“No groping,” I warned, seeing his hand slyly move toward forbidden areas. “I don’t care how many other people are doing it. Or how much attention we don’t draw to it.”

“Then let’s go somewhere private,” he murmured, trailing kisses along my shoulder.

“I can’t. You know I have to leave with Dorian. Nothing’s going to happen,” I added, seeing him open his mouth. “It’s just for appearances. We can get together tomorrow.”

He considered and nodded. “All right. But I’m giving you a good sendoff tonight.”

He moved back, and we continued our kissing for a bit until a voice said, “The gods know I’ve seen some strange things in my life, but never did I expect to find a kitsune trying to make himself ruler over all of us.”

We looked up in surprise. I hadn’t expected another suitor while clearly busy with Kiyo.

Aeson stood there.

I shot up, anger coursing through my body as I stared at that smug face. A heavy, bejeweled crown sat atop his brown hair, and he wore a close-fitting black satin dinner jacket.

“Don’t look at me like that, Lady Markham,” he told me in a voice both pleasant and hostile. “Dorian will not protect you if you start trouble in his home, no matter how advantageous you are as a lover.”

“Fine. I’ll just have to kill you somewhere else.”

“Your plan didn’t work so well last time.”

“Neither did yours.”

He leered. “That dress is exquisite, you know. It outlines every part of your body beautifully.”

I crossed my arms instinctually. “Don’t waste my time with compliments.”

“Just tossing in my own bid for your body, just like everyone else here.”

“Yeah? Haven’t you paid attention? None of their compliments have worked either.”

“Bah. They’re petty lordlings and leeches scraping for power,” he said with a sneer. “The general consensus is that you’ve refused everyone simply because you’ve yet to be approached by anyone worthy.” He cut a glance at Kiyo as he spoke.

“Or maybe because I’m with Dorian. Not that it makes any difference. I’d fuck that trowe over there before I’d go anywhere near you.”

“I think I’d like to see that, especially considering he comes to your knees.”

“If this is the part where you tell me how well-endowed you are, save it. There’s nothing you can say that would get me near your bed, so just give it up and leave.”

His features hardened, a cold and sardonic smirk turning up his lips. “I suppose I can’t argue with that. Not that it matters. I won’t be alone tonight.”

He stepped aside, just barely, and inclined his head. I followed the motion across the room. Jasmine Delaney stood among a group of gentry nobles. She was watching us, an unreadable look on her face. A long dress, heavy with brocade and jewels, draped her slight form, and her gray eyes looked even more enormous than last time.

I clenched my fists, remembering the look on my mom’s face when she described her captivity. Wil’s picture of a lonely girl, lost in her fantasy world, circled around my mind. “I will kill you, you bastard. But first I’ll make sure you beg me for it.” I sounded like Volusian.

“Eugenie,” murmured Kiyo, laying a hand on my wrist. His voice was firm and cautionary. He apparently feared I’d do something stupid. It was a good fear.

Aeson seemed unconcerned. “Those are kind of extreme measures, don’t you think? Especially when there are much simpler ones.”

“Such as?”

He shrugged. “I’ll turn her over to you tonight.”

“Let me guess. If I go live with you instead?”

“No such commitments. Come with me just for Beltane. One night, and both you and she walk free. Not a bad offer, especially since there are still a number of men out there plotting to carry you off for an extended period. Considering the other drivel that’s approached you, you could do a lot worse. I’m powerful. Rich. Influential. A worthy consort.”

I looked Aeson up from head to toe, glanced at the still-watching Jasmine, and then turned back to him. “I think I’d rather just kill you.”

He gave me a mocking bow, face still hard. “I look forward to the attempt.” He started to walk away, then gave Kiyo a considering look. “I suppose you could pick worse men to father your child. This one’s already proven he can do it.”

Aeson swept away from us and headed back to his group. Sliding a possessive arm around Jasmine, he leaned over and kissed her hard, pressing her body up against his. With the difference in their heights, he looked like he was molesting a small child-which, I supposed, he actually was. Puberty be damned.

The anger that sight inspired in me solidified into ice as I turned back around to face Kiyo. The look on his face made something inside of me curl up into a ball.

“What’s he talking about?”

He started to open his mouth and then paused, apparently reconsidering what he wanted to say. My incredulity exploded.

“Kiyo! This is where you tell me he’s full of shit and you have no idea what he’s talking about.”

“Eugenie…” he began slowly.

“Oh, my God.” I turned around. The ice inside of me melted and made me queasy. “You have a kid you never told me about. You have a kid somewhere.”

“No. Not yet.”

I spun around. “What the hell is that supposed to-” I stopped. “Maiwenn. Maiwenn is pregnant.”

Poor Maiwenn. Poor sick and weak Maiwenn. I’d heard a number of comments made about her condition and never questioned it. It was a sign of my distraction in the last month. Gentry didn’t really get sick. They could get killed in battle, die from an infected wound, or die of old age. That was about it.

Even now, looking across the room, I saw her sitting and talking with a few others. She was smiling but looked pale under her tan. The dress she wore was loose and voluminous. The one she’d worn at my house had been similar, albeit not made of silk. She wasn’t currently showing off her body.

“You should’ve told me,” I whispered.

“Yes,” he said simply. “I should have.”

“You should have told me!” I repeated, my voice loud and strained. Most of the room’s noise muffled my cry, but a few people nearby gave us curious looks.

“Shh.” Kiyo took my arm and steered us back toward the wall. “I was waiting. Things were so uncertain between us. I wanted to have a steady foundation before I told you.”

“Did you ever consider that telling me now might help that ‘steady foundation’? What happened to all the honesty rhetoric?”

“And how would you have taken it?” he asked quietly. “You’ve had a hard enough time knowing she and I were together at all.”

“No, I haven’t.”

“Eugenie, I see it in your face whenever her name’s mentioned.”

“It doesn’t matter. This is big.”

He shook his head. “It happened in the past. She and I aren’t together. We’re friends now. You and I are together.”

“So what? You’re not going to do anything with this baby because you guys aren’t together anymore?”

“No! Of course not. I’ll be there for the baby, and I’ll support Maiwenn as much as that requires.”

“Then that’s not the past,” I snapped. “That’s your future. My future too if you were planning on being with me.”

His face turned even more sober than it had been. “You’re right,” he said after several drawn-out moments. “It was wrong of me. I’m sorry. I thought I was protecting you.”

I gave a harsh laugh that bordered dangerously on being a sob. “Yeah. Everyone wants to protect me lately. My parents did too. You guys think if I don’t hear bad things, then they won’t exist anymore. But you know what? They do still exist, and I do end up hearing them. And I wish to God that I could have heard them from the people I love first.”

I turned and started walking away. Kiyo grabbed my shoulder. I tried to tug out of his grasp.