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It was a mistake.

The late autumn sunshine softened all his haughty edges, making him even more achingly handsome than usual. But it wasn’t just the way he looked that attracted Wren. He, out of everyone, had been honest with her from the beginning. Even when he was fighting her on the Dragon Isles or hauling her away to Verlanti, he’d spoken not a single lie.

True, he was a monster. A barbarian. But he’d never pretended to be something he wasn’t. That was something she could respect.

“Can I trust you?” she asked, hating how her voice broke on the question. Wren felt so small. So vulnerable. But she was tired of trying to shoulder everything on her own. She had Leif, yes, but he had his own problems to worry about. Once Wren returned to the Dragon Isles—if she ever survived that long—she doubted her friend would come with her.

Arrik sidled closer and placed his hand over hers own. The warmth of his skin on hers rooted Wren in the moment. She drew strength from the simple touch and blinked back the heat that pressed behind her eyes.

How had she come to this? Drawing comfort from her enemy.

“Yes, you can trust me. Just the way I know I can trust you. We will always do what’s best for our people and each other.”

That was enough for the floodgates to open.

“Why? I’m your enemy.”

“No.” He shook his head. “You are my partner, which is why I will entrust you with one of my secrets.”

Wren held her breath, staring into his ice blue eyes. He brushed a strand of hair from her face. “You have a younger sister. The true heir to the Dragon Isles.”

She blinked slowly, all her muscles locking up. He couldn’t know.

Arrik slid his hand behind her head to cup her nape so she couldn’t run away. “Breathe, Wren. Breathe.”

But she couldn’t. Everything she’d been fighting to protect was in danger.

He dropped his forehead against hers. “Don’t fear.”

“How?” she croaked.

“I had a notion,” he admitted, his breath whispering across her lips. “Back in the palace, I spent many a sleepless night trying to work out why you would not break. If you had truly lost all that was important, you would have folded. But there was steel to your spine that I know from experience only exists when you have someone specific to protect. Someone you love.”

Her stubbornness had given her away? “You will never find her.”

“I have no plans to.”

His admission floored her.

She pulled back slightly to look in his eyes. He meant it. The prince wasn’t lying. She could read his sincerity in his gaze. “Why?” What could he possibly gain from this?

“Because any kin of yours is kin of mine.”

A lump formed in her throat. “How long have you known?”

“Since I let you escape me the first time.”

Her breath caught. The prince had known for months. “She gives you power.”

“I will get it without her. I won’t put someone you love in jeopardy.”

He believed what he was saying but could she?

“What do you know of love? By all accounts it seems as if you love nobody.”

If Wren had hurt him, he didn’t show it. Arrik brushed the tip of his nose against hers, causing her belly to flutter.

“I don’t know much of love. Regardless, my mother lovedme,and until Soren drove her to her death, she did everything in her power to protect me from him. What I know is what I learned from her.”