“So what brings you down to my lair?” Galen asked, sliding his hands into his pockets.
“Well… you’ve been ignoring me for weeks. Then last night, you announced that you wanted to dance with me instead of Isla—at some festival I don’t belong at. You also revealed to Arnold that I’m a world walker, before showing up in my room…” I didn’t finish my thought. I didn’t want to bring up what he’d told me last night. “I-I don’t understand what you want—what game you’re playing.”
I tracked him as he prowled behind me, until I could feel his heat at my backside. He traced his hands along my shoulders and down my arms, before resting them on my hips. His confident swagger never failed to disorient me, even after I’d seen all of it drained last night. I now knew it was a shield to deflect from the pain he kept hidden.
“No games. I wasn’t ignoring you. I was protecting you…from me. You should know to stay away after last night.” He spoke into my ear, making the hairs on the back of my neck prickle with pleasure. “I find myself struggling with what I want and what I should do.What I wantis to take you right here.Gods, what I want is to undress you so… very… slowly.”
His hands wandered from my hips to my stomach, then up. They brushed along the sides of my breasts, making my breath hitch. “I want to claim you—bury myself inside of you, until you are begging for me to bite you—”
“And whatshouldyou do?” I asked, panting. I was going to combust if he took his fantasy any further.
“I should leave you be. I should court Isla. I should be the Prince I’ve been groomed to be for the last one hundred and fifty years.”
It felt like he’d just poured a bucket of ice on me. “Don’t become what they want you to be, please.” I turned around so I could look at him. “I have my own Kingdom I’m obligated to. It would get complicated… if we were to get involved.”
Duty always got in the way of desire.
“That’s right. Youdidask me to return you to Aurelius Castle the first day we met. Marigold, are you aPrincess?”
The last bit of heat died in me—at the word Princess. I stepped away from him, giving us several feet of space. “No, not exactly. It would be easier if you didn’t ask questions that might affect my safety.”
“I understand. I wouldn’t trust me either.”
“It isn’t personal.” There was so much more I wanted to say… but I couldn’t. “So are you going to keep ignoring me? Because I don’t need you to protect me. I see you, Galen… past the charm, past your title. I see all of you.”
“Marigold, I—” He froze, flustered, and began again. “How would you like me to approach our relationship?”
“I’d like to try and be friends. I’m…" I paused, finding the words difficult to say out loud. "I'm lonely. You were the first person I connected with here. And I think you could use a friend too. Can we not enjoy each other’s companywithoutsex?”
He gave a sinful smirk. “We can try.” I tried to contain my laugh.
“Why do you train down here?” I asked, looking at the space comprised entirely of stone.
“My magic can get dangerous out in the open. Wind… trees… people. Down here, I’m safe to play with fire whenever I’d like.” Flames hovered over both of his hands. He turned away from me and sent large tangerine streams soaring away from us. My face felt the impact of the heat, even as it was directed away.
He formed a large circle of fire around us that rolled along the floor like molten waves. I lifted my hands and a snowy blizzard swirled around us, instantly cooling the hot air. Where ice met flame, the air sizzled and hissed, creating steam.
We turned to face each other. I fought the magnetic pull that whispered, “Touch him. Kiss him.” Flame danced in the reflection of his eyes. What would happen, if we chose to stop fighting this tension?
Galen’s fire stopped abruptly and my ice followed. We moved apart, breathing in the warm fog we’d created. “Let’s get you back to your room, love. You’re too damn tempting… and I only have so much self-restraint. If you’re smart, you’ll stay away.”
I nodded, but he knew as well as I, that neither of us would listen to his words of wisdom. We were on a path of inevitable collision. My only chance of escaping unscathed was to get home before he made me his. Immortal enemy or not, I wanted him.Badly.
seventeen
Imissed the rain. The weather here was always pleasantly balmy and it didn’t fit my state of mind. I’d been in Nymera for over a month now. My magic was getting stronger every day and I was beginning to get through my workouts without every muscle screaming at me. I was getting faster too, even able to knock Louis onhisass sometimes.
I should’ve been happier at my progress; instead, I moped around like a love-struck teenager. I’d never been in love and doubted it felt as awful as this, butsomethingwas wrong with me. I feverishly devoured books, searching for the cure to my self-imposed ailment.
This was more than loneliness. I was used to being alone—enjoyedbeing alone—so why did I suddenly crave Galen’s attention more than food, water, and air? My skin felt as if it might crawl away from me, abandoning my pathetic skeleton, if it didn’t get what it desired soon. His touch was the answer. He was the illness and the remedy.
It wasn’t until I discovered the romance section in the library that I found relief. I lost myself in love stories—the kind I’d always avoided—because I’d thought that if I didn’t believe in love, then it couldn’t afflict me. Except it had. Or something like it had.
I couldn’t stop dreaming of his body over mine, couldn’t stop fantasizing about him biting me. The shame of it left me feeling agitated. The lack of discipline I had over myself was… unsettling. Louis reiterated over and over how important it was to maintain control. He warned of burnouts and worse if I didn’t master my emotions. And yet, even while meditating, a flame flickered inside me, demanding I surrender to its warm embrace.
It was easiest to forget about Galen when I was with Meli. She was a nice break from the castle in general. Today, we’d left her shop to go work in the gardens where her and Odin grew their medicinal plants.
After spending the morning weeding and pruning, we sat under the shade of a jacaranda tree, quenching our thirst with tea and biscuits.
