Blaine stopped to catch his breath, looking left and right in the empty garden. One of the guards he had met along the way had mentioned seeing a dark-haired woman in a silver dress passing by, but she was with a man—a man who had his arms around her.
‘That bastard Marden! And Kara…’
Blaine couldn’t even be angry at her, he was already too angry at himself. He should have told her earlier, but he was afraid that she’d misunderstand. He hadn’t thought it would be that hard to break off the stupid arrangement. He couldn’t do it without Marquis Hesna’s approval, and that man was avoiding him like the plague. He even feigned a stomach bug to leave the party early, just after Blaine arrived and refused to see anyone at his guest quarters when Blaine tried to find him there.
He could only im
