Dorian felt his entire body burning.
It wasn't merely the place where the black powder had fallen. The heat seemed to spread beneath his skin, racing through his veins until every part of him felt as though it were being consumed by an invisible fire.
He thrashed against the sheets.
There was something wrong with his assistant. Dorian had known it the moment the man had walked into the room. The way he had bowed had been different—too low, too eager, almost theatrical.
Dorian should have trusted that instinct.
Instead, he had overridden it because he believed money could buy loyalty.
Apparently, he had been wrong again.
And once again, despite everything, his mind went to her… To Katerina.
He hated that. He hated that he thought about her every moment, even now. She would have eliminated this man before he ever reached his bedside. She would have seen the betrayal coming. She had protected him a few times in their last life.
