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I knew he was trying to get a rise out of me, like that would help invoke my dormant magic somehow. I was supposed to meet him in front of House Rein at two-thirty p.m. It was two-thirty p.m. on the dot.
“You’ve been at Court?” I asked, pulling myself from the railing.
“Unfortunately,” he responded. “Aren’t you going to invite me in?” he teased, his head inclining toward my bedroom. “You’ve seen mine, after all.”
His black, four-poster bed sprung into my mind. The one he had threatened to tie me to.
I looked at him skeptically, like he really cared what my bedroom looked like. But I needed to put on my sneakers, anyway. I extended an inviting arm toward my bedroom and then walked over to the gray bench at the end of my bed and plunked myself down. I brought my knee to my chest and slipped on my first shoe, a pair the same green color as my bra.
The Prince stood somewhere behind me. From the corner of my eye, I saw him put his hands behind his head and then, stiff as a board, fall back onto my bed. The frame shifted with his weight and made a creaking noise. I peered over my shoulder and gave him anis that really necessarylook.
“Not that sturdy,” he judged. He propped himself up on his elbow, his entire body minus his shoes lying across my white bedspread.
I rolled my eyes.
“Maybe not for someone your size,” I retorted. “And it’s not meant for that, anyway.”
“My size? Your boyfriend’s the size of a mountain,” he quipped. “And I knowexactlywhat a bed is meant for,” he said, the timbre of his voice low and rumbling.
He traveled to the bench in front of me, offering his hand to help me stand. I glanced up at the Prince, who enjoyed toying with me so much, and then looked pointedly at his extended hand.
“I know you don’t have to touch me in order for me to travel with you,” I said.
“I know I don’thaveto. Did I ever say that you have to let me touch you?” he asked calmly.
“Well…” I stammered.No. He had not. But it was implied.
“Would you like to see what it is like when I don’t?” he asked.
“How does it make a difference?” I questioned.
“Let’s just say I’ve been told that it’s much moreenjoyablefor most people when I am touching them, and the closer, the better,” he said, the usual glint of amusement sparkling in his dark green eyes.
“I think I’ll take my chances,” I shot back.
He withdrew his hand, raising his eyebrows as if to say,suit yourself.
I got to my feet, feeling buoyant in my sneakers, and then the shadows of his darkness enveloped me. But unlike the other times I had traveled with the Prince and the darkness had almost seemed welcoming, now the endless black air whipped around me violently, making me feel as though I were being thrown ass over teakettle to my final destination. In the Prince’s arms, I had always felt like I simply disappeared one minute and reappeared the next. We reappeared on the training platform on the rooftop at the M. I bent over, thinking I might be sick.
“It hits everyone differently,” he said, standing over me. “I’m told some people get used to it. Or else they have a way to combat the ill effects. My father, for instance. He can weave a magical tether to me, and he says that helps.”
I looked up at him, both of my hands resting on my knees. He held his hand out to me again, the same as he had done when I had sat at the end of my bed. But there was a glimmer of satisfaction in his devilish dark eyes.
“Bastard,” I spat.
I took his hand and tried to jerk him off balance using one of the defensive moves he taught me. When that failed, I gave up on any respectful maneuver and simply tried to give him a swift kick to the shin.
“You can do better than that, princess,” he teased, easily dodging my kick.
Then he was behind me. I spun in the direction of the sound of his voice.
“Easy for you to say. You never stay in one place long enough for anyone to get their hands on you,” I complained.
“I wouldn’t saynever. If you promised to be sweet, I might let you get close enough to touch me,” he teased.
He was laying it on thicker than normal. He usually teased me, trying to see if he could goad me into using my untapped magical abilities. But it felt different today. Today, it felt like he almost needed the distraction.
“I’m not that sweet,remember,” I retorted, throwing his words from before back at him.
