Page 57 of A Vow of Embers

Parthenia promised to take me on a tour when she had a moment to do so—she had become very busy making arrangements for the various vendors and artisans to come to the palace and meet with me.

She had just finished pinning my hair when the prince came into the room, ignoring both of us. He took a tunic out of his trunk and went into the washroom. She raised her eyebrows at me in the mirror and I just smiled in return, as if nothing were amiss.

“I’ll take my leave now and will return to help you undress when your dinner is finished,” she said.

I thanked her and she left. The washroom door opened a few minutes later and Alexandros emerged. “Are you ready?”

“Yes.”

He walked over to the bedroom door and I followed him. I found myself looking at his profile and his somber expression. I tried to conjure up the Jason who had doubled over with laughter after I’d punched a goose and couldn’t remember him that way.

Because he’d never been real.

We reached the dining hall doors and a pair of guards opened them for us. The prince put his hand on my arm and brought me to a stop.

“These men are important to me. They are aware of our deal.”

That was a relief. I wouldn’t have to pretend to like him if his brothers knew that we hated each other.

“And try to be on your best behavior. Remember what you agreed to,” he said. Then after a pause he added, “Don’t stab anyone and don’t steal anything.”

I let out a sigh of annoyance and followed him inside.

Chapter Nineteen

Three men were waiting for us and stood when we entered the room. I recognized Rokh, who gave me a friendly smile while nodding at me.

“No Thrax?” I asked the prince, not able to help myself. “I hope something bad didn’t happen to him.”

I very much hoped something bad had happened to him.

“He needed to sleep after being up all night guarding our room.”

Alexandros approached the table and the men called out greetings. They all eyed me curiously, and despite not wanting to be, I was just as curious about them.

“This is my wife, Princess Thalia. She’s planning on killing me.”

There was a long silence until Rokh spoke up. “Did you tell her there’s a line?”

The other men laughed at his joke but Alexandros did not. He ignored their laughter and instead introduced the men to me.

“You’ve met Rokh,” the prince said. “This is Stephanos.”

Stephanos was Alodian, and he made me think of Zalira and Ahyana and how much I missed them. He had kind, dark brown eyes and was tall, his dark hair kept very short. He nodded to me and I returned the gesture.

“And this is Dolion.”

All the men in the room were handsome, Alexandros most of all, but I guessed that Dolion never lacked for female company. There was a charm and a seductive gleam in his light brown eyes that I immediatelynoticed. He wasn’t quite as tall as the others. His hair was black and hung in loose curls, his skin a golden brown. He offered me his right hand and I immediately noticed his Sasanian tattoo on the inside of his wrist.

I scanned the other men’s wrists and saw Rokh had the same tattoo.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Princess Thalia,” Dolion said, still holding my hand while smiling at me. It felt flirtatious but I couldn’t be certain.

I hadn’t had a great deal of experience in that area.

“Let the poor woman’s hand go,” Stephanos called out to him.

“Did you forget that she’s Xander’s bride and not a potential conquest?” Rokh teased him.