Prince of Shadows Read Free Page B

condemnation.
    My future queen. Anticipation spiked like a fever, making Cale forget everything but the image of her in that damp, revealing robe. All he’d endured, all he’d sacrificed, was for this moment. “Then you’ll honor my request? Our bargain?”
    Bram sidled away from commitment. “The girl has put me in an awkward spot. I can’t show you favoritism, not in front of the others. It’ll be up to you to discourage them while encouraging her to accept you. Are you prepared for that task?”
    “I am.” No hesitation. An end was in sight, his reward for all the grueling achievements he’d piled upon a tenuous promise made long ago.
    Again, his father only teased him. “There’s another matter. The MacCreedy female.”
    “She should no longer be a problem.” And good riddance.
    “She’s never quite what she should be, is she? Her escort hasn’t come back. There’s been no word from them.”
    Cale frowned, annoyed by Brigit’s ability to intrude upon his moment of accomplishment. “Maybe she talked them into taking her all the way to New Orleans with the promise of favors they’d be fools to think they’d ever enjoy.”
    “I might believe that of others, but not of Foster and Pyle. Find out where they are and handle the matter. I don’t want her disrupting our plans.”
    “Yes, sir.” That was the last thing he wanted as well.
    “Claim your princess quickly before she or her quarrelsome family comes up with any other inventive detours. I’ll leave the ways and means up to you. If she won’t let you court her, convince her.”
    “I will.”
    Bram resumed his chair, appearing winded and tired, something he’d never have done in front of his other heirs without expecting to be instantly overthrown. Apparently, he felt safe in assuming there was a stronger familial bond between them. Perhaps another of those mistakes he’d regret.
    “I won’t leave behind an empty throne, Cale. I want to secure future generations to rule in my absence. If you’re so eager to replace me, seed your female at your earliest opportunity. You can have a conversation with her afterward.”
    “I understand.”
    What Bram Terriot didn’t realize was that his coveted throne wasn’t the motivating prize Cale was after.
    It was Kendra.

    “What are you doing in here?”
    The dark-haired female straightened from rifling the dresser’s top drawer and turned toward Kendra with a bright smile. “Hi! I’m Rosie. I’m your new roommate. I was just trying to decide where to put my stuff so I can move in.”
    An unfamiliar resentment stirred at the thought of this stranger invading the space she’d shared with Brigit. Kendra’s tone was sharp. “That’ll have to wait until I’ve packed away my cousin’s things.”
    “Oh.” A quick bat of big dark eyelashes. “Of course. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to rush you.”
    Kendra’s manners got the best of her temper. She smiled apologetically. “Give me about an hour to make room for you.”
    Rosie’s grin dazzled. “Great. I can’t wait to be best friends.” With a friendly squeeze of the arm, she bounded out, leaving Kendra disheartened by the task ahead.
    Only forty-eight hours ago, she would have indulged in tears until Brigit calmed her anxieties. Now she couldn’t afford the luxury of weakness. She had to be strong and watchful. Taunting Bram Terriot hadn’t gotten her off to a stellar start.
    Her gaze settled on the open drawer, and a furrow crowded her brow. She went quickly to check the contents: her jewelry box, some mementos of the past. An ugly suspicion bloomed. Which had Rosie been after? Her riches or her memories?
    She touched the packet of letters and photographs, noticing that they were ill aligned, as if batched together in a hurry. One was upside down. She separated it from the others, her chest clutching tight as she turned it over to study the four children on a pontoon boat. Her mother had taken the picture from the dock below on a hot