The urge to kick the man where he lay shot through Konstantin like a lightening bolt, but with a colossal effort, he resisted. It would be a cowardly act, even if it was a satisfying one, and he stepped back from Skeeter, holding tight to the railings that lined the streets of Bartonburg to give his hands something to do.

“She may have done once, but she was going to marry me,” he said, a catch in his voice that infuriated him. He refused to show weakness in front of this squirt. “I would have made her happy.”