Page 83 of Hellbound

One by one, the court pledged fealty, cutting their flesh on common steel before letting their blood drip upon his sacred blade.

Even letting his inner court touch Radegast would be sacrilegious.

By blood and bone, I am bound to serve the crown.

Soon, all that could be heard was a pitter-patter of liquid on the floor.

Karsan looked over the crowd.

“My dear friends, if you know who killed Dmitri Stoyan last night, you should feel comfortable telling me.”

But the crowd proffered nothing; they only looked up at him with smiling, upturned faces, some bouncing on their heels.

Across the room, the crunch of Ksenia’s apple caught Bohdan’s attention. His green eyes snapped to where she slinked in the darkness. And she returned an arched brow, the corner of her mouth tugging as she wiped away a stray drop of juice.

The king exited, followed by a flank of generals and noblemen.

Bohdan’s attention was magnifying and unforgiving in the way only truly disciplined people could dole out.

She stuffed the apple in her mouth as he moved to her with a liquid smoothness and settled against a marble pillar opposite her, his posture loose but ready.

Ah, the accomplice in your murder here in a darkened hallway within striking distance, Vornaya needled.

Ksenia suppressed her warring thoughts, caught between bloodlust and a strange, sick desire.

Bohdan’s presence both threatened and thrilled her.

“Something amusing?” His voice was the most cunning weapon of all. It drew her in, then cut her. The more quietly he spoke, the more dangerous he became.

“Not at all. Nothing amusing about a noble boy being held accountable for his actions.” Her brows pulled together as she wagged her finger at him.

“What’s more troubling is a killer is still on the loose, and they thought it’d be funny to skewer their heads on a halberd.”

“A killer may be on the loose, but it sounded to me like those three deserved it.” Ksenia tossed the apple core behind her, wiping the crazed smile from her face. It rolled a distance away with a thud.

His gaze swung to it, then back to her. Tempted to make her clean up her mess.

He took a step closer. She could feel the heat of his body.

His scent mixed with the tartness of the apple. Sage: clean, sharp, almost silvery in tone. And the undercut of something complex, like spiced wine.

The bare skin of her chest grew heated, and she changed the topic. “I noticed you didn’t pledge fealty to the king.”

His head tilted, analyzing her. “He doesn’t question my loyalty.” From the corner of her eye, Chancellor Valdren had spotted the pair and was shuffling his way over.

“No.” She lifted her slender hand to trace a finger lightly down his crimson vest. “I imagine he wouldn’t.”

Valdren’s face turned dark and sullen, and he strode away.

Bohdan caught the tip of his tongue between his teeth, not giving in to her trap. She wanted to make him squirm, to lose control, to manipulate him.

Every movement was slow, like a predator winding up for the kill as he leaned down, deliciously close. Her hand splayed wide against his chest, but she had half a mind to push him away and the other half to pull him closer.

His warm breath ghosted upon her ear, and her skin broke out in gooseflesh.

“Treason isn’t a good look on you, Senka.”

Her hand pressed flat against his chest. “Don’t you have a murderer to catch? Wouldn’t want him to strike again.”