A Vow So Bold and Deadly (Cursebreakers, #3)(3)

When she looks at me, her eyes always search my features, as if she suspects I am hiding something. As if she is angry with me, even though she doesn’t voice it.

Lilith waits in the shadows at my back. There once was a time when Harper invited me to her chambers to protect me from the enchantress. I wish she could do that again.

I haven’t been in her chambers in months. There is too much unspoken between us.

“I didn’t know you were watching,” Harper says, and she sheathes her sword as if she’s displeased.

“Only for a moment.” I hesitate. “Forgive me.”

As soon as I say it, I wish I could take it back. It sounds like I’m apologizing for something else. I suppose I am.

She must hear the weight in my tone, because she frowns. “Did I wake you?”

As if I ever sleep anymore. “No.”

She stares up at me, and I stare down at her, and I wish I could unravel all the emotion that hangs between us. I wish I could tell her about Lilith. I wish I could earn her forgiveness—and win back her trust.

I wish I could undo so many things.

“I don’t know what you mean,” she finally says. “About chasing the blade.”

“I could come show you,” I offer.

Her expression freezes, but just for a moment. My heart stutters in my chest. I expect her to refuse. She’s refused before.

But then she says, “All right. Come down.”

My heart leaps—until Lilith speaks from behind me.

“Yes,” she says. “Go, Your Highness. Show her the power of your weapon.”

I whirl, glaring. “Leave here, Lady Lilith,” I whisper furiously. “If you are so concerned about my preparations for war, I suggest you find some way to make yourself useful, instead of tormenting me whenever you need a childish diversion.”

She laughs. “As you say, Prince Rhen.”

She reaches out a hand as if to touch my cheek, and I jerk back, stumbling into the wall. Her touch can be like fire—or worse.

Lilith’s smile widens. My hands curl into fists, but she vanishes.

From the courtyard below, I hear Harper call, “Rhen?”

I draw a tense breath and return to the window. The sun has begun to lighten the sky, painting her dark hair with sparks of gold and red.

I’m supposed to be preparing for war, but I feel like I’m already in the middle of one.

“Allow me to dress,” I say. “I’ll be down in a moment.”





CHAPTER THREE

HARPER

I’m surprised Rhen is coming down. I’m surprised he was watching at all, honestly. Since Grey gave him an ultimatum, Rhen has been tucked away in meetings with Grand Marshals from far-off cities, with military advisors, or with his Royal Guard.

Which is fine. When I’m with him, a tiny ball of anger burns in my gut, and nothing ever seems to douse it.

The anger makes me feel guilty. Everything he does, he does for his kingdom. For his people. Being a prince—being a king—requires sacrifice and tough choices.

No matter how many times I remind myself of that, I can’t forget what he did to Grey and Tycho.

I can’t forget that I came back here instead of going with my brother.

Instead of going with Grey.

I turn back to Zo, but she’s sheathed her sword. Her eyes are tense. “I should return to my quarters.”

She doesn’t want to be here with Rhen. I hesitate, then frown.

Zo came to the castle months ago, when Rhen was trying to rally his people to defend Emberfall against the invasion from Syhl Shallow. She’d been an apprentice to the Master of Song in Silvermoon Harbor, but she had skills in archery and swordplay, so she applied for the Royal Guard—and Grey chose her, then assigned her to be my personal guard.

We became fast friends—a first for me, after the chaotic life I left behind in Washington, DC. She’s clever and strong, with a dry sense of humor, and sometimes I’d stay up well into the night when she was stationed outside my door. We’d wonder what happened to Grey after the curse was broken, or we’d whisper about the rumors over a missing heir, or we’d muse over what would happen to Emberfall if Syhl Shallow attacked again.

But then Grey was found hiding in another city, and he apparently knew the identity of the missing heir—but he refused to tell Rhen. Rhen tortured him to get the information, and he got it—but not in the way he expected. Grey knew the identity of the missing heir, because he was Rhen’s older brother. He was a magesmith, with magic in his blood. He was the heir to the throne.

He’d never known it. Neither had Rhen.

I helped Grey escape after Rhen tortured him.

Zo helped me.

It cost her a position in the Royal Guard. Grey once told me that his guards forswear family and relationships for exactly this reason. She was sworn to Rhen—but she acted for me. Rhen is never cold to her; he’s too political for that. But there’s an edge between them now. Like the ball of anger in my gut that won’t go away, I’m not sure it will ever soften.

I want to beg Zo to stay, because every moment I spend with Rhen feels prickly. But asking Zo to stay feels selfish.

Asking her to help Grey was probably selfish, too. Zo and I are friends, but she was my guard. Did she help me out of friendship, or out of obligation? I’m not even sure if it matters. She helped me, and now she’s out of a job—a job she loved.