
I reached for the closest object, which happened to be a heavy brass candlestick, and launched it at him. It soared past him and hit the wall, damaging a painting that hung just behind his head.
“Stop reading my mind!” I snapped.
“That is like asking you to stop feeling,” he said.
I sighed, frustrated. “I hate you.”
“You hate parts of me,” he said.
“I hate all of you,” I said. I let my eyes shift down, but he was fully dressed, and it was impossible to tell if he was aroused.
“Then why are you wondering if I am aroused?” he asked.
“Because I wonder if you get off on arguing,” I said.
“Yes,” he said. “To answer both.”
I scowled. “Stop reading my mind.”
He chuckled, and I turned on my heels, hips swaying as I headed for the copper bath. I hoped his cock grew tight and his balls heavy with need.
The water steamed, making my face sweat as I neared. I sank into it, groaning as Adrian approached, swiping a few items off a nearby table.
“Soap?” he asked.
I met his strange eyes first, then let my gaze fall to his hand, hesitant, wondering if it was some kind of trick.
“You can call for Nadia,” I said.
“I did not think you would want her to see you like this,” he replied.
I knew what he meant. I looked down at my breasts, my skin covered in dark bruises from Adrian’s hungry mouth. It was bad enough that the Blood King lived, worse that I had let him touch me, enter me, destroy me—and he knew that. Except that instead of forcing me to face my people in a state that would expose me to shame, he was protecting me from it.
I took the soap and the washcloth he offered next.
“Thank you.”
He inclined his head before turning his back and walking toward the window again.
“We will depart for Revekka tonight?”
“Yes.”
“If you intend to conquer the rest of Cordova, why not leave me here until your conquest is complete?”
“No.”
“So you will leave me in Revekka while you conquer my country?”
“I will return to Revekka with you and remain until you are established as my queen.”
“You would risk the Nine Houses plotting against you in your absence?”
“The Houses can plot all they want. I am inevitable.”
He wasn’t afraid. He believed he was truly untouchable.
And he was—as far as anyone knew. I’d stabbed him in the side, and he’d healed immediately. My father must have believed so too, which was why I was now married to the king of Revekka.
I stared at him. “And what does it mean to be established as your queen?”
It was the only question that mattered to me now.
“My people must respect you,” he said. “But they are predators and you…you are a sparrow.”
“Are you calling me weak?”
The thought had me squeezing the washcloth, and when he looked at me, his gaze was both gentle and oddly proud.
“We both know you are not weak,” he said. “But not even you can survive the Red Palace without someone to teach you our ways.”
I’d never thought much about the ways of vampires, but now I wondered—what was their culture? Were they as barbaric with one another as they were to my kind?
Adrian certainly made it seem so.
There was a knock, and both our heads snapped toward the door. Before either of us could speak, Nadia entered, cradling towels. She paused, staring down at something before bending to pick up the knife I’d used to stab Adrian last night. She held it by the pommel, between her thumb and forefinger, the blade crusted with Adrian’s blood.
“Good morning, Nadia,” I said, folding my knees to my chest, as if I could hide the bruising on my skin.
Her gaze shifted from the knife to me, then to Adrian, and I knew she was trying to figure out how it had gotten there and how both Adrian—and I—were still unharmed. After a moment, she seemed to come out of her shock and spoke.
“Issi,” she said. “Good morning.” She crossed to the bed, where she set the dagger on the nightstand. “I brought fresh towels and your travel clothes,” she said, draping them on the bench at the end of the bed. “Shall I help you dress?”