Free Blood Oath by Kit Tunstall

with the stem of his goblet, but he didn’t lift the cup to his mouth to
drink. “She is upset because she wasn’t chosen to be my heir.”
    “Is that all?” Anca shrugged. “You might as
well know I’m not interested in the job, Papa. She can have it, as far as I’m
concerned.”
    He hesitated, and his eyes narrowed. He
exchanged looks with Demi. When he spoke, he apparently chose to disregard her
statement of disinterest. “It is impossible for Nikia to inherit the
Protectorate of Corsova. She was not born at the proper time.”
    Her eyes widened, and she read between the
lines. “So, uh, you weren’t married to her mother, huh?”
    Valdemeer appeared startled, but he nodded.
“Don’t trouble yourself with Nikia,” he said dismissively. “I’ll deal with
her.”
    Anca was rattled by the way her father’s
eyes darkened. She could sense his and Demi’s mounting tension, and was
determined not to continue the conversation. As she searched her mind for a
safer topic, she reached for the wine.
    She took a sip and choked. It was thick and
cloying, with a metallic taste. She reached for the linen napkin under the
heavy silver cutlery, quickly wiping away the thick red liquid leaking down her
chin. “I’m sorry.” She could feel her cheeks heat with embarrassment.
    Valdemeer gestured to Geza. “Bring Anca
water immediately. She isn’t accustomed to our native wine.”
    She nodded. Within seconds, a crystal goblet
of iced water appeared before her, and she drank deeply.
    “It takes some getting used to,” Demi said,
as she lowered the goblet. “Corsovan wine is more…robust than traditional
vintages.”
    She nodded, but didn’t respond. Robust was
one way to describe it, she supposed. To her, it was more than robust. Corsovan
wine tasted a lot like blood.
    As the meal progressed, Anca fought back
yawn after yawn. The days of travel had caught up with her, and she could
barely keep open her eyes. She struggled to uphold her end of the conversation
and answer Valdemeer’s seemingly never-ending stream of questions, but it got
more difficult to form coherent answers.
    He must have realized, because he pushed
away his untouched plate and nodded to Demi. “Nicodemus will see you to your
room now, Anca. If you’re inclined tomorrow evening before dinner, we’ll play a
game of chess. I would like to see if you remember anything from your school
club.”
    Anca smothered a yawn with her hand and nodded.
“It’s been years since I had time for a game. I’d like to give it a try.”
    “Excellent.”
    Demi stood up and pulled out her chair.
“Come.”
    She stood up, laying her napkin beside her
almost full plate. The snack Demi brought her on the train had stuck with her.
Coupled with her mounting exhaustion, she hadn’t had much of an appetite. Only
Demi had done justice to the vegetables and lamb. “I’ll see you at breakfast,
Papa.”
    He shook his head. “I keep odd hours, Anca.
It will be the evening before I’ll be free.”
    “Okay.” Impulsively, she walked to his seat
and leaned down to kiss his cheek. “Goodnight, Papa.”
    He touched her hand on his shoulder,
squeezing gently. “Goodnight, copia .”
    “Child,” Demi translated in a whisper.
    She
stood up and followed Demi from the dining room and through the castle. Instead
of learning the route to her room, she focused on the way his buttocks flexed
in the tailored slacks.
    A hint of alertness returned as some of her
sleepiness ebbed, replaced by a stirring of sexual tension. Her body ached for
his. Common sense didn’t offer much of a barrier to her desire. All the reasons
she had thought of earlier to avoid getting involved with Demi seemed less
important now.
    She was so intent on her thoughts that she
didn’t pay attention when Demi stopped moving and turned in her direction. She
walked right into him before she could stop herself. Her breath escaped with a
sigh as his arms came around her to steady her.
    He was frowning down at