Reign of Darkness (The Prince's Assassin #2) - Ariana Nash Page 0,22

killed those men, but it had been self-defense. The moment it turned into madness, it was over. And now they both knew the truth they’d danced around.

Perhaps Niko’s words had been harsh. Vasili had been about to be bundled into the back of wagon, and considering his past, the thought of captivity alone would have been enough to trigger him. But after Niko had seen him so callously dispatch those men, the prince had needed to hear the truth. They’d both needed to hear it. Niko couldn’t afford to forget the vulnerable prince who had slept in his now-burned armchair was the same who had half a world-ending power running through his veins.

At least Vasili had appeared to wrestle back control. But for how long?

Chapter 9

The southern lands grew bitterly cold at night. Yasir had warned them of lighting a fire. It would be visible for miles. Shivering, they huddled in the back of the wagon, and Yasir took first watch. Vasili was supposed to sleep, but he sat by the wagon’s opening, a knee drawn up to rest an arm on as he stared out into the starlit night.

Niko lay stretched out on a cover protecting the precious silks beneath. As beds went, it was probably one of the most comfortable he’d ever slept on. But sleep was elusive tonight. Every time he closed his eyes, Julian’s easy smile and charming laugh haunted him. And when he wasn’t seeing Julian’s ghost, when sleep was beginning to lure him into its embrace, the chilling dark clutched at his chest, sucking on his soul and snatching him awake.

Niko startled himself awake for a third time, and Vasili cast him a cursory glance before returning to stargazing.

In starlight, Vasili looked like a ghost too. Niko rolled onto his side and propped his head on his hand, studying the prince. Several shades of grey made up his proud face. His lips were thin and colorless. But when he’d glanced back, his blue eye had shone its Caville defiance. This was one of those rare moments Vasili wasn’t sneering or looking down on him. Niko could almost pretend they were just two unimportant men caught in strange circumstances. Vasili was a farmer and Niko a blacksmith, hammering out iron for a living. Life wasn’t complicated. There was no dark flame, no looming war, and no elves.

Vasili, the farmer, was infinitely more likable than Vasili, the prince.

“Dare I ask why you’re staring?” Vasili asked without looking.

Niko smiled, confident Vasili couldn’t see the smile in the dark. “You should rest.”

He finally turned his head and waved a hand toward Niko. “Yes, but you take up all the space, so…”

There was space beside him. Granted, it was tight. He opened his mouth to suggest Vasili was slim enough to fit and then promptly closed it when the thought of the prince lying beside him ignited a breathless skitter of nerves.

As stubborn as Vasili was, no man could go without sleep for days. Niko shuffled himself against the wagon’s side, making more space. “There’s room enough for two.”

Vasili frowned—at least Niko thought he did. Hooded and with his face turned from the stars, he was all shadow. “No.”

“A bed of silk not good enough for you?”

Vasili stared outside again, cheek fluttering.

Ah, it wasn’t the silk. It was Niko. “Perhaps Yasir would be more to your liking, Your Highness?” Niko drawled. “You can make him laugh some more.”

“Nikolas—”

“I’ll get him in here,” Niko shuffled toward the wagon opening. “If I ask him nicely, maybe he’ll bring a whip.”

“Nikolas.” Vasili grabbed Niko’s arm, jolting Niko’s thoughts and actions to a halt. Niko glanced down at Vasili’s tightening fingers, and the prince let go. “It’s not you,” he said. “It’s too enclosed.”

Niko glanced around the wagon’s cramped interior. It was small, yes, but easier to keep warm and…

The cage the elves had kept Vasili in couldn’t have been much larger. Suddenly the wagon didn’t look so comfortable. Vasili avoided traveling inside the carriage, even in the rain. When he had to stay inside, he sat by the opening, exactly as he did now.

Vasili shifted back into his sitting position and stared out of the wagon, decidedly not looking at Niko.

And now Niko felt like an asshole.

“I, er…” He returned to his bedroll of silks and considered how best to take everything he’d just said back. “Sorry.”

The soft starlight touched Vasili’s jaw, sharpening its edge. “I don’t want your pity.”

Maybe it would be better for Yasir to join him. Niko’s presence only