win.”
The Shepherdess’s fingers froze against his skin. You’re not still on about that old thing, are you?
“I most certainly am,” Eli said. “And so are you, which is why you haven’t just yanked me back yet. You want to win, but so do I, and I’m not one to just roll over.” He broke into a wide grin. “You’ll have to find something scarier than the Immortal Empress if you want me to come crying back to you, Benehime.”
The Shepherdess’s face closed like a slamming door. She sat back on top of him, suddenly cold and distant. I was trying to let you keep your dignity, she said with a sneer. I should have known better. You always did enjoy throwing my kindness back in my face. But mark me, favorite, the Empress is coming and she has no love for you. I am your only hope. Try to keep that in mind the next time you decide to be rude.
Eli didn’t answer. He just lay there, his body perfectly still against hers. The Shepherdess watched him a moment longer, and then she leaned down. I’ll be waiting, she murmured against his mouth, kissing him one last time.
She kept her white eyes open the whole time, staring at him as her mouth crushed his. Eli stared back, not moving so much as a fraction as the burning feel of her lips grew from ticklish to nearly unbearable. Finally, with a slight smile, Benehime vanished. There was no white line, no change. She was just gone, leaving behind nothing, not even a warm spot on the bed. Eli didn’t dare move a muscle. He lay perfectly still as the seconds ticked by with painful slowness, counting them one after another until he reached a full minute. Then, like a dam breaking, he collapsed into the bed, gasping as the lingering feel of her presence faded from his body.
Powers, he thought, rolling over as he curled into a ball, clutching his knees against his chest as he fought to get the burning feel of her off his skin. Powers, did he hate her.
“She’s getting pushier,” Karon whispered, his rumbling voice vibrating up from Eli’s chest. “You better watch yourself. You might be the favorite, but it’s unwise to push the Lady too far.”
Eli squeezed his eyes tighter as he tried to find the words to tell his lava spirit that not pushing wasn’t an option. Whatever she said, whatever she threatened, he couldn’t go back. Not ever. Not to her. It wasn’t just giving up his freedom, or the way she touched him whether he wanted to be touched or not. It wasn’t even the fear, or the constant feeling of walking on eggshells whenever she was around for fear of sparking her terrible temper. No, what he hated most was the feeling of being owned.
The moment she’d decided he was her favorite, his life had stopped being his own, and from the time he’d been old enough to understand what that loss meant, what she really was, he’d been fighting to get away from her. He’d lied and conned and traded everything he had, his entire future, for the limited freedom he enjoyed now. But the slack she’d released into his leash depended on his continued ability to make it on his own. That was their wager; that was the game. The moment he admitted he couldn’t make it on his own, the moment he reached out to her for help, Benehime won, and he went back to being her plaything forever.
“Do you think she’s serious about the Empress?” Karon said. “Osera has no hope at all if Nara’s coming this time, not unless you mean to take her yourself.”
“I’m doing no such thing,” Eli said, opening his eyes at last. “Nara won’t come. The only thing that could get that woman to move is Benehime herself, and there’s no way the Shepherdess would start a continental war just to squeeze me into asking for help. She’s nuts, but not that nuts.”
Karon rumbled deep in Eli’s ribs. “I don’t know what the Shepherdess is capable of anymore. She has changed very much from when I was young.”
“And how long ago was that?” Eli asked.
“Not as long as it should be to account for so great a change,” Karon said. “Be careful, Eli. Benehime was always a dangerous Power, but she seems to lose all sense when it comes to her love for you.”
“No argument there,” Eli muttered. There had been times when the Shepherdess was so angry that Eli had been sure she’d kill him. Sometimes, the dark times, he’d almost hoped she would. At least then he’d be free of her. But the older he got, the more he realized that even death wasn’t an escape from Benehime. If he died, she would just catch his soul and put him back together. There was no escape from the Shepherdess’s love.
