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Chapter 3
Giannadidn’tlikewherethis was going. The laughter shared by Kozien’s brothers seemed mean rather than full of mirth, like she wasn’t getting the joke.
Maybe the joke isme.
The taller of the two glared at her from over Kozien’s shoulder. She could tell he hadn’t missed the way Kozien held her arm or the way she’d reached for his hand. The humor in his eyes had definitely dried up, and he was now looking at her with barely concealed hostility.
It was as if making the decision to go without them had drained the laughter right out of the situation. She was a little scared by them and wondered if she could convince Kozien to just leave.
MaybeIshould just leave.
She wanted to, but she also knew if she simply walked away, she might never find her brother. There was something about Kozien, too. Even though she wasn’t sure she liked his attitude, the idea of just walking away from him was intolerable.
“You aren’t serious?” the taller brother spoke up. “You’re going to go out there alone with this human woman?”
The way he said “human” got her hackles up, but she was too scared to make a retort. Kozien let go of her and turned to face his brothers.
“Grux, it’s your decision not to come. This is just the kind of thing I want to be doing, so I can’t pass it up.”
“But she can’t pay!” the other protested.
Kozien glared at him. “It’s none of your business, Trigg.”
“If it’s none of our business, why did you even bring her here?” Grux asked.
Kozien sighed. “I’m beginning to wonder,” he muttered.
Grux, the taller one, folded his arms and glared at Kozien. Even though they were really standing over him, she had a feeling they wouldn’t have been friendly with him even if he had agreed with them and abandoned the mission. She was kind of proud of him for standing up for himself.
“Maybe I should let thekingknow what hisheiris up to,” Grux muttered. Gianna felt a thrill of fear run through her.
King?Gianna gulped.
“Yeah,” Trigg agreed, giving Gianna a very unfriendly look and following it up with a glare at Kozien. “I’m sure he’d love to hear you have a pet human, especially since he thinks Jorvlens are beneath you.”
Pet?
Kozien’s cheeks colored, turning them an intense shade of blue against the pale, dusky violet. She was fascinated by the way his skin changed as he grew angry and wondered if it would look the same when he was blushing.
“Hey!” she said, tugging on his hand. “What are they talking about?”
Kozien turned away from his brothers to look into her eyes. His cheeks were still a deep, intense blue and his shimmering, violet eyes were full of uncertainty.
“I’m sorry,” he muttered as if he didn’t like the word. “I was not up front with you about this because it didn’t seem relevant to the mission.”
“Not relevant!” she cried, aware that her own cheeks were getting hot. “How is being a prince not relevant to the situation?”
Kozien shrugged. “Because I’m the right man for the job. I relish adventures like this, and I have the skills you need. My father doesn’t matter.”
Gianna agreed that this was sound reasoning, but the looks on his brothers’ faces told her it did matter, quite a bit.
Are princes allowed to just go gallivanting off into wild places in search of wayward humans?
“Look,” Kozien spoke firmly. “I am a prince. It’s true. I left because of the conflicts on Lorr. It’s just not a place I want to be. I can help you, and that’s all that matters here.”
Gianna could tell he genuinely did want to help her. He was so open about it she could almost feel it as a palpable force. Her only problem was she had no idea what he wanted in return.
Kozien sighed as if he took her silence as reluctance. He blinked hard and shook his head. “If you must know, I was supposed to marry a Jorvlen princess. After observing the customs, my father decided Jorvlens were beneath us and he wouldn’t let his son marry one. This started a horrible war between the two races.”
