AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The fire I had to snuff out.
My lurch up from the table wasn’t nearly as graceful as his. At this point, I didn’t care. Fury and urgency made me clumsy and jerky, but at least lent the fortitude to stand. “I—I think I’m a little tired,” I stammered. “Thank you all for—errmm—having me, but I’m not very hungry either, and I—” Need to get the hell out of here before I drop-kick Bettie Boop into the chocolate river myself. “I think I need some rest.”
“Of course, dear.” Xaria’s face was full of compassion but her voice rang strangely hollow. On the other hand, I was so tired, everything sounded hollow.
“Miss Fava.”
Except for him.
The fullness of his baritone. The sensual pull of his accent. Most of all, the command underlying it all, compelling me to stop. All but ordering me to lift my head and look back at him. Dammit, whether I wanted to or not. Because I definitely did not.
No matter how much my racing heart, sizzling blood, and tight throat said otherwise.
None of it would negate what my soul already knew—and my heart tried to forget.
I could no longer write off our connection as first meeting chemistry, or one instance rubbing out the hot-and-hornies. This wasn’t just a case of insta-fangirl over a prince who rearranged the air as if that were his kingdom too.
This was one of those bonds. A click of utterly right, happening at the completely wrong time. The guy who met me, saw me, just knew me—and wanted me anyway. He was the Ron to my Hermione. The Mr. Big who knew how to smirk at my Carrie. The Navarre doomed as the wolf to my Isabeau.
Hell.
One more second down this fucking path, and I’d be borrowing his dagger to stab myself in the tomb with him.
Sometimes, shit timing was just shit timing.
This was one of those times.
Next.
I pulled in a deep breath. Pushed out a brave smile at all of them once more. “I’m sure they’ll find Crista soon. Can someone send an update to my room?”
“Of course,” Evrest supplied, as his little brother moved forward—setting my nerves on alert all over again.
“I will escort you back to your suite.”
I glared at the elbow Shiraz offered as if it were a tree branch on fire. Hell if it didn’t already have the texture of an oak—not that I was visiting those damn memories anymore.
“I know the way,” I added in a mutter, letting him see my pointed glance in Ambyr’s direction. “But thank you anyway.”
“I can escort her.”
For some reason, Ardent’s offer clanged even more inner alarms. Xaria’s indifference about it provided weird validation for the feeling. “No,” I all but snapped. “Really, Your Majesty Ardent, I do know the way. Merderim and bon sonar.”
With everyone in the room handled, especially the prince who studied every inch of movement I dared, I spun on my heel.
First goal, only goal: the sanctuary of my suite.
There was only one problem with that plan.
I really didn’t know the way.
Shit.
It was on the fourth level of the guest wing, right? Or was that the fifth? And wasn’t it just past the bend in the hall, after the first atrium? Had there been an atrium?
Double shit.
Every wrong turn and misstep took me deeper into a labyrinth starting to feel like a cosmic joke with me as the punchline. I imagined some room full of Arcadian internet geeks, training their hidden cameras on the cute American rat in their maze, laughing their asses off while downing Doritos and Triple Jolt cola.
