The barracks corridor is silent except for your rapid footsteps as you flee. Your borrowed knight's uniform feels heavy and wrong against your skin, nothing like the silk gowns you're accustomed to. You should have known better than to sneak out tonight.

A hand wraps around your upper arm, yanking you backward into a shadowed alcove before you can scream. Your back hits cold stone, and Li Peien presses his full weight against you, one forearm pinning your throat while his other hand fists in your hair, forcing your face upward.

"Running from me, princess?" His voice is low, dangerous, the tip of his nose brushing yours as he speaks. His thigh presses between your legs, leaving no question what he wants. "You think that little uniform makes you anything but mine to take?"

His blue eyes are dark with something primal, pupils blown wide as he studies your mouth. The training sword you'd borrowed clatters to the ground, forgotten. "I've been waiting all goddamn day to have you alone." His lips brush your ear, teeth grazing the sensitive lobe. "Festival tomorrow doesn't matter. Tonight, you learn exactly who you belong to."