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A single pie occupied the tray, still fresh from the oven.

“You keep pie in your room?”

“Only when I know you’ll be here.” Raphael didn’t look at me as he said it, and it was good, because there was nothing I could do to hide the blush that coated my cheeks or cover the little thrill that went through me.

“Thank you,” I murmured, lifting the fork from the tray to break the crust. It was utterly decadent, fresh-baked and sugar-filled. The tartness on my tongue was vivid, and I swallowed with pleasure. There was little ladylike in how I ate—not that Raphael complained. I devoured the pie and set the tray down, a satisfied hand on my bulging stomach.

“Training is hungry work,” Raphael remarked with a hint of amusement.

“I feel rather like a dog that’s been given a treat for performing a clever trick.” Not undeserved, given the rigorous mental training he’d just put me through. Still, the image made me think of Titus’s comments about me being aspoiled pet. I fought to keep that out of my emotions and off my face.

“Youarerather clever,” Raphael teased.

Titus’sspoiled pettaunt came to mind, but I kicked it away. I hadn’t seen him in weeks. Perhaps he’d departed from Damerel, whatever plan foiled.

We sat for a while, an easy silence between us. The castle could be utterly silent at times, given the quiet way vampires moved and noise insulation. In my rooms, sometimes it was too quiet. Sitting next to Raphael, it was comfortable.

“What changed your mind?” I eventually asked. “When I asked you weeks ago to train me, you refused. You said it would hinder your ability to keep me safe. So what changed?”

“Everything I said is still true. I do think you’re safer if I can sense your emotions. That way I’d know if you felt you were in danger.” Raphael leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he looked ahead. “But… you wanted me to. It’s hypocritical to tell you you’re safe in my kingdom and yet curtail your wishes as if that wasn’t true. Perhaps there is another part of me that was selfish. That looked for an excuse to hold on to the blood bond. But my desires should not win out over your own, not when I’ve promised you sanctuary, and that includes sanctuary from the king’s whims. So, if you want something, and it’s in my power to give it, I will give it.”

I tried to make sense of what he’d just said. I swallowed.

“You really are doing it just to respect my wishes?” My wishes had never mattered to anyone before. Never been taken into consideration. Never had any power.

“Of course.”

Of course. Like it made sense.

“Samara, if you tell me you want something, I will do what I can to please you. Why do you struggle to believe that?”

My stomach twisted. “I was raised to believe that the surest way to be denied something was to let another know you wanted it.” An instrument. A hug. A family.

“That’s a sad way to live.” He didn’t coat the words in a saccharine way another might have.

“It was a safe way.” I took another bite of the pie, the granules of sugar melting on my tongue.Delicious. “Why was Demos upset earlier?”

My bid to change the subject wasn’t subtle, nor appreciated by the pained expression on Raphael’s face.

“He had… concerns.” Raphael said the last word slowly, like he was trying very hard to make something complicated fit in a tidy little box.

I told myself I was disappointed in the vague answer only because I was curious, not because I was upset Raphael didn’t confide in me. It didn’t affect me; I’d be gone soon anyway.

“Ask me something else,” he said, a peace offering.

“Tell me something,” I countered. “Something… something someone wouldn’t guess about you.”

He grinned. “I find I’m curious to know what you would guess about me, but I’ll play.” A pause, and his expression grew a shade more serious. “I never wanted to be king.”

“No?” I asked, surprised. I remembered how staunchly he’d told me he was glad he’d been turned into a vampire. I’d assumed Raphael wanted power. I would never want to turn, but the desire for strength? Recognition? That could be as seductive as safety.

He shook his head, leaning back on the couch. “In many ways, it feels like a choice forced upon me.”

I shifted slightly so I was facing him more, tucking my feet under my legs. “How did you become king?” Couldvampires inherit? They couldn’t have children… organically. My stomach twisted at the thought of Raphael being one of those babes turned.

Raphael arched a brow. “The same way anyone gets anything in a world of monsters. By force. It was the only option that let me have what I wanted. But I own all my actions—every single bloody one.”

I considered that. I’d felt trapped at Greymere, with only one path way forward. But I’d done something bloody in my own right to escape.