Page 15 of Wicked Prince of Frost

My eyes remain locked on our feet. “I am sorry.”

“There are traces of the frost bloom all over you.”

It’s not a question, but still, I nod.

“Is there anything left of it?”

I shake my head.

He falls quiet, the tension leaves his body as I wait for his next words. His judgment.

I knew the consequences when I decided to take the book from the archives.

“Let me—” He shakes his head. “Will you allow me to check you?” he asks in an unexpectedly gentle tone.

Slowly, I lift my gaze but cannot quite make myself meet his eye. He is within his rights to end my life.

“Please, don’t hurt me.” I cannot stop the words from rising up my chest and escaping.

He becomes so utterly still that I’m not sure he is even breathing.

“I will not hurt you,” he says after a moment, almost tenderly.

Perhaps it is a mistake to trust him, but I do. I want to believe him. I nod, but when he doesn’t do anything, I say, “Yes, you may check.”

He cups my jaw with both hands and moves closer and closer, lowering his face until our noses are just shy of touching. His mouth parts ever so slightly. I am too stunned to be embarrassed by the intimacy of his proximity. Everything about him is made to seduce. His touch. His grace. The fullness of his lips. Even the scar that cuts through one eye from brow to cheek adds an air of allure that could put anyone’s heart in danger of becoming beholden to him with just the right touch.

I hold my breath, unsure what or how he intends to find whatever he is looking for while doing my best to ignore that ridiculous voice in the back of my head, wondering if he plans on kissing me.

His eyes light up, a molten-gold ring encircling his irises flares, making the blue illuminate to an impossibly bright shade… the color of an intense summer sky. A soft glow radiates from within.

My head swims as his power takes hold. I am clay in his hands. It should frighten me with the way he could do anything to me in this moment, and I couldn’t stop him.

“I… feel it inside you,” he says so quietly, I would think I imagined it if not for his breath ghosting over my lips.

The spell is broken when he blinks, and his eyes return to their normal inhuman hue.

He releases me and straightens. “Not only did you prepare the drink, but you did it flawlessly. I do not know how, but you have come to possess knowledge only…” His words trail off, but he doesn’t need to finish that thought.

Demon shit. He knows everything.

CHAPTER FIVE

VIOLET

“Perhaps you can beuseful after all,” he muses. His eyes flick to my mouth, then back. “There is something I must do.”

He is considering my offer with something specific in mind, even after acting as if he were above my help. But there’s no time to feel smug.

“Obligate yourself into my service and bind yourself to me. If you fail to do what is needed, then you will die. However, if you succeed, I will consider the price of your crimes paid in full—and to show you how generous I can be, not only will I personally ensure you stay alive until you have fulfilled your end, but I will allow you to keep your life beyond that.”

“How long will I be bound and obligated to you?” My throat is so dry that my voice is barely a whisper.

He hums. “I thought you wanted to live.”

“I do,” I say. “But I deserve to know the extent of what I’m agreeing to. What kind of life would it be if it were not mine in the end to live as I chose?”

He nods. “Then, if I succeed, you will be free of any obligation and binding.”