It was the prince. She wasn’t sure how she knew, but whether it was the intake of breath or just his presence behind her, she recognized him.
Vivienne turned slowly, bracing herself for Marius’s reaction. She was sure he was used to death, having grown up around vampires, but she didn’t know if he’d look at her differently now that he’d seen what she was capable of.
The prince was alone, leaning against the carriage. Most of the color had returned to his cheeks, and he seemed more like himself than before. And his eyes…
She wasn’t sure what she thought she’d see, but the awe flickering in his brown gaze wasn’t it.
“Thank you,” Marius said, gesturing to the dead bodies. “I’m not sure what we would’ve done without you.”
They would’ve died. One didn’t have to be a vampire to see that.
Felix’s low voice came from the other side of the carriage as a horse whinnied. He spoke in hushed tones, calming it.
It was just the two of them.
Taking advantage of the momentary privacy, Vivienne approached the prince, her fists clenched. “You should’ve stayed in the carriage.”
He opened his mouth, probably to protest, but she kept going before he could speak. “How am I supposed to protect you when you run headfirst into danger?”
Marius raised a brow, glancing at the carnage behind her. “It seems like you did a great job protecting me. I’m fine.”
What?
The man had been moments from faintingbeforehe walked into an ambush. He was delusional. Absolutely, one-hundred percent delusional.
“We have absurdly differing definitions of ‘fine,’” she snapped. Apparently, she still had some anger left after all that killing. “If I hadn’t come to your rescue, you would’ve been skewered!”
“But you did come.” He spoke as if there wasn’t an issue.
“Gods above!” She threw up a hand and glared at him. “You’re missing the point.”
“I don’t think so.” He smiled, the expression having no right being so damned charming.
“Yes, you are. What if I hadn’t been fast enough?” Blood drained from her face, and she pointed a trembling finger at him. “Put yourself in my shoes for a moment, Your Highness. Imagine what will happen to me if I have to tell the king you took a sword to the stomach?”
He stared at her, and she realized she’d have to spell things out for him.
“The king willkillme,” she hissed. “It’s not just your life that you’re risking, Prince. If something happens to you,Iwill pay the price with my life.”
She’d agreed to those terms when she first took the job, but things had been different. Marius had been safely in Castle Sanguis, and she’d never foreseen anything like this happening.
For a very long moment, Marius’s brown gaze swept over hers. He was taller than her, but he didn’t make her feel small.
He pushed off from the carriage and stepped over a dead body, his gaze locked onto hers. “I’m sorry, Vivienne. I really am.”
That wasn’t what she expected him to say, and much of her anger drained.
He scrubbed a hand over his face. “It’s clear there were certain things I didn’t fully consider before leaving. Will you forgive me?”
Gods.
It wasn’t fair that the man who made her so furious was able to look so handsome and repentant at the same time. It made thinking practically impossible.
His apology hung in the air between them, and for several minutes, neither of them spoke.
She sighed.
Isvana help her, but Marius looked so sincere standing among the rapidly cooling bodies that Vivienne knew what she would say.