“It has to be a bluff,” Eli muttered. “The Empire has been planning to invade Osera for decades. Now that they are, Benehime is just using the timing to try and scare me. But I’m not a stupid kid anymore, and she’s going to have to push a lot harder than that to break me.” He forced himself to smile. “It’s just another of her games, Karon. And I’m the best when it comes to playing games.”
Karon grumbled, unconvinced, and Eli patted his chest with a confident thump, though he wasn’t really sure whom he was trying hardest to convince with such bravado, the lava spirit or himself.
Outside, the sun was creeping over the castle walls, and Eli decided he’d better get up. He sat and stretched, running his fingers through his hair in a vain effort to remove the feeling of the Shepherdess’s hands. He was just reaching for his blond wig when he heard the soft click of the door lock. Eli moved in a flash, grabbing the wig and tossing it on his head. He fell back into his bed just in time to see a young manservant carrying a shaving tray slip through the heavy door.
“Can I help you?” Eli said, his voice drawling in exaggerated sleepiness.
The servant, who obviously thought he was being stealthy, jumped a foot in the air. “Good morning, sir,” he said when he’d recovered. “I am here to assist with your morning toilet.”
“Splendid,” Eli said, sitting up. “What’s your name?”
The servant shuffled. “Stefan, sir.”
Eli stood with a groan and walked across the room. He took the young man by the shoulder with a firm hand and turned him back toward the hall. “Stefan,” he said. “Excellent. Now, when I need assistance with my morning toilet, I’ll know exactly whom to call.”
“But, Mr. Banage,” the servant said, digging his heels into the rich carpet. “The queen ordered that we were to dress the prince and his guests for court.”
“How lovely,” Eli said, pushing harder. “Did she also order that we were to be starved to death?”
“No, sir!” the servant said, horrified.
Eli flashed him a winning smile. “Well, then, since I am perfectly capable of dressing myself, why don’t you go above and beyond the call of duty and find me some breakfast before I eat one of your fancy end tables? Could you do that for me?”
The young man frowned. “I suppose I could, sir, but—”
“You are a prince among men, Stefan,” Eli said, giving him a final push out the door. “Of course, considering the princes I’ve met, that might not be a compliment, but it was meant in good faith.”
The servant stumbled into the hallway. “Are you sure you do not wish my help, sir?” he said one last time. “I could ask one of the others to fetch your breakfast.”
“I trust no one but you,” Eli said, slamming the door behind him. “Don’t let me down!” he shouted through the wood.
If Stefan answered, Eli didn’t hear. He was already across the room, digging through his bag. He pulled the wig off his head and brushed it out with his fingers before placing it on the washstand. Using hot water from the shaving tray, he washed his face and then wet his real hair, combing it back slick before pressing it dry with one of the hot towels. Next, he picked his shirt and breeches from last night up off the floor and, as they were far and away the nicest clothes he had, put them back on. When he was dressed and his hair was mostly dry, he pinned his wig back in place. He was adjusting the fall of the blond hair across his shoulders when he heard the lock turn again.
Eli glanced up, expecting the servant, or at least a breakfast tray. Instead, Josef marched into the room. The swordsman was also dressed in the same clothes from yesterday, but the fine shirt and trousers were wrinkled as though he’d slept in them. His knives, all of them, were belted on and the Heart was across his back, ready to go. For one soaring moment, Eli thought Josef had changed his mind about staying, but then he saw the pair of guards hot on Josef’s heels and a servant hovering with lather bowl and razor in hand, and his spirits dropped.
“Have you seen Nico?” Josef said.
“Good morning to you, too,” Eli said. “And no.”
Josef grimaced. “I was sure she would come back, but she never did. I waited all night.” He scrubbed his hands through his short blond hair. “Something’s wrong, Eli. It’s not like her to be gone this long without a reason.”
Eli turned back to the mirror to contemplate his position. His swordsman could be unusually insightful about some things, but he was thick as a wagon of bricks about others. There was no easy way of explaining to him that,
