“Is there a reason you insist on holding my hand?”
My gaze snaps up to his cool one. “Don’t worry, I’ll try to resist kissing your knuckles, prince.”
At the mention of his knuckles, my eyes sweep over them while his laughter washes over me. They’re red and raw, not only from this fight but also from one prior. Blood trickles down his fingers from the reopened scabs, though he barely seems bothered.
“You were in a fight,” I say. “And—”
His scoff cuts me off. “I told you to impress me, not state the obvious.”
“I’m not talking about this fight,” I sigh, dropping his hand to gesture around us while simultaneously fighting the urge to punch that stupid grin off his face. “I’m talking about the fight before this one.” I watch him closely, noting that nothing about his expression indicates whether I’m right or wrong.
Plagues, he’s not going to make this easy for me.
My gaze drops briefly to his shoes. From this close, they don’t look as shiny as I once thought they were when I spotted him across Loot. In fact, they don’t look shiny at all.
Sand.
His once polished, black shoes are now covered in a thin dusting of sand, barely visible. As though he’s been walking through the...
Scorches.
And there’s only one reason why a prince, specifically the future Enforcer, would step foot in the Scorches at all.
He banished someone. And that same someone put up a fight.
I’m reminded of the two Imperials missing from rotation today, and it all begins to fall into place.
The prince needs guards to drag prisoners to the Scorches.
Triumph begins to bloom in my chest, but I stamp it down.
Something’s not right.
Normally, the town would be gossiping for days about who was banished and why. The criminals would have been paraded through the city, drawing a crowd to watch them walk to their death. But I haven’t heard a single word uttered about this. Odd, considering they usually flaunt the banishes, use them as examples, show them off to warn the kingdom of what happens when you cross the king.
He didn’t want anyone to know about it.
In a matter of seconds, I have all the information I need.
“You were somewhere...hot. Sandy.” I squeeze my eyes shut before adding, “The Scorches.” I peek up at him to find his eyes searching my face. “You banished someone. Or...a group of someones.” At this, he stiffens, ever so slightly. His cool facade cracks. And in that small action alone, he’s just confirmed that I’m correct.
And that I shouldn’t know any of it.
“But...” I pause. “You don’t want anyone to know that do you?” I can’t suppress my small smile as he peers down at me, looking both impressed and confused.
“And what emotion are you sensing all of this from?” he asks quietly.
I blow out a breath before taking a wild guess at what the future Enforcer could be feeling, if the man has emotions at all. “Is it...guilt I’m feeling? Worry?” He seems to still at that, giving me silent conformation that I must be at least partially correct. “Was that proof enough for you, Your Highness?”
I am well aware of the dangerous game I’m playing. And yet, I can’t seem to forfeit my feelings of hatred for him and everything he stands for.
But the smirk that lifts his lips tells me that he likes the game too.
“Plenty. Well,” he exhales, shoving his hands in his pockets, “like you so kindly pointed out earlier, I should thank you, again, for helping me, darling.”
“Paedyn.”
His dark brows raise slightly in question.
“My name is Paedyn, not darling.”
“Paedyn,” he echoes with a small smile, testing out the word. His deep voice makes my name sound so rich, so regal, as if I’m the one with royal blood pumping through my veins.
We stare at each other for a moment, his icy eyes sweeping over my flushed face and doing nothing to cool it. “You know, I can enlighten you on another way to thank someone for saving your life.” I pause, suppressing a smile. “Repaying your debt.”
He tips his head back and laughs darkly. “Did you not get enough silvers when you robbed me the first time?” I shrug as he continues coolly, “Need I remind you that you said a simple ‘thank you’ would suffice?”
“Yes, a thank you would suffice. Not satisfy. And, well, that was also before I knew who you were.”
He begins backing away all while reaching into his pouch to pull out a coin. With a flick, it’s flying towards me. I barely have enough time to throw out my hand and catch it as he says, “Something to remember me by.”
He’s several steps from me now, though his eyes are still locked on mine. “Oh, and darling?”
“Paedyn.”
“You were right.”
He takes another step backward.
I huff out a sigh. “I’m not sure I should even listen to what you’re about to say since you didn’t address me by my name which is—"
“Paedyn,” the sound of my name from his lips cuts me off, “the ladies do love me.”
And with a wink, he turns and strides out of the alley.
Chapter Eight
Paedyn
“What. The. Plagues. Happened?!” Adena’s vigorously shaking me by the shoulders, making my teeth rattle. As soon as I got back to the Fort, confused by the events of the day and very content to go straight to sleep, Adena pounced on me and demanded every detail.
“What? How do you...?” I’m stumbling over my words, wondering how she could possibly know that today was any different than the hundreds prior.
She cuts me off, eyes wide with excitement and unanswered questions. “Everyone’s talking about it! The whole market is buzzing about the silver-haired girl who fought off a Silencer!” I stare at her, dumbfounded. She barrels on, her words fast and breathless. “And the prince?” She all but squeals. “You saved the prince?!”
“Well, he doesn’t seem to want to admit it, but yes, I saved the prince’s ass.” This time, she does squeal. “But only after I stole from him.”
Her mouth flies open. It’s so dramatic that I can’t help but laugh. “You what?”
“In my defense,” I say, hands raised in innocence, “I didn’t know it was him.”
“Pae, the prince...” Concern clouds her gaze, and she blinks about a dozen times before saying, “He’s a Wielder. Could he...Could he sense you didn’t have a power—?”
I cut in before any more color can drain from her face, quickly explaining the events of the last half hour. Adena’s eyes are wide, her curly bangs clinging to her lashes as I fill her in on everything from robbing the prince to fighting the Silencer. After she learned of the lie I’d spun for the future Enforcer, we talked quietly until the shadowy alley was swallowed in darkness.
“Okay, but is he really as handsome as everyone says he is?”
I give her a flat look that I doubt she can see but know she can sense. “That is the question you’re dying to ask after everything we just talked about?”
“That wasn’t an answer,” she singsongs.