While I helped Yaga to the ground, Custodis secured our horses. Once he returned, Yaga slapped an empty waterskin into his chest, which he caught with a grunt.

“Here, boy. Go refill that for me.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he grumbled, heading into the woods to find the stream we followed. Apparently, not even the mightiest of kings dared to say no to Yaga.

I watched him stomp away with a sigh of appreciation. The vampire had a nice backside even the queen’s glamour couldn’t conceal.

Yaga’s gaze seared the side of my face, and I turned to discover her taking my measure.

“What?” My cheeks warmed.

“He has a fine ass, that one.”

“Yaga,” I groaned.

“Have you tapped that yet?”

“Yaga!” I squawked. So what if I had? Once. Because I was certain we were dying. That didn’t mean I had any intention of repeating the act, no matter how good it was. My blood warmed at the memory.

“What?” Yaga shrugged her hunched shoulders. “He’s a virile, divine being. You’re a talented sorceress in your prime. What’s the problem?”

I spluttered, a long list racing through my mind. “The problem is, he cares nothing for anyone but himself.” Except in bed. Then, he’d been quite generous. I squeezed my thighs together, ignoring the spark the memory ignited.

“Doesn’t seem that way to me. The lad can’t keep his eyes off you.”

“You’re mad.” I glanced in the direction the vampire headed, then back. “Really?”

“Seems to me he’s caught your eye as well.”

I frowned. “He has not. The male is insufferable. He’s selfish and arrogant, and he…smells.” Like the forest mountain tops. And the way he kissed, there was no doubt he was a divine being.

Yaga’s shrewd eyes bore into me. “Perhapsyoucould be the reason he stays.”

At this, I commenced with the spluttering and coughing. “Me? Believe me when I say that a male like Victor Custodis does not want a thief at his side. Besides, I’m already doing as you wanted, being his tour guide on his path to enlightenment.”

Yaga planted her hands on her hips. “Know what I think? I think despite how desperately Carcerem needs him, you’re holding back because you are afraid of what will happen if the prophecy is right and he remains.”

I fought the urge to brush away her observation, instead forcing myself to answer truthfully. “You’ve seen what the power of the realm has done to Raelynn. That kind of power in the wrong hands can become something dangerous, something deadly. You do not know him as I do. He’s ambitious. What if the fates are wrong and he…”

“What if he turns on you as your sister did?”

There was one thing in this world that I knew with absolute certainty—power corrupts even the purest of hearts.

I shook my head. “Perhaps hewasdestined to be a great and noble ruler. Once. A long time ago. But the world he lived in, itsullied him. What if he agrees to stay and claims the throne, only to become—Idris.”

Yaga puffed out her chest, growing indignant. “The fates do not make mistakes.Ido not make mistakes. I sent you to him for a reason. Your paths are intertwined. If you ignore what you feel for each other, it could have dire consequences for both of you.”

I was beginning to think Yaga came on this journey not to help with the temple guardian but to play matchmaker. If that was the case, she wasted her time. Whether he decided to stay or go, he’d never bemine.

Muttered curses alerted us to Custodis’s return. He lurched free of the brambles. Twigs stuck out of his hair while mud clung to his pants.

“Gods, but I hate this place.” He sliced me with a look that threatened terrible things should I ask questions.

Stomping past me, he thrust the waterskin into Yaga’s hands. “Your water, my lady.”

“Took you long enough,” Yaga huffed, returning to her cart.

With her back turned, the vampire raised his hands as if to wrap them around her throat.