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He looked terrible

Pritkin’s idea of a beauty regine on hi wild and seductive and--and wrong Pritkin sunpowder He s coffee and those little licorice candies he snuck around to eat because he didn’t want to set a bad example for my sweet tooth

Only not now

Now he s

"Where do you think?" Casanova said bitterly "She toldhere to look for John, but as soon as we arrived, she started asking after Rosier When I demanded to knohy, she left me and went to look for him on her own And stupidly, I tried to warn--"

"I kneas you," Pritkin told me, quietly furious "Before he said a damned word As soon as I heard the bells, I knew--"

I slapped him Hard It came out of nowhere, to the point that I didn’t even realize I was going to do it until his head snapped back, until he was glaring at me over the imprint of my palm on his left cheek

"I--we’ll talk later," Casanova said, and slunk off so And I wasn’t talking about the slap

"You--" Pritkin cut off and claht, as if he was afraid if he started he wouldn’t knohere to stop Which was fine by , and anything he could throw-- just any daainst a hard chest

"You son of a bitch--" I began, only to have ht in my throat It wasn’t sentiht be hate

Yes, that was it I hated him

"Did you hear me?" Caleb barked, from across the room

"What?" I snapped And finally looked up And blinked Because a prison cell this wasn’t

Instead of the craood day looked like it was inhabited by a cross between a hyperactive toddler and Rambo, this place wasbeautiful Graceful Perfect

It was huge, with couches and pillows and rugs scattered around, and a bed big enough for seven or eight people Andwhere ere There were arched doorways on either end, leading off to evenstory was the balcony, which was easily as wide as the rooth

Pierced bronze lanterns swayed softly on silken chains, surrounded by geouorously into the rooh thees caressed diamond-shaped stones on the floor, in every possible shade fro to wrapin a palace instead of thefine, embroidered clothes instead of old, scratched leather, of hi a space as beautiful as it was alien, with nothing, not a book, not a vial, not a picture, nothing, to remind him of the world he’d lost

As if it hadn’t mattered As if he hadn’t even ently this tiave a pretty good view along the side of the cliff and over the sprawling city But the twinkling lights didn’t holddown fro a bunch of dark figures literally running down buildings and spars of rock above the palace They weren’t using the streets; they were leaping frohway

And every single one of theht for us

"It looks like sorionna do, we do now"

"Get her into the study," Pritkin said, co up behind us "Barricade yourselves inside I can’t call off the guards, but I can call ," I said flatly

"Not until I negotiate safe passage--"

"Your father isn’t going to grant safe passage for you!"

"That is irrelevant--"

"Bullshit"

"--as you knew quite well before you started this insanity! Daht you hadhis bloody nose onto the balcony

And I lost it I grabbed the front of Pritkin’s gold-eod-da to say this one time You are my servant Sworn to ation And if I want to co shifted behind his eyes, soht now I don’t give a da without you, so you may as well--"

The door blew open, and Caleb and Pritkin both flung out a hand And whoever it was blew right back out again The door clicked softly shut

Pritkin glared at me for another second, and then transferred the look to Caleb "The rugs," he snarled, and for a second, Caleb looked as confused as I was And then--

"Aw, hell no!"