“Your nose is smoking,” he told me.
I looked down. A small tendril of white smoke drifted to the ceiling. A shriek escaped my throat and I stumbled backwards, hoping to get away from it.
“Calm down.” The king held out his hands. “Your dragon fire might come out.”
I pinned him with a glare. “I can’t help it.”
He ignored me. “Take a deep breath and calm down.”
Stupid male! I hated nothing more than being told to calm down when I was mad. The smoke was thicker now and I was fully freaking out.
Would I really breathe fire? If I did, it might burn the king, and then he would really have reason to kill me.
I closed my eyes and inhaled slowly; the char of smoke splashed across my tongue for a second and then I breathed out.
My eyes opened and he was inches from my face.
“I’m calm. No need to kill me,” I said with as much sarcasm as I could manage.
“I’ll decide that.” His tone held more seriousness than I would have liked.
I could feel the blood flee from my face. “My king, I would never drain your power and kill your people.”
There was surprise in his eyes. Maybe it was because I’d called him my king, or maybe it was because he’d heard the truth in my statement.
“If I kill you, I kill my very own sister. Use your head, you idiot!” I snapped, irritated with him.
“I am an idiot. I’m an idiot for liking you!” he yelled back at me, and then looked up at me with a vulnerability I wasn’t prepared for.
His jaw clamped down, but I didn’t regret calling him an idiot. I’d been truthful with him this whole time and he knew it. He stepped closer to me, not backing away, and my body wanted to inch closer to his. Even now, knowing that he decided my fate, I wanted to feel his arms around me.
“I liked you back, dammit!” I screamed, and then before I knew what was happening I rushed forward and pressed my lips to his mouth.
His inhale of surprise sucked my breath into his mouth and made me second-guess what the Hades I was doing. Before I could retreat and chide myself for making a move on him, his hands came around my waist and crushed me flat against his body. I swiped my tongue across his and an angry moan ripped from his throat as he consumed me. Being this close to him, pressed against him, actually made something deep inside of me ache. I ached to be even closer, I ached to be one with him. His tongue swiped across mine again and a shock of energy passed between us. Much like that day in the kissing tent.
It was him.
I pulled backwards in surprise, my hands flung to my mouth.
The king’s chest heaved as he stared at me with glowing yellow eyes as he no doubt wrestled with my fate. Did I imagine the small shock just now? Did I imagine that this kiss was so similar to the one in the kissing tent? It couldn’t have been him? He’d been outside the walls waiting, right? My mind spun with this new revelation.
After what seemed like forever he sighed, looking tired. “I’ve found you innocent of treason and will allow you to roam the castle freely, but do not leave Jade City until I can find out what I’m going to do with you. Okay?”
I sagged in relief at the announcement that my impending death had been canceled. I hoped he didn’t think that my kissing him was to try to change that, but after I had walked in here with an unbuttoned tunic, I feared that was exactly what he did think. I guessed we were just going to ignore the fact that the kiss had ever happened.
Fine by me. I was way too freaked out about it being just like the kissing tent kiss to even fathom it.
“Wait, what do you mean ‘What you’re going to do with me?’” He wasn’t still thinking of killing me, was he?
He squeezed the bridge of his nose. “Good day, Arwen.” He dismissed me.
I huffed, but before I could retort, Regina opened the door. “Let me escort you to your room, my lady.”
Did he call her in?
As I passed him, I looked over at him, hoping to convey how I was feeling with a look. But I wasn’t sure how I was feeling. I wanted to kiss him again. But then also smack him for being an idiot and jailing me and interrogating me. Whatever he saw on my face couldn’t have been good, because his jaw clenched.
Oops.
Regina and I walked in silence back to the room, and when I reached the door she faced me. “I told you he was a just king.”
She’d been right. I had expected him to half torture and then kill me, and all we’d done was yell at each other for half an hour and then kiss.
“Thank you,” I murmured. I couldn’t believe I’d spent the last few days with my idol and she’d seen all of these embarrassing things.