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sharpened, but he didn’t pull away. I dribbled wax over Erich’s bare forearm. He snapped his arm back and shook it.
    “But that does hurt,” he said.
    “I like the way it feels—sharp and fiery and alive.” I ran my finger through the candle’s flame as slowly as I could stand.
    “You like it?”
    Before I could answer, Erich moved like a whirlwind, reaching to pinch out the candle. Then he pushed up my mask, pulled my face into his, and kissed me.
    The shock of his skin—bare—was a thousand times stronger than that of his gloved hands. Shattering spears of sensation stabbed my lips. The heat seared straight to my cheeks, and I was so addled, I dropped the unlit candle and gripped the bookcase behind me.
    He pulled away. “That didn’t hurt?”
    “It wasn’t pain,” I managed breathlessly. “It was—”
    “We’d better be getting back.” His voice grew distant.
    Disappointment swirled in my stomach. I hastily pulled down my mask. Did he not like kissing me? Did he think about my face even in the dark? Was that why he’d pinched out the candle, so he didn’t have to see me? Erich helped re-fasten my gown, despite the dark, apparently as knowledgeable about such matters as a handmaiden. We bumped through the library until we found the door.
    He’d marry me! I didn’t have to worry about being rejected. But he must have a reason for kissing me, and it had nothing to do with attraction. What was his aim ? Briefly, I pondered the idea that he tried to make his mistress jealous. Surely a pretty woman would have served that purpose better. Besides, we were in the dark. No one had seen us. Oh, what was he doing, and why? I wished that Serafina awaited me out in the ballroom. She’d know exactly what to do. She’d have a perfect theory for Erich’s motives.
    “Wait a few minutes before going in,” Erich said outside the ballroom doors. “To avoid a scandal. We ought not to have crept away together.”
    As I waited, I brooded. He didn’t want to be seen with me. Kissing me in the dark cost him nothing, but favoring me in public would be a blow to his pride.

Chapter Five
    A s soon as I re-entered the ballroom, Tirienne Talata glided up to me like a regal silver wraith.
    “Where is your father?” she demanded.
    “I don’t know. He went out during the dancing.”
    “Well, girl, go and find him.”
    Girl? I was the Princess, the heir to the Crystal Throne. She had betrothed her son to me for that very reason.
    “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I hedged. I had no desire to interrupt my father in the midst of an important meeting, or worse, an assignation. I had seen him leaving with a woman, though it was against everything in my father’s character to do such a thing. There had to be some other explanation.
    “You must find him. He was to show me Costas Galatien as part of our agreement, to verify that he has Galatien secured and captive. The night draws to a close. Where is he?”
    “I don’t know. I’m sorry,” I mumbled.
    She huffed an aggravated sigh. “Gods, girl, speak up. That mask obscures everything you say.”
    “I’m sorry.”
    “Do you know where he’s keeping Galatien?”
    “Oh. Yes, but—”
    “Take me.” Tirienne grabbed my arm. “Take me to Costas. If one part of the arrangement is not upheld, why should I expect my son to hold to … the other part?”
    Her threat cowed me. Panic boiled in my throat as I led Tirienne up the stairs and past my father’s rooms. I almost stopped, for I assumed he’d go there for an assignation, but the embarrassment we all would suffer if I interrupted prevented me. I continued towards the room containing Costas. Papa wouldn’t mind—I tried to convince myself. He’d clearly meant to show Tirienne proof of Costas’s secure captivity. I could do it as well as he could.
    I pushed open the door, surprised to find it still unlocked. An odor laced the air, something familiar and foreign at once. Was it tangy? Was it sweet? No