Everyone gathered around the baroness, their eyes wide in admiration.

“Several days ago, my father returned from a hunt with some fascinating quarry.”

Rebekah nodded to her guard, who disappeared through a set of doors and returned not with a stuffed and mounted animal, but a person. A person whose hands were tied behind his back and whose head was hooded.

The guard pulled off the tan hood to reveal a young man with freckled skin and cool grey eyes.

A chill swept through you.

I’ll be here waiting, don’t worry. The voice rang in your ears.

You were about to break your cover, your lips parting, when Torwin’s voice rang out.

“Do you know who I belong to?” His grey eyes glinted like firelight on a sword.

A hush fell over the room. You paused, as Rebekah turned to him, her thin, black brows drawn into a vicious V.

“Do you know what she does to her enemies?”

For a moment; you caught a glimpse of the boy who’d fought hard for your heart. A boy made of sharpened steel. A boy who’d survived monsters and tyrants. A boy with no sense of self-preservation. “Have you forgotten that she was the iskari? The death bringer?” The firelight caught in his hair, making it flame like the setting sun. “She’s sister to a king. Guardian of a dragon so fierce, he’ll incinerate an entire city.” He stared down at Rebekah like she was beneath him. Like he’d stared down far more terrifying things in his life.

“To me, she is beloved.” His voice softened. “And the ones who keep me from her come to unfortunate ends.”