Page 50 of A Court of Thralls and Thorns

My pulse quickened.

A prisoner kept in the castle dungeon for decades?

A rebel?

What in the name of Charrem was the king hiding?

I stiffened as Zander stepped up beside me, his presence a sudden weight in the air.

I had been so focused on the guards’ conversation, so intent on every word, that I hadn’t even noticed him approaching.

Solei would have ripped me a new one if she had seen that mistake.

“Something interesting?” he asked, his tone smooth—too smooth.

I willed my pulse to steady, keeping my face carefully neutral as I turned to him. “Kind of.”

His lip twitched, just the faintest hint of amusement. “Care to enlighten me?”

I shrugged, slipping into the first excuse I could think of.

“I’m in a bit of a dry spell,” I mused, crossing my arms. “I was thinking of asking out the guard with the beard.”

Zander coughed, as if trying to hide a laugh.

His expression remained composed, but his lavender eyes gleamed with barely suppressed mirth.

“I’m willing to introduce you,” he said, tilting his head slightly, “but I am unsure Theo’s boyfriend would be willing to share him.”

I barely managed to suppress a groan.

Man, I was going to kill Riven.

I sighed dramatically, lifting a hand to my chest. “Well, you can’t blame a girl for trying.”

“Of course,” Zander said easily. “But you should know that you will be encouraged to seek a partner with compatible bloodlines.”

I narrowed my eyes. “As in fae blood?”

His gaze didn’t waver. “You are a dragon rider. There are responsibilities that?—”

“Stop.” My voice was sharper than I intended, but I didn’t care.

His brows lifted slightly, but I pushed forward.

“If my commoner fiancé were still alive, there would be no decree that could have kept me from him,” I said, my words coming out colder than expected.

The reaction was immediate.

Zander’s face paled, his jaw tightening—not in anger, but something else.

Shock.

For a brief second, his carefully constructed mask cracked, and I saw it?—

Riven was right.

I had hit a nerve. He was mad.