Arianna bolted upright from her makeshift bed, her heart hammering. For a disoriented moment, she couldn't remember where she was—then it all came rushing back. The destroyed room. Captain Thea's insistence. The King's quarters.

King Duncan stood in the doorway, backlit by the corridor's torchlight. He was covered in dirt and what looked like blood, his expression haggard with exhaustion. When his eyes found her on the floor by the fireplace, surrounded by furs she'd pulled from his bed, he went very still.

"Arianna." His voice was rough, surprised. "What are you doing here?"

She scrambled to her feet, suddenly acutely aware of how inappropriate this looked. "I—Captain Thea brought...