Clare’s fingernails dug into her palms, anger tightening her voice. “I already told you, I’m no spy.”
“If you insist. Now, my father ordered me to get acquainted with you and tell you anything I could think of to make your charade easier. I believe I’ve become as acquainted as I wish to be, so I’ll proceed with his second request.” She leaned forward, her mouth a thin line. “If you want to succeed, stay out of my way.” Serene swept to her feet. “Another piece of advice? If you wish to fool anyone into thinking you’re me, you’d better learn to argue better. You’re quite horrible at it.”
Clare surged to her feet, only the low table between them. Heat pounded in her cheeks, throbbing hotter with each beat of her heart. “You don’t know me.”
“I know enough. You’re easily bought and all too eager to plunge headfirst into matters you have no understanding of. You’re either ignorant of the danger or too blinded by greed to care. You’ve allied with vipers, and they’ve thrown you into a pit.” She smoothed her hands over her already smooth skirt. “Enjoy breakfast. And don’t worry, it’s already been checked for poisons.”
Serene strode from the room and slammed the door shut.
Clare’s morning didn’t improve at the library. Ramus, the royal librarian, was a wiry old man with a stern frown. His small office was littered with books and papers, maps and scrolls. He puffed on a pipe and asked Clare all manner of questions, gauging her knowledge on everything from kingdom geography to the royal genealogy. Then he started in on foreign languages and politics. Nearly three hours passed in that crowded room filled with dust, books, and pipe smoke, and Clare was utterly drained by the time she was dismissed. She would never learn all she needed to. The hopelessness made her head pound.
She and Venn each carried a stack of books which Ramus had instructed her to read. As they made their way to the princess’s suite, Venn loosed a chuckle.
“You find something humorous about this?” Clare asked, still irritated by her abbreviated breakfast with the princess, not to mention the degrading experience of being told by Ramus—repeatedly—that she was appallingly ignorant.
“Just thinking about Ramus. Do you think he’s cross-eyed because of the endless reading, or because he has to spend so much time with himself?”
She grunted, shifting the books in her aching arms. “I would think the latter.”
“Idon’t envyyou this reading.”Vennpeekedover his shoulder. “Are you managing all right?”
“Your stack is twice as high as mine.”
“But yours is half as tall as you are.”
She snorted. “You’re not short on wit, are you?”
He grinned, white teeth flashing against his dark skin. “I’m not short on anything.”
A laugh burst from her as they stepped into the main hallway, where she saw they were not alone. Her mouth snapped shut.
Captain Bennick Markam stood before the princess’s room, his fist lifted to knock. He scanned them and quirked a smile. “Been to the library, I see.”
“Took it with us, more like,” Venn quipped.
Bennick intercepted them and scooped the books from Clare’s arms, his eyes searching her face. “How are you?”
She rubbed a hand over her inner elbow, where a particularly sharp-edged book had dug into her skin. Anything to avoid looking at him. “Fine.”
Her shortness didn’t dissuade him. “Are you sure? Venn can be irritating.”
“Hey,” Venn protested.
Just hearing Bennick say the name Venn brought all her annoyance back to the surface. She lifted her head, stared right at him, and smiled thinly. “Oh, no,” she said, gratified that the sudden sweetness in her tone caused wariness to enter his eyes. “Venn has been an absolute delight. Far better than the last Venn I met.”
The barbhadthe desiredeffect.The corner of Bennick’smouth pulled down. “Is that so?”
Her eyes narrowed. “Undeniably.”
Venn glanced between them, still clutching his stack of books. “I’m missing something, aren’t I?”
“Nothing worth recounting,” Clare assured him.
Bennick’s stubbled jaw flexed. “I’m sorry for any misunderstandings.” He darted a look at Venn and Clare realized her jabs hadn’t been the reason for his sudden tension.
Venn didn’t know Bennick had used his name. Interesting. It made her wonder what else Bennick was keeping from his friend, because he was clearly keeping secrets.
She crossed her arms over her chest as she lifted her chin. “I’m sure you are sorry. You should be.”
Bennick’s forehead lined.
“Fates.” Venn whistled lowly. “Bennick, I think she’s upset with you.”
A muscle thrummed in his jaw. “Thanks, Venn.”
Clare moved around Bennick and yanked open the door, feeling the two men follow her into the princess’s suite.
Vera glanced up from her sewing. “How was breakfast?”
“Delightful.”
“Good,”she said,obviouslymissing the sarcastic bent of Clare’s response. But then, her eyes were on Venn as he and Bennick deposited the books on a low table.
BennickturnedtoClare.“Wewereneverproperlyintroduced.”He extended a hand. “I’m Captain Bennick Markam.”
She eyed his hand, not bothering to take it.
Bennick’s hand wavered, then dropped.
She felt a flash of guilt for her rudeness but shoved it away. He might have been one of the guards who spoke in her defense that first night, telling the commander she hadn’t attacked the princess, but he hadn’t defended her against the king’s machinations. He had let the king use her—fates, he’d helped him by shadowing her on her visit home. And though he might have saved her life yesterday, he’d also brought her back to the king, and he’d lied about something as simple as his name—was he even capable of uttering truth? Did he enjoy manipulating her?
She pursed her lips as she viewed him. “I suppose you’ve come to fetch me for our lesson?”
His hand fisted at his side. “Yes. We’ll be on the training field and I wanted to escort you.”
She frowned. “Won’t it be strange for a woman to be seen on the training field?”
“Not if she’s the princess’s maid. Anyone close to the royal family receives basic defense training and instruction on how to work with the royal bodyguards.”
She shot a look at Vera, who confirmed this
