Chapter 18

18

Ella

I stole to the front door and cracked it so I could peek out, tensing as soon as I caught sight of the riders.

Gwendoyln was hobbling along, favoring her foot, just as I'd asked. But Bianca was not cuddled up against the prince.

My heart picked up.

He rode alone, a dark figure against the twilight of the early dawn sky. No matter how many times I told myself he was a monster, he was breathtaking to behold.

Her ladyship, on the other hand, was covered in mud and riding hunched behind her sister on the rump of her gray gelding. Both the gelding and Lorayna looked deeply displeased, but Bianca was beyond livid, with curled lips and fangs bared.

I had to stop myself from laughing. So much for a one-horse fantasy.

Her gaze swept over the stable, finding me, and my stomach dropped. She'd probably been brooding for hours, and now her wrath had a target. Me.

Never let them see you standing around.

"Get out of here, Pip," I whispered, and my little friend raced away.

I tried to slip back into the stable undetected, but before I could vanish, Bianca dropped off the back of the gelding and hurled herself across the courtyard at unimaginable speed, her form becoming a blur in the predawn light. My head jolted back as she seized my hair, sending a burst of pain down my neck. I twisted and turned, but to no avail. Bianca might have been built like a dancer, but holy Fates, she was as strong as a blacksmith.

"You ruined my ride, you idiot!" she screamed as she forced me to face her. "You gave me a lame horse, and one that bucks as well!"

"I gave you the horse you asked for," I gritted through my teeth.

She released my hair, and I stumbled back—then pain exploded through my cheek as her slap drove me to the ground.

"I will bleed you dry and mount your head on a spike!"

"Stop!" The prince's command slammed into me like a hammer against an anvil, and both of us froze where we were, paralyzed by the power of his voice. He hadn't shouted, hadn't even raised it above a whisper, and yet, it was deafening. Absolute authority and control in a single world.

Lord Aamon came hurrying down the steps of castle, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. "What the hell is going on?"

"Look what this serving wench did to me!" Bianca snarled as she displayed her mud-caked clothes. Her left cheek was scratched and bruised, and the entire left side of her body was coated in filth. Gwen had apparently chosen the rockiest, muddiest part of the woods to buck her off.

"Bianca lost control of her animal," the prince said to Aamon, then turned to her with disdain. "If you cannot handle a horse, how can I expect you to handle the ball? Should I find someone more capable?"

Lorayna's expression had gone from annoyance to boredom to unabashed delight. The bitter woman was practically glowing. Bianca, on the other hand, was as white as a sheet, and her teeth were clenched tightly.

And who was going to bear the brunt of her wrath? Not the prince or her sister. Me .

Bianca pointed. "She did this on purpose to sabotage me—to kill me for working her too hard! She probably put a thorn in the damned horse's hoof to make it lame."

Gwendoyln casually picked up her lame hoof, showing it to the world, then walked past me and into her empty stall, her limp miraculously cured.

"A horse knows when it has a bad rider." Aamon laughed as a broad smile lit his face. "She didn't want you riding her any more than I would."

Bianca's expression turned to ice. "Then she should be fed to the dogs."

I scrambled to my feet. "No!"

The wicked woman spun on me, fangs bared and hand raised.

Then he was there between us, looming over her. While Bianca was fast, the prince moved so quickly, it was like he'd been there all along, and I just hadn't seen him. She stumbled back, cowering before him. "You will never touch that horse or this girl again," he said. "If anything happens to either one, I will hold you responsible."

Her expression twisted in frustration. "They're both just dumb animals, barely any use for breeding, let alone food. Why on earth would you stand for them?"

"I am the custodian of this place and all who dwell within it, dumb animal and high countess alike. You will not question me, and you will not abuse my property."

His property?

I was nobody's property.

Whatever gratitude had been building up within me came crashing down in disgust. He wasn't standing up for me; he was protecting an investment. A thing whose life he held in his hands.

Bianca snarled, then stalked away.

Lorayna's grin vanished the moment the prince turned on her. "The same goes for you. This girl and my horses are off-limits. If anything happens to either of them, I will hold you both to account, so don't get any ideas of sabotaging your sister."

My stomach knotted as the truth of it sank in. Lorayna probably would have butchered Gwen and me just to get Bianca in trouble, and the prince knew it. I had to find Belle and get the hell away from him and the sisters as soon as I could.

Lorayna brushed something off the sleeve of her riding coat. "I wouldn't contemplate doing such a thing, Your Highness. I'm not as crass or desperate as my sister, but I will make sure no harm comes to any of your mares."

My neck heated. Mares .

Lorayna dismounted, and then, leaving the horse standing there unattended in the middle of the courtyard, she strode away, head held high.

I was going to pay for this twice over. Whatever those sisters decided to do to me might not leave a welt, but it would hurt where it counted.

"Where's the stablemaster?" The prince's rich voice rolled over my skin like honey.

I didn't dare meet those stormy eyes. "Lorayna sent him away, along with the groomsmen."

The prince peered inside the stables. "Then who cleaned this place? It wasn't like this before." He stepped in and slowly looked around, then turned back to me with an unreadable expression that sent strange prickles along my skin.

My breath quickened, and I swallowed. "I did. While you were out riding."

For a moment, his reaction was utterly unreadable—but then the corner of his lips turned up as his gaze roamed over me. "Looks like it."

