She drops something on the floor, and I catch sight of a half-eaten apple as it rolls under a chair. The former princess doesn’t seem to notice or care. I wrinkle my nose.
“You better clean that up, Eve,” I say, speaking before she can scold me for sending Carmadon after her. Throw the wolf off the scent.
She barely shrugs, letting the softened light catch in her silver hair. It dances and refracts. For an instant she wears a crown only I can see. “I think I’ll enjoy our last few hours of maid service.”
So dramatic, I think, fighting the urge to roll my eyes. “I doubt they’ll cut us off so quickly.”
“You know Davidson so well, do you?” She angles a knifelike smirk in my direction. I feel the sting of a familiar accusation and brush it off with a wave.
“I’m not having this argument again. We have more important matters to discuss.”
She paces to the foot of the bed, stopping to lean forward on her hands. Her gaze meets mine, storm-cloud eyes against my sky blue. I see desperation in her, and anger. “Your future profession is important to me.”
“It can wait,” I tell her, and not for the first time. Whatever role I decide to play in Montfort—that choice is mine. “You should be there,” I murmur softly, sitting up so I can touch her.
But she moves quickly, her cheek evading my fingers. With a huff, she flops down against the blankets, arms crossed over herself. Her hair splays, close enough to mingle with mine. Red and silver, the two colors that rule this world.
“Why send Carmadon to tell me that if you’re just going to parrot the same argument? Seems a bit circular, my dear.”
“Very well,” I mutter. As usual, my blood heats with her lying so close. “Should I try another tactic?”
Evangeline glances at me, pressing her cheek against the bed. I move slowly, deliberately, swinging one leg over her waist until I’m firmly settled above her.
Her smile doesn’t reach her eyes. “Please do,” she whispers, one hand finding my hip. The other remains still.
I lean down, speaking so my breath ghosts along her neck. She shivers beneath me. “There are already two factions within the Silvers of the Rift. One favors reorganization.” I press a kiss to the vein in her neck. “Joining the Nortan States. Living beneath the laws of that new government. Blood equality, a restructured society. They would prefer losing their status to shedding any more blood in another war.”
Her throat jumps as she swallows hard, keeping her focus. But the hand on my hip strays, trailing up my ribs. Over my dress, I feel her touch keenly, like she’s dragging her nails across bare flesh.
“Smart,” she says. Evangeline is far from stupid. She’ll let me play my game, but she’ll play her own as well. One of her fingers hooks into the ties at the back of my dress, toying with them. If she wanted, she could cut me out of my gown without blinking. “We Silvers always know how to save our own skins.”
I lean down again, putting a hand to her throat. At the edge of my vision, the light around us spots. Dark and light, bleeding between each. It pulses with my heartbeat. “And the other—”
Her voice is sharp. “I don’t care.”
I press on, undeterred. “The other is backed by your remaining cousins,” I say, pulling the collar of her sweater to the side, exposing the pale skin beneath.
She pretends to laugh. A hollow attempt. “I didn’t know they were still around.”
A lie, Evangeline. My Samos princess knows every piece of her family still breathing.
“Even the low members of your house have a vested interest in keeping a Samos on the throne.”
Her grip tightens on me, both hands at my waist now. Holding me in place. Keeping me still. “There won’t be a throne—”
“Your brother is doing what he must to make that clear,” I snap, sitting up to put some distance between us.
She only glares, retreating into bitter silence.
Once, I might have left her to this. Let her drive me away only to call me back when she was ready. But that isn’t fair. And I won’t live that way anymore. I don’t have to. “Eve—”
“It doesn’t matter who supports me.” She shuts her eyes, speaking through clenched teeth. “I’m never going back. I’m not staking a claim. I’ll never be a queen or a princess or whatever they want.”