Soul Bound

Chapter 14

As promised, the king and queen had left. The dining room suddenly seemed much smaller than before. The bold prince had taken it upon himself to sit on the end where his father had been and gestured for me to sit where his mother had.

I threw him a dubious look--he was crazy if he thought I was sitting where a queen sat--then took the chair adjacent to the queen's seat. He was content enough with my decision, leaning toward me on his elbows and grinning like a dog that had just been promised a big, juicy steak. I held my breath, thanking all the gods that Grayson was only three feet behind me.

Before the prince could say anything, the first course arrived. The poor servers were confused when they saw there were only two of us dining tonight. After a shrug, the spare servers left while the others placed soup in front of us. Jacob wasn't the only one who relaxed when King Renkon was gone; the servents seemed much less stiff now that he wasn't in the room.

When the servants left, the prince continued to stare at me with a pair of hungry eyes. I couldn't take it; it was unnerving, and I wasn't used to men giving me that kind of look. "So, huh, about earlier. . ."

Prince Leonidas laughed then chucked my chin. "No, no, my beauty. We're not talking about things said in the past. I want to hear all about the wondrous Eva Greene. Your brother has kept you secret from me."

Probably for this exact reason.

"But-"

"Ah! No buts unless we're talking about yours." His eyes drifted leisurely up and down my body, enjoying the frame of my corset. "I'm not discussing any business with you until you talk. Tell me something about yourself."

I inwardly groaned, wondering if I'd made a mistake brushing off the king.

It wouldn't hurt to get to know him, Arkon suggested in my mind. He's clearly infatuated by you. Maybe he'll be more open about his intentions for us. Just be careful.

He could say that again. But I agreed with him. We could use his infatuation to our advantage. Plus, getting to know the one we'd be dealing with had its own advantages.

"Okay," I relented, setting my empty soup bowl aside, giving the prince my full attention, "but I want to get to know you too. A question for a question?"

He smiled, a genuinely pleased smile, no sexual ulterior motives behind it. "All right, Miss Greene. You're on. What's your favourite color?"

Baffled, it took me a moment to answer. I'd expected an in-depth--or at least a sexual-- question, not something so simple. "It used to be green like the leaves in the forest," I replied honestly, "but ever since my first flight with Grayson I've changed it to blue, the colour of the ocean."

Prince Leonidas raised his eyebrows over to Grayson. "Your first time was with the runaway, eh?"

Grayson gritted his teeth. "Don't call me that."

"Why not?" the prince goaded. "That's exactly what you did: you ran with your tail between your legs."

Hand on the hilt of his sword, Grayson stepped forward with a murderous look in his eye.

I didn't know what the deal was between them, but I didn't like it. "Leave him alone, Prince, or we can cut this talk short."

Completely ignoring Grayson's heaving chest, Prince Leonidas turned his thoughts back to me, charming smile and all. "You know how to get a man's attention. I don't think you would be as forgiving if you knew what he's done, though."

"I know."

At that, his eyebrows shot into his hair. He peered over to Grayson with more scrutiny this time. "He doesn't deserve your leniency."