13

She was bare beneath the gown. Her body was young and perfect. Long, graceful neck met slim, broad shoulders, her breasts were full with dark nipples puckered under the night draft. Her willowy form tapered into a slim waist before broadening into full wide hips with a dark patch of hair shadowing her core. Surely the prince would not refuse her.

He frowned. "What is it that you do?"

"Offering myself to you?"

"At what cost?"

It was Mare's turn to frown at the tone of his voice. It wasn't what she expected. Where was the lustful voice she readied herself for? Hegi had confided that young men like Perci were ever hungry to throw themselves between the legs of a willing maid and satisfy the craving of their loins. Perci was not trying to satisfy the craving of his loins, he was not tossing her on the stone floor to have his way with her. Rather he watched her as though she was possessed of a new kind of madness. Maybe she was possessed of madness, the kind that eventually caused death be