I nearly yelped as I hurriedly covered my bare chest with my arms, only to realize a moment later that my bottom half was not covered. I dropped my arms, watching as Bane’s gaze moved back and forth, following my movements. There was an intensity to his gaze that made my pulse race.

Monsieur Delannoy hurried forward and bowed before the prince. “I am so pleased Your Highness could make it for a fitting.”

Bane frowned, but his gaze never wavered from me as he spoke. “I was told this was an important meeting.”

The words didn’t seem to faze Monsieur Delannoy in the least. He merely snapped his fingers and half a dozen suits were presented. “We already have your measurements from your wedding clothes, Your Highness.”

Mention of the wedding made my cheeks heat, and I turned away, feeling foolish. Marie, still holding up my outfit, cleared her throat. “Why don’t we get you changed?”

“Right, of course.” I nodded and hurried after her, relieved to retreat behind the privacy screen. I pulled the suit on, not surprised to find it was of excellent quality, even fancier than anything I wore when my family still had money. This must be what royalty wears. What a different existence.

When I emerged from behind the screen, it was to find Bane shrugging on one of the suit jackets. Of course, it looked incredible on his broad shoulders. But then, with his figure, he would look good in anything.

I realized then that I wasn’t the only one staring. Bane’s gaze was dark, almost as if he wanted to take a bite out of me. That thought alone had me self-consciously pressing a hand to my neck. Even though it was currently covered by a collar, I could still feel the bite mark on my skin like a brand.

“Amazing!” Monsieur Delannoy exclaimed, fussing over me. “I knew my clothes would look excellent on the royal consort the moment I laid eyes on you. I shall get you something to match well with His Highness for the ball.”

“Fine,” Bane said. “Then if we’re done here…” He didn’t bother waiting for a reply, striding out the door and letting it slam closed behind him.

I quickly changed back into my old clothes while the staff began to clean up. “Oh,” Marie said, picking up something from a chair. “The prince must have left with the unfinished coat. We’ll need it back to do the final stitching.”

“I’ll go get it,” I offered, taking the coat from the seamstress and hurrying out. Outside, I caught a passing servant, who directed me toward the prince’s chambers.

Relieved that I actually knew where that was now, I hurried across the palace, but just as I arrived and was preparing to knock on the door, I heard the murmur of voices coming from within. Oh, I shouldn’t interrupt if it’s something important.

But I couldn’t resist pressing my ear to the door. I heard what sounded like a thud followed quickly by a moan. Had the prince fallen and hurt himself?

Worried, I opened the door and immediately froze at the sight of Bane in the arms of a beautiful man, dark haired and sharply handsome. They were pressed tightly against one another, their lips and hands everywhere. So deep in their passion that they didn’t even notice the door had opened.

I quickly backed out of the room and let the door close quietly behind me before sinking against it. What had I just seen? Prince Bane, the man I was supposed to be married to, in the arms of another man, and probably a man he had been with before.

And all of that…literally a day after our wedding? I couldn’t believe it. Or maybe I could. The prince did have a reputation, but… But what? You thought because he kissed you last night it must have meant something? It was clear now that it was all in my own imagination and that whatever had passed between us meant nothing to the prince.

My eyes suddenly stung and I rubbed at them furiously as I turned and walked away. I didn’t know how to make sense of this, of what the prince was doing, but even more than that, of my own reaction to it. I was shocked, and upset, and confused about why I was upset. The prince didn’t mean anything to me. How could he? This was a marriage of convenience. I’d only done this for my sister’s sake. There hadn’t been a single thought in my mind that there might be anything between me and Prince Bane.

But still, a part of me felt…jilted. And that was enough to annoy me. I shouldn’t be feeling this way over some…some ridiculous tryst. The prince could do as he pleased, but he might at least be a bit more subtle about it. If someone found out or saw them, it would only make me look bad—and I had never asked for this.

Except, some small voice in the back of my mind seemed keen to remind me that it was partly my doing too. And that only frustrated me all the more.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, I started in the direction of my room, suddenly wanting as much privacy as I could get. Maybe I could forget about all this with a distraction of some sort. Yes, that was exactly what I needed. Something else to think about.

I didn’t expect to find that in the form of the prime minister, who lingered in the wing of the palace with my tower, clearly waiting for me.

“Ah, Lord Adrian, we have not had a chance to chat,” Lord Chonre said, smiling in a way that did not reach his eyes. As if I needed another reason to be wary of him.

I regarded him with a frown, wondering what in the world the prime minister could possibly want with me. It wasn’t as if I had any political power here, or even any influence over Bane—clearly. So as far as I could see it, I was less than useless to the prime minister or any other politician.

Though I could remember hearing something about Lord Chonre being one of those demons who possessed a special talent. There were legendary stories of him using his magical touch to electrocute a person from the inside merely with a touch.

I took a step back, staying out of his reach.

As if he could sense my thoughts, his smile widened. “I’m sure you’ve heard that I wasn’t a supporter of this…experiment.”

“Experiment?” I asked, frowning.

Lord Chonre nodded. “The experiment to see if humans could stand on equal footing as demons in this kingdom.” He cast his gaze over me, and the look I received then was as different from Bane’s as I could ever have imagined. Cold, assessing, more like a hunter examining his catch. “After all, you all are weaker, slower, less intelligent, less evolved.”

I couldn’t hide my scowl, and as much as I wanted to object to the offensive nature of his claims, I knew I couldn’t afford to get on the bad side of such a powerful man so quickly—especially not when he had the ability to kill me with a single touch.

So I bit my tongue. Reluctantly.

“You are aware that the old king and queen were purists,” he stated. “They understood the grand tradition of the demon bloodlines. How we have a noble edict to be above humankind.”

“As you say,” I said, my tone flat.

“It is my belief that the prince has shown great weakness by allowing this experiment—and when he hasn’t yet been crowned king.”

Despite everything, I suddenly felt defensive of the prince. “Well, Prince Bane has been raised his entire life to be king. I’m sure he knows what he’s doing.” I might not have known him very long, but it was obvious to me that the prince was an intelligent, thoughtful man and clearly took his role seriously. And at least I knew he didn’t share the prime minister’s opinions about humans considering he’d willingly consented to the “experiment” the man spoke of.

Lord Chonre laughed, and somehow the sound carried a razor edge. “Yes, well, we shall see. And if he doesn’t, then I will make sure that what’s best for the kingdom is what comes to pass.” He took a step closer and it took all my courage not to retreat again. “And I will definitely be keeping an eye on you, Lord Adrian.”

With one last look, he turned and walked away, leaving me to lean against the nearest wall as I tried to make sense of what had just happened. There was no doubt that the prime minister had just threatened me. The implications of his words were perfectly clear: Not only would I be at risk if I messed up, but so would Bane.