My breath halted for a second, and the deep heat of shame flooded my skin. I was sweaty, dusty, disheveled, and covered with mud, manure, and hay. Immortals had a sense of smell and visual acuity that was five times as strong as a human's. The dim light would disguise nothing, and my odor would tell all.

I wanted to die. I wanted to melt into the floor. I wished Bianca had maimed me so that I'd have been sent to the infirmary and out of his sight.

Hell, I might as well own it.

I straightened my back and met his gaze like a woman who didn't give a damn what a prince thought. "It's dirty work, Your Highness. I've been doing the like all my life."

Something flashed in those impossibly haunting eyes—something between surprise and curiosity—and he cleared his throat. "Seeing as the stablemaster and his staff are gone, will you put Tenebris away for me?"

His tone was gentler, kinder now. It was unnerving from an immortal. I didn't trust it for a second.

"Of course, Your Highness," I said, relieved to get away from him. I turned my back and patted Tenebris's neck. "I hope you had a good ride. Let's get you tidied up."

I loosened the straps of his saddle slightly, then offered him water and a handful of oats. As soon as he was done drinking, I led him into his freshly bedded stall. I quickly cleaned off the saddle as I would for my stepmother, then removed it and the rest of his tack, setting them aside. Seeing as he was the prince's horse and a proud fellow, I spent extra time wiping him down and checking him over before I brushed him to a glossy sheen.

I'd thought the prince would leave me to my business, but instead, the heat of his gaze followed every movement I made—burning through me like it could peel away the dirt and the grime and even my skin to reveal what was underneath.

"Is there something else, Your Highness?" I asked when I could bear it no longer.

A fleeting look showed him leaning against a post, silhouetted against the doorway. "It took months before old Albert could handle Tenebris like that, and most others who've tried got their knees broken."

I shrugged, trying to brush off the compliment. "I guess I have a way with animals."

He shoved off the post and drew closer. "And very peculiar techniques. I've never seen anyone bed a horse stall like that. It's almost like a bird's nest. Do they prefer it that way?"

I looked down in shock. I hadn't noticed it in the rush, but the birds had mounded the bedding into a shallow bowl of interwoven hay.

Oh, Fates.

My gut told me it would be very bad if anyone found out what the birds had done. Perhaps servants weren't meant to interact with the magic of the place. Perhaps they'd hang me as a witch.

I licked my parched lips. "It's an old family trick. I don't do it often—just for special occasions."

Special occasions? Fates, I was babbling like a fool.

The prince's scent—a warm and intoxicating blend of leather and vetiver—drifted over me, addling my thoughts as he asked, "Was your father a horse trainer?"

"No," I said, not daring to add anymore.

Why was the prince lingering and asking questions? He was the prince. He shouldn't care where I was from or what I was doing. I should be invisible .

"He wasn't a DuPonte, either. You lied about that." His voice dropped the temperature of the room.

I froze. This was the last thing I needed—the prince taking a suspicious interest. "I was terrified and didn't know you. Of course I lied."

He lifted his eyebrow. "To your prince?"

"What does it matter?" I said, masking my terror with courage. "I'm nothing more than property to you. My name doesn't change that."

Something simmered in his eyes, something I couldn't detect. "You're feral, but you're no animal. I can see that much."

Feral.

I liked that. Feral meant tough. Scrappy. A survivor.

I'd need that spirit to make it another week in this place.

I went back to brushing his horse. "I'll take that as a compliment."

"It wasn't meant as one." He stepped closer, his proximity heating my skin and stealing the breath from my lungs. "You stand out. Every time we've met, you've been up to your ears in danger with one of my kind. Just minutes ago, I had to stop you from striking a high lady. You're trouble."

He'd sensed my intent back there. Had he seen my hands tighten?

"I know you stabbed that immortal in the woods," he continued, his voice deep and threatening. "That's an executable offence."

My heart seized. Executable offence or not, I had no regrets about stabbing that bastard, and I'd do it again if I had to. I wanted to tell him that, but I saw the danger in him. Tightly coiled. Controlled. Pulsing just below the surface like a viper ready to strike.

So instead, I gave a half curtsy and said, "Thank you for not murdering me, Your Highness."

There was no way I could hide my hatred, and I was certain that was an executable offense as well. Treason, like the old stablemaster had said.

There was a long silence, and then the prince's boots scuffed as he turned and walked toward the door. Before I could release my breath, he paused and turned back. "I still want to know your real name." His voice was smooth as honey, but there was no doubt, it wasn't a request, but an order.

"Marquette," I whispered, my palms suddenly damp. "Ella Marquette."

It might put my family in more danger, but he would have found out sooner or later. There was only one person in town with silver hair and lavender eyes. For all I knew, he already knew, and was simply forcing me to admit it.

"Marquette," he repeated softly, sending shivers down my back. There was a way he rolled the word in his mouth as if he were studying it or tasting fine wine.

A slight smile tugged at the corners of his lips, as faint as the crescent moon. "Given your prodigious talents with the animals, Miss Marquette, I'm reassigning you to the stables, four hours every day. I want you to tend to Tenebris and my other mounts."

I raised my brows in surprise, then dipped low. "Of course, Your Highness."

My mind was racing with possibilities. A new position meant new opportunities to spy.

His smile faded as his expression hardened. "Lorayna will not be pleased, but I will make sure she understands that this is my will. Still, I would watch your back. She is a wicked woman."

With that he left, leaving my stomach churning with worry.