“I could look away.” His eyes were anywhere but on me.
“No thanks, Prince Pervy.”
“Tell me something I don’t know about you,” he said, pulling us forward.
I thought about it for a moment. “I could ride a horse before I could walk.”
“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me,” he said, and I hated the way his smile got to me.
“Tell me something about you.”
“I have a cetani,” he said, watching me closely.
My eyes doubled in size. I had heard about the creatures from my parents but never thought someone could actually ride them.
“What’s it like?” I whispered for no reason.
“His name is Cal. I wasn’t raised with the dracs, so no one really knew if I’d be able to ride one, but my grandmother allowed me to take part in the ceremony, and he chose me.”
“What did you have to do?”
“It’s pretty simple really. The whole village comes, and you’re covered in warrior paint. They stand in a ring, and as the cetani pass, you hold out a piece of meat for them, or just your hand if you are brave, while you look away. If you are chosen, they take the meat or nudge your hand and allow you to ride them.”
“Do you see him much?” I asked.
“Not really. I used to when I was younger, but I’ve been gone for a while, and he stays with the dracs. I stay at the castle. It’s always the best when I get to visit though. He never seems to care that I’ve been gone.” The prince smiled sadly, and for the first time, I actually felt bad for him. He was normalish. I was only now noticing.
“I had to let my fae horse go. It’s not the same, but he was good to our family. I just knew I couldn’t take care of him anymore.”
“You gave him a great honor in releasing him to be free.”
“Well, I left him in a forest glen and hoped for the best.” I shrugged. I reached up and plucked a leaf from a tree nearby, picking at it to keep my hands busy. “I have magic,” I blurted out.
“What?” He yanked me to a stop.
“I don’t know how to use it or what kind it is, but it’s in there somewhere.”
“How do you know?”
“Well, I was in the middle of being a murderous bitch, and the sea fae I had tied up—don’t ask—pissed me off, and I burned him somehow.”
“That concerns me on so many levels.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I could teach you.”
“You would do that?” I grabbed his hand.
“I would do anything to make you stronger, to keep you safe.”
My heart jumped into my throat, and I had to steady my ragged breathing. I’m not sure what kind of magic he was using, but I was living for it. I stepped closer to him, letting the world around us fade away. This was Fen. This was the male his friends looked up to. He was kind and caring and a little pissy sometimes, but he was good.
The weight lifted from my arm as the chain disappeared. Neither of us looked down. I swallowed audibly and tried to break my heated stare, but I stepped close enough to feel the warmth of his body a breath from my own.
“You did it,” he exhaled.
“Did what?”
He laughed. A full belly laugh tossing his head back. He grabbed me around the waist and swung me around, and I laughed with him, realizing how dumb I was. We were free.
“What have you done with our prince?” I heard Kai ask.
