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Wren swallowed and willed herself to drag her gaze from his stare only to see that every eye in the library was on them. When she looked back at him, she tried to hide the anxiety flooding her.

“You can speak to me here,” she said cowardly. The way he was looking at her made her quite sure she did not want to be alone with him.

“I cannot,” he replied.

“I should think speaking is not a problem for a grand prince such as yourself.” Teasing him was the wrong answer, and yet she did it anyway.

“Why do you torment me?” His eyes closed as he said it and for a moment she was surprised to feel remorse. Sighing, he opened his eyes. “I went to see the court physician for your ailment of poor indigestion, he recommended—” He was stopped abruptly when she flew from her chair, grabbing his hand and pulling him from the library and the judgment of its occupants.

By the time they made it to the corridor she whirled on him. “Are you completely mad?” she said, when at last he paused to catch his breath.

He raised his eyebrows as if she were the one who had lost their mind. “I told you I needed to speak with you privately.”

“Was there something you needed, Your Highness?” she asked, rolling her eyes. She instantly regretted reminding him of why he had come to find her in the first place.

His eyes darkened causing her stomach to flutter in response. He pulled her into a nearby alcove, their bodies dangerously close.

“You went to see him.”

She did not need to ask who he was referring to. “Word travels fast I see,” she replied haughtily, refusing to apologize for searching for answers.

“He did not hesitate to find me and gloat about your visit.” He sighed, looking at her as if he could find some riddle in her. “I told you not to go to him.”

“I need to understand,” she replied defeatedly.

His face softened slightly, but she could see the anger that remained. “He will never give you an answer that you need.”

“I know that now,” she said, dropping her eyes to the stone floor between them.

The silence stretched between them until she heard him say her name so softly, she thought she might have imagined it. When she lifted her eyes to his, he was looking at her as if he were debating whether to say something or not. He closed his eyes briefly and when he opened them again it was with resignation.

“Are you all right?” His voice was quiet, hesitant.

“No.” The answer was one of the most honest things she had ever uttered.

“He will pay for what he did one day.” His promise was an echo of her own.

Wren’s eyes burned, but she didn’t look away. “When?”

Malaki’s eyes were made of ice. “I don’t know, but I swear to you he will pay.”

The promise was both enough and could never be enough. He seemed to understand the truth of it as silence stretched both of them lost to the past and unrequited retribution.

“Why won’t you let me help you? I can find the answers for you if you only give me time.” His words were quiet, nearly a plea.

Wren narrowed her eyes at him, trying to decipher these hints and whispers of a different person. “I didn’t know you wanted to help.”

He shook his head. “Wren, I have been trying since the moment you got here. I have not stopped. I will not stop.”

Wren gave a bitter laugh as everything suddenly became clear. “Of course, I should have realized how eager you were to be rid of me.” She had thought that she was seeing what Sophie always claimed was in him, but she was certain Sophie was mistaken. Malaki only changed himself to be whatever served his purpose. The glimpses of humanity she witnessed in him were only ploys to get what he wanted from her.

He stared at her, and his blue eyes felt like they were boring into her. His face hardened and he took a deep breath. “I am sorry that I gave you that impression.”

Her veins flowed hot as she took in his unapologetic features. Refusing to let him know how close she had come to believing his act, she merely shrugged a shoulder before turning her gaze to the stone wall rather than face his scrutiny. The silence stretched between them, and when she looked back, she saw his gaze fixed on her mouth. She felt her breath hitch and her heart thump wildly in her chest.

“You bite your lip when you are nervous.” She could have sworn he was breathless as the words left him.

“I am not nervous,” she lied.