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“I am not an omega,” I bit out, tightening my grip on her shoulder. “You shouldn’t treat me like one.”
She said nothing, forcing me into a subtle dip.
“You mean to weaken me in the eyes of your court,” I surmised when I rose. “To show you have control over Vetri.”
“Perhaps I simply want a dance with a friend I have not seen in decades,” she said.
“There is nothing simple about this dance,” I murmured in return, fixing my gaze over her shoulder. “We both know it.”
“You’re smarter than I remember,” she remarked, making my lips tighten.
“And you’re more obnoxious than I remember,” I rebutted, pausing only to add, “Your Majesty.”
A laugh crackled from her lips, relieving the tension that seemed etched into her skin.
“I’ve been called worse,” she disclosed. “Obnoxiousis hardly an insult, Olympia.”
“I’m trying to be polite, given our audience,” I muttered under my breath. “But do not confuse my politeness for weakness, Zoei.”
“I’ve never thought you weak,” she returned, her breath ghosting over the shell of my ear. The silky tone slid over my spine, making my skin quiver and come alive.
“Even when your powers could never compare to my own,” Zoei declared with bravado.
My lips parted in a gasp before I could stop them, and a jab sprung forth. “Your swordsmanship is that of a child’s.”
“I’ve gotten better,” she said without breaking for breath. “Much better.”
“So have I,” I assured her with a haughty lift of my brow.
Her snort of derision was meant to quail my confidence.
“We’ll see.”
“What does that—” I began, only to be twirled in a sharp circle in her arms.
I landed against her with a puff of breath, both hands braced against the mass of her shoulders.
“You can’t shut me up with a twirl, Zoei,” I insisted, nails digging into the lush velvet of her jacket.
“Can’t I?” she countered, her lips curving around the words in an all too familiar manner.
“No,” I reiterated. “At your mother and your council’s behest, I came here for peace,notto be a pushover.”
A maleficent light sparked to life in her eyes. “You sure you’d object to being pushed over by me?”
I should’ve punched her—would’vepunched her if we weren’t the subject of scrutiny for high-ranking members of court. My fingers fisted on her jacket, rumpling the fabric.
“Why does it make me tingle to know I can still force a blush from you?” she murmured, teeth flashing in a teasing smile.
“Don’t pride yourself on that,” I cautioned. “My fair coloring is to blame, not your provocative words.”
“Are you certain?” she queried, palms tightening around my waist in an attempt to steal my breath.
“Beyond any doubt,” I parried with confidence that was nothing but a sparse shadow.
Her gaze, molten and fiery, lingered on my cheeks, my lips, searing a path across my heated face. Dear Goddess, how could I hope to remain unbothered, indifferent, impervious to this wicked assault?
She tracked everything, from the shortening of my breath to the tightening of my chest. There was no hiding. The barriers that had erected between us after years of being apart were nothing but imaginary, crumbling at the briefest touch.
