Relief and disappointment flooded Kiva at the sight of Jaren’s cousin, Prince Caldon, standing before her.
“I know, I know,” he said, moving quickly forward and reaching for her bindings, his golden hair shining in the dim light, his broad shoulders casting their own shadows. “You’re thrilled to see me. Delighted. Couldn’t imagine anyone you’d rather have here in my place. It pains me to say this, Sunshine, but you need to rein in your excitement. It’s embarrassing.”
Kiva groaned when all the ropes were cut away and he finally removed the gag. Unable to offer even the briefest of warnings, she leaned over the side of the chair — and vomited all over the moldy carpet.
Caldon swore and jumped away, sidestepping behind her to hold back her hair. “Usually people have a different reaction upon seeing me. I’ll try not to take offense.”
“Sorry,” Kiva said weakly, wiping her mouth and pressing a hand to the side of her head, the flesh hot and swollen and throbbing.
“Not your fault,” Caldon said, returning to face her. “That’s quite the shiner you’ve got yourself. But don’t worry, it only brings out your pretty eyes.”
Kiva groaned a second time. “Stop flirting with me, or I’ll be sick again.”
Caldon raised his arms in surrender, and Kiva’s vision finally focused enough to take in the blood splattering his body.
“Are you hurt?” she asked, inspecting him closely.
Caldon snorted. “It’ll take more than a few lousy rebels to cause me any real damage.” A distant sound had him cocking his head and listening intently, before adding, “But there are others on the way, and since you’re more damsel-in-distress-y than usual, we should go.”
Kiva was in too much pain to argue about his damsel comment as Caldon carefully helped her to her feet, steadying her until she could hold her own weight.
“You good, Sunshine?” he asked, repeating the nickname he’d come up with during their time at the winter palace, a mockery of her less-than-sunny personality, he’d claimed.
“Good enough,” she said, having long since given up on asking him to call her by her actual name — especially when he’d responded that if she didn’t like Sunshine, then he could always call her Felon. She’d taken great delight in throwing a toss pillow into his laughing face.
When he’d shared the reason for her other nickname — Sweet Cheeks — she’d thrown something much heavier.
“I wish I could say we’ll take it slow, but I try to avoid lying to beautiful women,” Caldon said, supporting her with an arm around her waist as they moved toward the door, his other hand clenched around the hilt of his bloodied sword. “We need to get you back to the palace and send word to the others that you’re safe.”
“Where are the others?” Kiva asked as they entered the shabby hallway, the brighter lights making her wince.
“We had to split up,” Caldon said, toeing aside the body of a man he’d carved his way through to get to her. She glanced away quickly, partly to ward off memories of the last time she’d seen such violence — the bloodthirsty prison riot — and partly because the dead man had been ordered by Zuleeka to remain behind, giving his life for the rebel cause. Her family’s cause.
“Your abductors were clever,” Caldon went on. “They laid a number of false trails, making it hard for us to pinpoint which direction they’d really taken you, especially amid the festival chaos. Jaren and Naari took the eastern side of the city, Captain Veris and a contingent of guards are covering the south and north, and I came west.” He sent her a cocky grin. “I’ve always been the better tracker. You’re welcome, by the way.”
“We’re not out of here yet,” Kiva said. Remembering the role she had to play, she added, “And it’d be nice to know why they took me to begin with.”
“They didn’t say anything?” Caldon asked dubiously as he pulled her into a large, high-ceilinged room that looked like it had once been a kitchen.
“I only woke up seconds before you came through the door,” Kiva said. It wasn’t a lie, even if it wasn’t the whole truth. She continued playing her part, asking, “You mentioned before that it was the rebels — what would they want with me?”
Caldon’s cobalt eyes flashed and his jaw tightened, but he relaxed it to say, “Your guess is as good as mine, Sweet Cheeks.” He reached across and tapped her nose with his sword hand. “But I think it’s safe to assume you’re just very tasty bait for a much larger fish.”