To Love a Prince (Knights of Valor Book 1)(19)

Sligo opened it to let in three guards. The men dressed in Tamarian uniforms took up positions near the door and the secret passage.

Rolland bowed. “Should you need anything, Your Highness-”

“I won’t.” Eli’s hard gaze never wavered as he watched his attaché leave.

Once Rolland was gone, Sligo bowed and left Eli alone with Auburn and the guards.

Auburn breathed in the prince’s rich clean scent. “Sligo doesn’t trust Rolland, not even with three Tamarian guards in the room.”

“Sligo is the best judge of character I’ve ever met.” Eli held her closer. “How are you doing?”

“Better, thank you.”

Eli kept an arm around her as he led her to the overturned chaise and righted it. He motioned for her to sit then poured her a glass of water. After she’d drunk it, he sat beside her and held her close.

“What was his excuse for being here?” Eli asked.

“Ajeem said he was taking me to Premal. Some other things that didn’t make much sense.”

Eli stilled. “Like what?”

She shook her head. “None of it matters.”

“It does to me.”

“Called me a viper.”

“That denotes power,” Eli said. “In Qumaref, a more common insult is whore.”

Auburn chewed her lower lip. “Hadn’t thought of that before, but it’s true.”

“What else did Ajeem say?”

“Something about how I’ve always been Premal’s.” She shook her head. “I’m just glad you got here when you did.”

“It’s because of your advice. The sultan was growing restless. When he took a break, so did I.”

A smile curved her lips. “Exactly right.”





Chapter 12





The sun was sinking in the sky when the meetings concluded and Eli could return to his rooms.

As he walked through the cooling corridors, Auburn’s words rolled through his mind. Why would Premal think Auburn belonged to him? And why would he risk the sultan’s wrath for a slave? A beautiful, intelligent, and kind slave, but still a slave.

And viper. That was a dangerous, often lethal, snake. Not something you’d you’d call a slave.

When he arrived back in his suite, the prince found Auburn curled up on a chair, one of his books in her lap as she stared at the door. Fear flickered across her face, and a smile replaced it when she realized it was him. The expression lit her face, and Eli’s chest tightened.

By the gods, she was beautiful, and a secret part of him was delighted that she was waiting for him.

As he slipped an arm around her, the soft scent of vanilla teased his senses and derailed his thoughts.

He held her close, enjoying the feel of Auburn in his arms. She was uninjured but still scared, and Premal was to blame. Eli kept his anger sheathed, not wanting to frighten her more, but the prince would exact payment from Premal for sending Ajeem.

Eli may be from Tamryn, but he’d grown up in court. Politics could be just as deadly in the land of the Dragon God as they were in Qumaref. But he would leave that for later. First, he needed to understand more about what he faced.

Eli settled Auburn against him in a protective and slightly possessive gesture. “I need to ask you more about Premal. Are you up to it?”

“I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”

A smile curved Eli’s lips. “Any idea why Premal wants you? Or why he’d wait until now to try to take you?”

“It might not have been his first attempt. I’ve always needed to be careful.”

“That azalea flower.”

She nodded. “It wasn’t the only incident. Most said I was cursed, and only the dead have blue eyes.”

“There are lots of people with blue eyes.”

“I didn’t know that as a child.”

Eli teased his fingers over the curve of her jaw. “Your eyes are beautiful. They’re the color of a summer’s day.”

Red tinged her cheeks, and she stared down at her hands.

“I have no need to lie to you.” He held her close and refocused on the situation. “If Premal was behind the azalea blossom, then he’s wanted you a long time.”

“I remember Priyanka talking about it when I was young. She wanted the sultan to sell me to Premal, but he wouldn’t. It was one of the few things he denied her, and she hated me all the more for it.”

“Strange Premal would try to poison you after he’d been trying to buy you from the sultan.”

“If he killed me once he owned me, no Qumarefi would care. Like a camel or a goat, I would be his property to do with as he pleased. And he has a reputation when it comes to slaves.”

Premal deserved so much worse than azalea nectar, but Eli would deal with that later. “Premal’s become bolder. Or more desperate.”

“I don’t understand his motivations. Perhaps he planned to make it look like you murdered me.”

“Why would he do that?”

“You wouldn’t know who’d done it, and that would make you question the people you brought with you. It would also damage your reputation. The sultan doesn’t tolerate abusive treatment of his slaves. He says you wouldn’t throw a vase on the ground to watch it shatter.”