Chapter 16
Xavier
I had barely shut the hidden escape hatch to my bedchamber and was turning from the wall, dusting my hands off on each other and still worrying about Dori and how she was going to handle being alone in the woods all day just outside the castle when Valerio burst inside.
“You’re sick?” He boomed the question as if it were an accusation.
I blinked and shook my head. “What? No. How did you come up with such an idea?”
Damn. Was I running late? I glanced toward the sundial to check the time. Just how long had I dallied with the dark-haired seductress? In her presence, I tended to forget important things. Like time.
“You sent your servant away without eating your breakfast,” Valerio insisted, determined to charge me with some kind of misdeed.
Swerving my attention toward
