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Somehow, without breaking stride, he managed to draw me closer, pressing his mouth to my ear. Surely, now, he would compliment my appearance.

“I located the door,” he whispered, sending a tingle down my arm.

Screw compliments. This was far better. “Then why don’t you sound happy?”

“Because it isn’t a door but a drainage tunnel, located in the pit beneath the sand. The grate sits in front of the king’s pavilion. Like all the exits, it’s locked and warded.”

Disappointment had me tripping over my feet. Victor steadied me.

“But not guarded because it’s completely exposed and impossible to reach.” I exhaled a heavy sigh. “It will never work.”

“I have an idea, but I’ll need to speak with Thorne.”

Our entire escape plan rested in the hands of a male who’d already betrayed us and a mysterious shifter with ulterior motives.

Too soon, the music ended with those around us bowing to their partners.

“All hail!” a deep voice boomed, and heads swiveled as the ballroom doors swished open in a dramatic fashion. “King Idris and Queen Raelynn.”

Both the king and my sister made their grand entrance. Thorny crowns rest upon their heads, the gilded branches glimmering beneath the glowing chandeliers. Rich fabrics encrusted with costly crystals wrapped their lean frames. Priceless jewels circled Raelynn’s neck, dripping from her earlobes.

So much waste. I turned my back to the spectacle.

Tomorrow, we would find a way to escape this place. We had a plan. Sort of. An impossibly difficult plan. Sure, we would likely die before we even got close to the hidden gate—but it would be a good death. A warrior’s death. Monuments would be erected in our names. Okay, not monuments. More like minuscule trinkets farmers would hang from the tailgates of wagons.

Oblivious to my impending meltdown, Victor passed me a glass of something bubbly. Lady that I was, I downed it in three gulps.

Despite my spinning head, I noted the room had fallen quiet.Fabulous. I was going deaf. I stuck a dainty finger in my ear and wiggled it.

“Runa,” Victor murmured, a bite of warning in his tone.

I spun to find His Holy Royalness behind me. “Flark.” I grasped my chest, cursing before I could stop myself.

Unaffected, King Idris passed my empty glass to the vampire, whose benign expression had turned to stone.

“Dance with me,” Idris commanded, the same as Custodis had earlier.

Revulsion slinked up my arm where the false king touched me. The sensation was like snakes slithered along my shoulder and down my torso, where they coiled in my stomach.

This man was everything I hated most in this world.

I glanced around the room, searching for an escape, noting the locks on the doors, the windows too high to reach, and the guards in my path.

“Don’t,” Idris ordered. “Tonight, you are more beautiful than a thousand night-blooming flowers. I’d hate to see one hair on your fair head defiled.”

I barked a laugh of hysteria at his silken words. Finally, I received the compliment I’d sought. It was a shame it was from a serpent, instead of my vampire lord.

Except, perhaps this was the break I’d been hoping for. Custodis wasn’t the only one capable of uncovering secrets.

I met the vampire’s steely gaze while speaking to the false king, saying with false cheer, “Why thank you, you your highness. I’d love to dance with you.”

Idris guided me through a waltz with the same finesse Victor had moments ago. The weight of a hundred eyes bore down on me.

“Tell me, King Idris, do you often dance with convicted criminals?”

“Only the most attractive ones.”

I summoned my most winsome smile, fluttering my lashes. “I imagine you have something special planned for us tomorrow? You simply must tell me. I promise it will be our little secret.”