Princess of the Damned by Dahlia Lu

rolled his eyes. “Don’t speak of him. A killer like him, my brother? That’s hardly acceptable.”
    “ By your speech, I take it that you two do not get along very well. When I heard news that your father adopted a son into the royal family, I was thrilled for you. By the way, have you received the gift I’ve sent?”
    “ Gift?” The King curiously raised his left brow.
    “ You mean you haven’t received it? I specifically requested Prince Sayan to deliver it to you. At the time, I thought I would not able to make this trip.”
    “ As expected, that bastard probably kept it for himself. What was it that you sent?”
    “ I’ve acquired a beautiful dancer. I’d thought of keeping her for myself, but my bride-to-be is a jealous type. Since I couldn’t keep her, I’d thought of you.”
    “ Just a dancer?”
    “ Not just any dancer, my King. You can search the world and wouldn’t be able to find anyone comparable to her. Ah, just let Prince Sayan have her. I saw that you were quite taken with the Eastern Princess.”
    “ Even the Eastern Princess is not comparable to her?”
    “ You must be the judge of that, but I doubt Prince Sayan would even let you see her. He would deny everything, of course. He wants to keep her all to himself.”
    “ That bastard!” The King shouted. “If he does not want me to see her, then I must!”
    The Western Prince smirked.
     
    Nora exhaled a long sigh and then switched her sitting position again. Her eyes stared blankly out of the window where the snow fell gently on the rooftop. She had come over to share tea from the Far East, but she was so absent minded that the tea in her hand had gone cold.
    “ Is there something troubling you, Nora?” Nala asked.
    Nora let out another sigh. “Prince Sayan hasn’t visited me since he returned. I’ve asked the servants and they informed me he had been spending his nights at your place.”
    Nala frowned. “In my defense, we sleep in separate rooms.”
    “ I cannot hope to compete with you, and now there are two more princesses aiming to win his heart. The rumor has it that they are both beautiful and they are explicitly offering themselves. Any man would yield to such temptation from two beautiful princesses.”
    “ If it troubles you that much, then I may be able to help.” Nala turned her attention toward the door. “He’s coming here soon.”
    “ Prince Sayan…” Nora hurriedly ran for the door. “I can’t let him see me here, or he will think that I came to bully you. I will see you another time, farewell.”
    Nala poured another cup of tea and before she could put the pot down, he was already by the door. She placed the teacup on the table in front of the chair in which she knew that he would sit.
    “ Nora brought me some tea, but she just dashed off. She thought that you would assume she came to bully me. That girl is very concerned about what you think of her.”
    “ Who could bully you, Nala?”
    She smiled. “I didn’t have the time to tell her that. Here, have some tea.”
    “ I came to talk to you about something else.” He snatched her hand and led her out of the door. “I have arranged a carriage to take you out of the city.”
    “ Why all of a sudden?” She asked curiously. “I remember we had a fight about it, and you were keen on keeping me here.”
    “ The situation has changed. The King had personally requested that you dance for him during the feast celebrating his accession to the throne.”
    She pulled back her hand and they both paused in the middle of the courtyard. “What’s wrong with that?”
    “ You’re a fool if you can’t see where this is going.” He snatched her hand again, but she refused.
    “ Explain to me where this is going.”
    He closed in the gap between them and lifted up her chin. “What man wouldn’t lust after you?”
    “ What is so strange about that? I am a dancer. Men are supposed to lust after me.”
    “ Why did we have to become fugitives eight years