Captive Prince: Volume One

Keep the slave restrained here in the harem. The Prince’s orders. No one is to come in or out of the room. The Prince’s orders. Two guards at the door at all times. The Prince’s orders. Don’t let him off the chain. The Prince’s orders.

‘I would never ask you to do anything you found distasteful,’ said Laurent.

‘Looking at you is distasteful,’ said Nicaise.

Laurent’s fair skin and blue eyes were a combination that was rare in Patras, rarer in Akielos, and a particular weakness of Damen’s. The golden hair made it worse.

looked fresh, unconcerned and fair, his golden hair bright above clothing of a blue so dark it was almost black. His blue eyes were as innocent as the sky; only if you looked carefully could you see something genuine in them.

The only reason Damen had that language was that his father had insisted that, for a prince, learning the words of an enemy was as important as learning the words of a friend.

They wanted to see a barbarian in the ring? Well, the barbarian could fight.

Laurent was not the type to smuggle men into his rooms for midnight assignations.

“Not quite,” said Damen.

Erasmus bit his lip, and all his burnished curls fell over his forehead. “You’re—in love with him?”

The court sounds were muted, as though they were very distant. Louder and more intimate were the sounds of insects in the gardens below, and the slow back-and-forth of greenery.