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“If you don’t want to share your name, why should I share intimate details about my king’s court?” the man countered.

I bit back a sigh. “Diora. My name’s Diora.”

“Lav and Namir grew up together, and are practically siblings. Neither has any desire for one another that they’ve shared. Besides, the king waits for a fated bond.”

My eyebrows lifted. “I thought those weren’t common.”

“They aren’t.”

Damn.

Well, I supposed that was a good thing. I wouldn’t have to worry about him being attracted to me or anything.

“Why did you wait until now to seek him out?” Jesh asked, continuing to set up the tent. There were poles in the ground, pinning some kind of thick-looking fabric to the forest floor.

“This was the first opportunity I had,” I admitted.

He continued setting up in silence, and I got the feeling he was waiting for me to explain more, to give him more information.

Despite my personal defenses, I’d never been asked about my past before. I’d never known friendship, outside of the friends I’d been chained in a room with.

“After the kings transferred their power into me and my friends, we were stolen by those who sought to take that magic from us. They didn’t succeed—but not for lack of trying.”

Jesh continued working in silence, not remarking on the words. I got the feeling that he didn’t know what to say to that. Though my stomach curled a bit without knowing what he was thinking, I remained quiet.

He finished setting up the tent, which ended up being a white and silver structure that was larger than the prison cell my friends and I had spent my life in. The trees brushed the three corners at the top of the canvas, and I studied them silently.

Out in front of me, the bushes rustled again, and the king came walking into the clearing, his back and arms loaded up with more large bags and items.

He nodded toward me, striding past me and into the tent. Jesh was still adjusting some parts of the structure, but Namir opened his bags and started setting things up.

I watched in confusion and fascination as he pulled out item after item. One of the largest was some type of thick roll, and another looked like a thick blanket. Though I didn’t have names for all of the items, gratitude rolled through me with each new one I saw.

Jesh got to work setting up a second, smaller tent, off to the side of the large one. I didn’t know why I’d need a second tent, but didn’t want to end up in a conversation with the king I’d probably still need to find a way to kill.

The way Jesh moved had caught my attention, but Namir’s fluid motions held me enthralled. I’d never imagined I could enjoy watching someone set up a tent or put things away, but damn.

Namir finished setting his items up and moved to help Jesh with the rest of his tent. I heard them speaking in low tones, quiet enough that I couldn’t make out what they were saying.

When Jesh eventually left me with Namir, I noticed that the king’s expression had grown dark and furious. His movements became sharp and jerky, his shadowy magic seeming to leak from his skin the way mine did before the monster in me took over.

Could he shift into a shadow wolf too?

Why was he furious?

I braced myself for torture, or a lecture, hating that it was my default expectation but unaware of a way to change that.

Eventually, he finished setting the second tent up and left, warning me to let him know if I needed anything else.

I waited until he was gone to get up off my rock and see what he and the other man had done.

Up on my feet, I wandered through the tents. The large one held a thick cushion, raised off the ground, with a couple of heavy, soft blankets resting on it. My fingers brushed them, and I marveled at the luxury.

The large tent also held a big box of food—dried fruit, vegetables, and meat, as well as a few different types of cheeses.

Pulling out a few small items, I held them in my hand as I continued to poke around at everything.

A silk bag in another corner held a handful of white and silver slip dresses similar to my black one but with softer fabric and more fancy details, as well as a few undergarments that were likewise comfier and more elegant than mine. I left them where they were, closing the drawstring on the bag so it’d stay sealed.