The problem wasn’t that I didn’t understand what I was feeling. I understood it all too well—which confused me even more.
I finally stole a glance at him, my massive, stoic gargoyle, and his stony profile revealed nothing.
No, notmygargoyle—justthegargoyle who I happened to make a deal with and live in his castle with for the foreseeable future.
Yet, also the gargoyle whom I’d just kissed. My fingers rose with an itch for me to press them against my lips, feel the heat of him that still lingered there.
Kissing him had been a terrible idea, waking up a part of me that wanted more.
In my bed that night, I stared at the ceiling, repeating all the sensible arguments in my head. He was cursed. He wasn’t human. He had forced me to stay here.
I sighed. None of it mattered.
I knew what I wanted.
More.
And that frightened me more than he ever had.
The next night,Hadrien and I maintained a formal distance, giving each other space after that unexpected kiss. But we still dined together, albeit more reserved than the night before. Conversation was stilted. We kept it to plants, the wards, the castle, magic—anything besides the kiss. Since we still had to work together, we still had to figure out a wayto work together.
After dinner, we walked through the forest to the ward, both of us silent. I bit my lower lip as I wondered if he was thinking about what we’d done out here last night.
No, that wouldn’t help me get it out of my mind. Hadn’t I thought about it far too much after I’d returned to my room last night? Thinking about him and how he’d touched me with his large hand. How he took control. How he kissed me…
I exhaled. This wasn’t going to be easy.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
“Yes, just thinking,” I replied.
“About?”
Your hands on me. Your lips. What else we could do alone together…
“Some spells I was reading about earlier,” I lied. “What we should try tonight.”
“Ah,” he said with a grunt.
“We’ll figure it out,” I said, trying to convince myself as much as him.
When he arched a brow with his usual skepticism, I added, “We just need to find the right combination.” I motioned to him. “I need to find the right source to act as a conduit.”
We didn’t say much as we walked into La Forêt de Veillepierre after the sun had set. What could we say after that charged moment between us when we’d been out here alone last night? I didn’t have a clue. I shouldn’t want him, not after what he’d done to my family and me, and yet—he’d still shown some kindness. And I couldn’t help but feel for him in his torment, caused by our common enemy—the queen.
Once we reached the ward, we held hands and tried to ignite that spark of energy as we’d done the night before. Nothing. No spark. No heat like that electrifying warmth that had coursed through us both last night. Something was off. Was it the tension between us? Or something wrong with the spell?
After several frustrating minutes, I shook my head. “It’s not working tonight.”
Hadrien’s lip rose in a semi-scowl. “Must have been beginner’s luck yesterday.”
“No,” I countered. “It’s us.”
He cocked his head and appraised me. “What do you mean?”
“We’re too tense.” I rolled my shoulders and shook out some tension in my arms.
He stared at me and then blinked slowly. “Do you have a suggestion?”
