Page 101 of A Vow of Embers

She reached over to pluck something from his tunic, and her touching him made that murderous impulse increase. I actually started to reach for my xiphos.

And in that same moment, Alexandros turned and saw me. He said something to Chryseis and then began walking toward us.

Dolion said to me, “Remember that I am here if you need help,” and then he left.

And when the prince got closer, I saw why Dolion had fled. It was because Alexandros looked furious.

Chapter Thirty-Two

“What are you wearing?” the prince demanded.

I wanted to cross my arms over my chest but was worried that would make my precarious clothing situation worse. “The dress your sister put me in.”

“Every man here is looking at you.” Alexandros was definitely furious about that, which confused me. Wasn’t that my entire purpose, as far as he was concerned?

“I thought I was supposed to stand by your side and look nice. Smile for the crowd. Although it seems like a waste to me. I could be an actual asset to you and not just a prop.”

“An asset?” he repeated as his hot gaze swept over me from my head to my feet. I shivered, as if he had touched me.

“Yes,” I choked out. “As you pointed out, I don’t get the things that I want unless you’re made king. So let’s make you king.”

That muscle in his jaw flickered a couple of times before he answered. “It won’t be quick. It can take up to a year.”

“I have less than five months,” I said, then immediately clamped my lips together. I hadn’t meant to say that.

“Why?”

There wasn’t any use in lying to him about this. He was too smart for his own good. He had already accused me of searching for something here in Ilion. I had to give him something so that he wouldn’t digfurther. “That is how long my family is going to delay Pelias and Lykaon from marrying my sister.”

“The way you intended to delay me?” he asked sharply.

“That’s not the point right now. I have to save Kallisto from that monster. I need you to be king as soon as possible.”

He considered my words. “There would be one way to hurry things along.”

“How? Whatever it is, we should do it.”

“If you became pregnant with my child.”

His words rocked me and my entire body burned, as if my veins had been replaced by molten lava. That liquid heat gathered at the base of my spine and I was dizzy with wanting.

My breath felt too thick for my body, turning my breathing shallow and fast in an attempt to get enough air. It was so easy to envision the next steps. I would go to his arms, kiss him deeply, then whisper into his ear that we should return to our room. Maybe he would even carry me to our bed like he had last time. My limbs trembled slightly but were eager to follow this plan.

I took a step toward him but stopped when I saw that the prince seemed entirely unaffected. His indifference spurred me to action, forcing me to stop and regain control of my traitorous, yearning body. He hadn’t touched me or kissed me, only spoken words that had caused a desire so powerful that I felt inadequate to fight it off.

He was so dangerous.

“You know that won’t be possible.” I murmured the words so that no one else would accidentally overhear us.

And because I wasn’t sure I currently had the strength to speak at a regular volume. I put a hand over my stomach, as if I could stop the fluttering there.

He raised his eyebrows slightly and I had no idea what he was thinking. “Would you like to return to our room and change?”

My body heard only the first part of his sentence and clung to it, desperate for me to accept.

Until my brain realized that it hadn’t been an invitation to lie with him, but instead to put on a different outfit.

Io’s words echoed in my head, telling me to be confident. I was a princess of two nations. I pushed my shoulders back, moved my hand to my side, and said, “I think it looks beautiful. I’ve never worn anything so fine.”