“Don’t act all high and mighty just because you defeated Amias. You’re arrogant if you think you can survive in the northern lands without the Kiss. We have dark creatures such as you’ve never seen before. It’s you who’s the stubborn one. That will get you killed up here.”
Zach stared at me as I breathed in and out heavily, my hands curled into fists. Then he moved in close, his hand under my chin, pulling my face near his—I had no time to react. “Seems like you’re awfully eager to kiss me, Ivy. Why don’t we just cut to the chase?”
Before I could stop myself, I raised my fist. Zach caught it just like he did everything else—effortlessly.
His hand closed around my fist. “Have to admit, I’m impressed.”
I glared at him, his fingers pressing into the part where Kellian’s crest had been. It was one thing to deal with Amias’s insinuations, but it was quite another to attempt a powerless kiss on a princess. It was an action of Lust, and it was insulting.
It was common for princes and princesses to appease their appetites driven by Lust, but I had never partaken in any partnership that wasn’t completely professional.
I had no patience for anything but training. Let others succumb to the power of Lust. To me, it was a distraction that led to vulnerable emotions. Depending on how greatly it affected a person, it was often just as evil as the monsters we battled.
Finally he let go of my fist, and I jerked away. He seemed completely unfazed. “Was that truly necessary? Come now, my breath has to be better than Amias’s.”
He’d been teasing me. He’d had no intention of actually kissing me.
His demeanor now was cool, confident, even…suave.
What happened to the awkward, easygoing fellow? The prince who complimented my freckles? How could that same person try to kiss me off the battlefield? Who was this man who could be two people at once—the blundering fool then the smooth and graceful warrior?
Perhaps it was exactly as he wanted it. People would underestimate him, thus making it easier for him to strike. Like a baby basilisk viper. Small and innocuous, but its venom deadly.
Or maybe he wanted to drive me away with his teasing. I hated how well it had worked.
“I think I can find my own way to breakfast,” Zach said.
He brushed past me, and I let him go, afraid that if I stayed with him any longer I’d want to stab him with his own stupid sword.
For the better part of the day, I sulked in my room. First, Zachariah had defeated my power in one simple duel. It made my stomach churn with anger and embarrassment. Next, he had turned down my proposal of partnership. Finally, he had teased me with suggesting a kiss off the battlefield and implied I was the one who wanted it.
Perhaps that was the most insulting thing of all.
I threw my pillow against the tapestry, sending ripples through the fabric, then flung myself back on the bed and winced. My hair was still in a bun, and it hurt my neck. Irritated, I tugged my curls out of their nest and let them fall around my shoulders.
Amias had once surrendered to Lust and kissed me on the edge of the castle grounds, at night with the torches lit around us. I could still remember the smell of his wine-soaked breath. He had tilted my head back and seized my mouth roughly with his lips—so similar to his battle Kisses, I almost couldn’t tell the difference. But there was a difference. A slight hum in his throat, a change in his breathing, a change in mine. The magic that usually rose in my chest after meeting another Royal’s lips lay dormant. But another feeling traveled down my spine, into my limbs, my hips and legs, locking me in place.
Then he had opened his mouth and demanded more.
Greedy. He was always so greedy. I couldn’t stand the feel of his tongue on mine. I hated the emptiness I felt inside, the absence of magic within that sort of kiss.
I had pushed him away. Told him that if he ever tried that again, I’d stab an arrow into his eye.
I’d almost punched Zach, and he hadn’t even kissed me—only entertained the thought.
There were many things the Legion did that I wished I could change. For one, I wished princesses were treated less like arsenals and more like the soldiers we were trained to be. And another, I wished we had more say in when we’d be shipped off to Freida to produce heirs. But I could make my peace with both those things because it was for the good of the Legion, the kingdoms, and the people.
But I refused to be used as a plaything to satisfy a prince’s Lust.
Clenching my fists, I got up from my bed and headed for the door. Now was as good a time as any to research the Sable Dragon. With Zach or without, I was going after that egg.
…
Myria’s library smelled of wood and leather. Even though every book was ancient, the librarians would recopy the fifty oldest books into new leather-bound books each year. The texts themselves might have been old, but the cavernous room never smelled that way.
“North back wall, behind the colonnade,” I muttered to myself as I walked through the stacks. I was fairly certain that was the section I was looking for. The library was vast, and I spent most of my free time on the training grounds. I didn’t have the patience for studying the ancient texts more than necessary.
Thinking I’d found the correct book, I leafed through the pages. It wasn’t until I noticed a large diagramed picture of the three enchantments surrounding a curse on an amulet that I realized I was in the wrong section.
“Cursed amulets. Useless.” I tucked the book back in its spot and tried the next stack. Finally I remembered that the section on dark creatures was to the left of the colonnade, and I was able to find the book in moments.
As I slid the book from the shelf, I found Zach’s face staring at me from the other side.
I gave a yelp and dropped the heavy book, the spine hitting my foot. I let out a string of curses under my breath.
“You curse like a bartender at a sleazy tavern,” Zach said, struggling not to laugh.
“That was your fault. Who hides behind a bookshelf? What are you, a child?”
Zach just grinned, hands in his pockets.
“How did you find me?”
He shrugged. “Bribed a servant.”
I waited for him to offer more, and when he didn’t, I gave a frustrated sigh. “Okay, why did you bribe a servant?”
“So they’d tell me where you were.”
I started to push past him, but he planted his arm on the shelf, halting me. “Troll’s breath, you can’t take a joke, can you? I wanted to apologize.”
“For?”
“Implying I would kiss you. I suppose that was out of line.”
“You suppose?”
“I didn’t mean any harm by it.”
“It was offensive.”
“Do you not know how apologies work?”
I noticed he’d shaved since this morning, and it made him look younger. It reminded me that, although I certainly hadn’t found what he did funny, he probably thought it had been harmless. Just as I had joked around with my sisters in imagining the perfect Swordsman Prince.
“All right, I accept your apology. Though I’m not sure why you’re apologizing, since I doubt you came to me with a sudden change of mind about being my partner.”
Zach broke our gaze, his hazel eyes flitting to the book at my feet. “Even if we’re not going to be partners, that doesn’t mean I want you to hate me.”
His words caught me off guard, and I searched for a reply. Of course I didn’t hate him—it was far too strong a word. But yes, I had been angry.
He stooped to pick up my fallen book and read the title. “The Forces’ Darkest Children.”
I reached for it, but he stepped back, away from my grasp. “Why do you have this?”
“None of your concern.” I paused a beat. “Why? Have you read it before?”
“I’ve read a lot about monsters. This book is supposed to contain the worst of the worst. What are you looking for?”
He started to flip through the pages, and I yanked it out of his hands. “Zachariah, did you think I wanted you as my partner for just any battle? I assure you, if it were only the next patrol I was up against, I could manage with Amias.”
Zach narrowed his eyes.