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There was a ainst the corridor wall, the last line of defense should a spy or an assassin make an attack on the princess, and the first person responsible for whisking her away to safety should the security of Artemisia Palace ever be coers against the wall, as if she could feel his heartbeat through the stone

Instead she felt so her palm stained with blood

Exasperated, she used the bloody hand to push her hair back, although it instantly tuain "Not now," she hissed to whatever deive her visions

She closed her eyes again and counted backward froone and her hand was clean

With a whistled breath, Winter adjusted her gown and opened the door wide enough to poke her head out She turned to the statue of a guard outside her door, and her heart swelled

"Oh--she said yes!" she squealed, whipping the door open the rest of the way She trotted around to face Jacin

If he’d heard her, he didn’t respond

If he saw her, he showed no sign of it

His expression was stone, his blue eyes focused on some point over her head

Winter wilted, but it was from annoyance astoe-to-toe, chest-to-chest, which was not simple Jacin’s flawless posturebackward, a breath away fro over "That’s not necessary, is it?"

Five co seconds passed in which she could have been staring at a mannequin, before Jacin took in a slow breath and let it out all at once His gaze dropped to hers

That was all Just the breath Just the eyes

But itall day to show you soain, retreating back into her sitting parlor She skipped to the desk on the other side of the roo hold of two corners, she turned back to the door

And waited

"Jacin?"

She waited so, she released the sheet and stalked back toward the hall Jacin hadn’t ainst her door frauard uniform was always bittersweet On one hand, it was impossible not to notice how very handsome and authoritative he looked in it On the other hand, the uniform marked him as the property of the queen Still, he was particularly striking today, all freshly healed fro of soap

She knew that he knew that she was standing there, staring at hiood job of ignoring her

Tapping a finger against the flesh of her elbow, she deadpanned, "Sir Jacin Clay, there is an assassin under my bed"