Page 12 of The Ballad of the Vampire Prince

“How’s your head?” His voice is almost gentle when he asks that. For a moment it doesn’t seem like he hates me so much.

“It’s better,” I say, trying to sound as casual as I can even though my heart is hammering like a drum. “Was I really screaming?”

“It’s hard to miss it. You were loud.”

Just like that, Jerk Svenn makes his comeback.

“I’m sorry you had to see that,” I mutter.

He stares down at me and I see a hint of concern in his beautiful russet eyes. Maybe I’m just imagining it.

I hate it when he looks at me like that. Like he didn’t just hurt me when he pushed me away. Like he didn’t just stomp on my hopes and dreams. Like he hadn’t confessed that he tried to kill me. Twice.

I’m still mending my battered heart.

“I don’t want this. I don’t want you.”I can’t forget the mocking cruelty in the things he said.

My brain has decided to forget any feelings I hold for Svenn, but my heart hasn’t quite caught up to the idea yet.

His gaze sweeps over me, from my throat down to my breast. My pulse pounds in my ears until it’s all I can hear. I feel like I’ve accidentally stumbled upon the wolf’s lair and he’s all too happy to devour his prey.

Stupid little pig.

It’s not real. This is the strange bond effect.

I notice the barely perceptible flinch in Svenn’s face when he glimpses the raven’s wing marking over my belly. No one else can see the curse engraved on my skin but the two of us. The worst curse from the vilest dark magic. I quickly cover my exposed skin with the blanket to hide the Rhunhraefn.

“You don’t have to be afraid. I won’t hurt you.” He pauses and stares down at me. His eyes give nothing away. “I will never touch you like that again.”

I beg my face not to react to that. “That’s good to know.”

“I’m in better control of… whatever the fuck it is that we have. It doesn’t bother me as much.”

“Yeah, me too,” I say smoothly.

That is a complete lie.

The bond has been whispering the most wicked of things. I want to kiss his lips. I want to lick his throat. I want to bite his chest. There is something definitely wrong with me. And it gets worse with each passing day.

“A friend is bringing me a book from the Arawynn temple in the capital. We’ll know more about this bond soon,” I say, keeping my tone even. “I want to be rid of it as soon as possible.”

An even bigger lie.

I wish with all my being that I could say that the bond between us is unpleasant. But the truth is, I love the warm and cosy feeling it has given me. It feels like it has always been a part of me.

“I should get up now,” I say, clearing my throat. I slide from the bed and head straight to the bath chamber. Svenn knows about my deformed bone, so I don’t bother with a pretentious gait around him.

I’m glad the meetings with the emissaries in Windhaven are not as formal as the ones in the capital. One can even go in armor and hunting leathers. This means I won’t have to endanger Tallula and Lenna’s lives by bringing them here to dress me.

I pick a simple light cerise dress and pair it with a practical black pants. If I’m lucky Aelfric might train with me today. But if he’s busy, I’ll manage just fine by myself. I saw the perfect spot behind the keep yesterday.

By the time I’ve finished dressing, the Strigon lingers in the room as if he is waiting for me.

“You’re still going to your council meeting?” he asks in that deep voice again.

“Yes.”

He follows my every movement with his dark gaze. “You can’t even stand straight.”