Page 39 of Prince of the Sun

“No, thank you.”

“Don’t be a little bitch, Daerios.”

A pause. The corner of his mouth twitches. “Only if you try myanaimeanroot tea.”

I make a face. “Is that even a real thing?”

“It’s not on the regular menu.” He winks and holds out the cup.

I hate to admit it, but I love this part of our relationship. The challenges. The back-and-forth. At night, I burrow my head into my pillow and replay our conversations. I pick them apart word by word, looking for holes in his logic into which I could have dug further. I invent new insults. Try to guess how he’ll respond. File it all away for later use.

This doesn’t mean I havefeelingsfor him, of course. I can’t. Even if thinking about him leaves me feeling strangely light, like I’m floating atop my bedspread.

“Fine.” I snatch the tea out of his hand. He accepts the coffee gingerly in return. I press the rim of the tea to my lips and take a sip.

“You know, on Elaërion, the exchanging of cups is part of our marriage ritual.”

I spit out the liquid. “Excuseme?” My voice veers upward.

Daerios glances out at the rest of the library. “Shhh. People are staring.”

“Nowyou care about people staring?” I don’t bother to lower my voice. “You sneakybastard. What did you just do?”

He puts a hand to his mouth to cover his grin. “Relax, Kallister. We aren’t married now. I was simply making an observation.” His smile widens. “Though it’s good to know how violently you react to the idea of marriage to me.”

“You’re a prick, Daerios.”

“You haven’t tried the tea.”

I sigh, then toss the cup back, drinking deeply.

“You might not want—”

I down half the cup in one go, just to make a point.

“Oh, dear.” Daerios puts his long fingers to his lips again.

“What?” I demand. “What did I—”

Shadows start to close in around the edges of my vision. A gathering storm of black that appears from nowhere and seems to push down upon me, to weight every limb of my body.

“What did—” My voice wobbles.

Alarmed, Daerios pushes himself up from his chair, closing the space between us in half a breath. His arms curl around me, his shoulder a basket for my drooping head.

“Whass goinn—”

The shadows close entirely, and the world turns to black.

I awake in an unfamiliar dorm room. When my eyes peel open, I see three blurry figures above me which, with rapid blinking, take the forms of Daerios, Berendir, and Cara.

Before any of them can react to my consciousness, I drive one hand upward and grab the lapel of Daerios’s cloak. “What the hell,” I croak, “did you do to me?”

The prince’s lips twitch. “Good morning to you, too, sunshine.”

“Thank fuck.” Cara sighs loudly. “She’s awake.”

Still gripping Daerios’s collar, I glance around the dorm room. It’s a large single with vines crawling down one wall and a Rolling Stones poster over the bed.What the hell?“Where amI?”