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CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Corrick

I’m used to waking well before dawn. For years, because I would meet Tessa in the early hours of the day and we would make our rounds. Lately, I’ve been waking in the darkness and listening for the sirens, worried that she’d find herself caught by the night patrol.

This morning, I don’t wake until the sun has fully risen, the hearth has gone cold, and my room is bathed in light.

Tessa is here.

She hates me, but she’s here. She’s safe.

It’s reassuring, but it’s also terrifying. I grab my pocket watch from my nightstand. It’s nearly nine.

Nine! She’ll be heading to meet with Harristan. I need to speak with her. I need to warn her of what to say. How to act. How to protect herself.

I stride across the floor to the door and throw it open.

AllisanderSallister is there, arguing with my guards, his voice a low, lethal hiss. “I’ve heard all about the girl he’s taken. I assure you, the prince is not still sleeping, and you will—”

He stops short when the door is flung open. I watch as he takes in my bare chest, my loose linen pants. I very definitely need a shave, and at the present moment, my hair likely rivals Quint’s.

“I was, in fact, asleep,” I say. “And alone.”

He clears his throat and straightens. “Forgive me.” Though he says it to me, not the guards he was just dressing down. “Our supply run was attacked by vandals. The guards you provided were able to detain them. They’ve been taken to the Hold. I would like you to join me when we question them.”

Oh, he would, would he? I run a hand across my jaw. I’d say it’s too early for this, but it’s really not.

“Send for breakfast,” I say to my guards. “Tell Geoffrey I’m awake. Have a message sent to the king that I need to attend to business in the Hold.” I glance at Allisander, who looks poised to step forward and wait in my chambers while I dress, but there’s only so much of him I can take within five minutes of waking.

“Wait for me in the hall,” I say to him.

He inhales to protest. I shut the door in his face.

I should be worried about whatever smugglers he’s dragged into the Hold, or whatever he’s going to say about last night, but I can only think of Tessa meeting with my brother.

She’s smart and savvy and quick on her feet. I hope she has the good sense to lie. If she tells him the truth about everything, he won’t believe her. I know he won’t.

I hope he won’t.

I press my hands to my mouth and breathe through my fingers. Tessa.

Ihave a thought, then dash to my desk, fish out a slip of paper, where I nearly spray ink all over the surface in my hurry to write. I fold up the parchment and take it to the door, flinging it wide as I did before, just as my steward, Geoffrey, is approaching with a shaving kit.

He and my guards all look at me in surprise.

I clear my throat and thrust the folded paper at the nearest guard. “Take this to Quint. Tell him it’s for Tessa.”

“Yes, Your Highness.” He takes the paper and gives me a nod.

Geoffrey clears his throat. “I’ll be quick, Your Highness.” He pauses. “Consul Sallister told me you have business to attend to.”

I’m tempted to tell Geoffrey to go shave that stupid goatee off Allisander’s face, but I don’t. He’s already heard about Tessa, and he’s definitely not happy about it. I sigh and take a step back. “We mustn’t keep the consul waiting.”