Page 7

Not that it mattered. She would probably be dead tomorrow, and the Forest kith would be left to suffer from whatever ailed them, but every future generation of Harran would finally be safe from Prince Edom’s murderous—and hairy—clutches.

Still.

She hadn’t expected to be thrown into an intriguing mystery right before death, and she never liked leaving things unresolved.

Round and round the questions rolled within her mind as the hours passed. Eventually, the guards upon the watchtower dwindled from five to three to two, the daylight faded completely, and all the windows within the outpost slowly winked out. It was then that Raquel finally spotted the Bear Prince, flanked by Marix and another who held a lantern to light their path. She sat up straight but ducked back so that she wasn’t easily seen and watched them as they approached her building. They passed through a door, out of sight, and then deep and muffled voices echoed within.

Her heart picked up pace again.

Had the woman lied? Did the Bear Prince intend to share her bedchamber after all?

The building creaked and shifted around these three new occupants, and heavy tread stomped up the nearby stair. Raquel quickly blew out her lantern, lest they notice the slip of light beneath her door, and none too soon, either. The voices crescendoed just outside her door, where they abruptly dropped to whispers.

One of those voices belonged unmistakably to the Bear Prince.

Raquel didn’t move. Her hand rested over her pocket, where she’d slipped the dagger, and she strained to make sense of the voices that had dropped too low for her hearing.

This was it, the moment Lee had trained her for—for seven long years. But no matter her preparation, Raquel’s nerves hummed. Training allowed margin for failure. She would have one chance with this. She could not fail.

Her hand slipped into her pocket, and her sweaty fingers flexed around the blade’s hilt. However, those heavy footsteps retreated down the hall and silenced completely.

Raquel let out a long breath.

There was a knock.

Raquel froze.

“Are you awake, mybride?” the Bear Prince’s voice rumbled through the door.

Raquel’s heart pounded anew, though she did not answer. Instead, she very carefully tiptoed to her bed, slipped into the covers, rolled onto her side, and slid her blade beneath her pillow.

Waiting.

But her door did not open.

Wood creaked as the Bear Prince stepped away, then opened and closed the door across the hall.

Quiet.

Raquel frowned, threw back her covers, and sat up. She hadn’t expected him to knock, let alone ask if she was awake. He certainly hadn’t botheredaskingher anything since he’d taken her from Harran.

But her door did not open, and he did not come.

However.

Hehadgiven her an answer: the location of his bedchamber.

Raquel’s lips curled. Perhaps this might work to her advantage after all.

She waited an hour more, just to be sure, then gathered the rest of her blades, tiptoed across the room, and bent over to study the locks.

All six of them.

She pulled two pins from a rib in her corset, smirking as she did, then pressed her ear to the door once more just to be sure. It took her all of five minutes to open all six locks, and then she slid her pins just beneath her neckline, careful not to stab anything delicate, placed her hand upon the door, and pushed slowly.

The corridor beyond lay empty.

A single lantern burned at the end of the hall, but her gaze fastened on the door across from hers. The room Prince Edom had apparently taken.