Damen stopped. Stared at him. A little dribble of the peach he was eating by hand ran down his chin. Instinctively, he wiped it away with the back of his hand.

Lessons. Who did Laurent think he was? Damen had had plenty of lessons in deportment. He was the Crown Prince of Akielos, for blood's sake. (Not anymore, whispered an insidious voice in his head. Not now that Kastor had free rein there.) But still. He didn't...

Wrathful and cruel... threatens rape and murder...

Damen eyed him warily. "You're offering to give me...civilization lessons." It was something he couldn't turn down summarily, for it was Laurent offering to voluntarily spend time with him. But like the chess game, he felt it was an all too easy victory. "What would they entail? What are your conditions?"