“You’re right. It’s time I let Josephine, and the prejudices that came along with her, go. I’ve been making myself lonely for too long.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re starting to see the truth of the matter. Now, you didn’t have to bring me all the way here to tell me that. Let’s get back, because—”
He grabbed both my hands and brought them to his chest. “Because you have a lot of work to do.”
“Yes.”
“Forgive me, Sera? For saying the things I did?”
I really shouldn’t. He’d been trying to stir drama, giving me a thousand and one reasons to yell at him. But he was looking at me with his handsome face and strong-jawed features with a sincerity that could make most girls, and maybe guys like Frederick, disintegrate into a puddle.
So I got mad. As an attempt at self-defense. It was the only way my heart could protect itself from my silly female hormones.
“You think you could fix this all with pretty scenery?” It truly was gorgeous. “That I could let go of all the things you said just because you’re smiling at me with that… that face… and those dimples… and your—” I stopped myself before I listed too many good traits. “And I shouldn’t be the one you’re apologizing to. If you want to say sorry, do it to Micah. You’ve been punishing him for what Josephine did all these years. He’s your brother.”
“I know.”
Once I started, I couldn’t stop. “Do you? Because I can’t see why you had to throw those insults at him in the first place. I got so mad at you at dinner the other day. We were just having fun, and you had to go and kill—”
He stopped my rant with a kiss. On the cheek. It wasn’t as intense as the ones Kael or Micah had given me, but it was enough to send my insides pulsing out of control, and the warmth slammed the words out of me.
He picked up a strand of my hair and brought it to his lips. “I’m sorry. For all those things. Forgive me?”
When he looked at me like that, my body stilled. I was about to say yes, because who could say no to that face? Then Gaius continued, “I know it shouldn’t be this easy. But I brought you here because it means something to me. It was the place we spent the most time with Josephine, and also where she left us. And I want to start anew. With you.”
“What are you trying to get at, Gaius?”
“I’ve liked you since I first laid eyes on you.”
“So you made me torture that poor maid.” I did inquire about her. She’d recovered well, and was back to her duties. Rylan had given her a year’s bonus for the trouble.
He scowled, and for a second, the old Gaius came back. “I’m apologizing, okay?”
“Okay.” I shrugged.
He pulled his expression together. “What I’m trying to say, Sera, is be mine.”
“Your brothers are all ahead of you.”
He laughed. “That’s true.” He stepped forward, then pulled me back up into his arms. “I probably shouldn’t have been that stubborn, then.”
The sun was almost done setting, and was now just a red dot in the horizon. A purple gradient stretched across the sky, painting it.
“We should get back,” he said, taking off with me in his arms. “It’s getting late.”
“Yep,” I said, trying to show a hard exterior. I attempted to act as if what Gaius had just said didn’t get to me, and that he stood no chance. But he did, because when a man broke down his barriers, and confessed like that, against the most romantic backdrop of a grand city and the setting sun, who could resist?
I would never admit it, but at this moment, Gaius had a leg up on his brothers.
I still thought he was a huge asshole, however.
He flew me back to the princes’ quarters in silence and let me down. I quickly pried myself away from him, unable to take the heat.
Micah spotted us from the entrance. He was chewing on something—gum? Gum was a new phenomenon. And he had his head stuck in a book while walking forward. I supposed he didn’t have to care about hurting his eyesight because he was a hidrae.
He peered up. “What did I miss?” His eyes flashed yellow.
“Gaius had—”
Gaius threw his arms around Micah and pulled him into a tight hug. “I love you, baby brother.”
Micah was stunned. He shot me a wide-eyed look and slowly lifted both hands, patting Gaius on the back. “Uh… all… right?”
Gaius let go of Micah, grinning. “Have a good night’s rest.” He walked away, his steps a light skip.
Micah stilled and drew his brows together. “Okay, now really, explain to me what happened.”
“He hit himself hard on the head,” I said, stealing Kael’s excuse. It was probably easier than trying to explain the whole thing.
“None of them are diseased,” I said. “Fisslire nuts originated in desert regions. They’re supposed to be resistant to the droughts.”
We were back in the palace’s nursery, but this time without the company of the princes.
“And yet they’re still dying,” Frederick said. “Maybe it’s not about the high summers.”
“Nonsense. We just lack knowledge.”
I scribbled the last notes of our findings into my notebook and peered at my teammates. “I want reports on all these tomorrow morning. Please don’t be late. We’ll need all the information we can get to get to the bottom of this. You may go.”
“Yes, Sera,” they said in unison. Their eyes lit up at their dismissal, showing their eagerness to end the workday.
I strolled out of the palace’s nursery and said my goodbyes with Frederick. Apparently his parents were visiting today, with all his favorite desserts, and he couldn’t wait to get home. I wasn’t sure whether he was more excited about visiting family or getting more food. I gave him the benefit of the doubt and decided on his family.
My feet scraped on the dirt ground. Gaius was sitting on a bench outside the nursery, weaving magic from his soul beads. A reddish glow from the magic lit his face with a light tinge. He flicked the magic with his index finger, and it sizzled onto the ground when he spotted me. My mouth was slightly agape from the spectacle.
“Why are you here?” I asked.
“To pick you up.”
“Rylan usually does that.”
“I’m ahead of him.”
“I’d prefer him.” Because I could be certain I liked Rylan. I wasn’t sure at all about Gaius. His face was starting to seem less punchable and more kissable by the minute, but that wasn’t supposed to happen, and the change in my emotions were making me second-guess my sanity.
“Too bad, then, because I’m stealing you away.” He took my gloved hand in his and dragged me along. But, in typical Gaius fashion, he didn’t watch where was going, and bumped into a maid. She let out a yelp and stumbled backward, before landing on her bum. He glanced at her, quirking a brow.
Yep, he was still an ass. Normal people would have apologized immediately.
“Sorry!” I said on his behalf.
He offered his hand. The maid peered up, her lower lip quivering. It was the same maid he’d made me torture the first time we met. She looked wary as she picked herself to her feet, not caring to accept Gaius’s offer for help. She rubbed her bum, which probably hurt from falling so abruptly. “Your Highness,” she greeted him.
“Uh… I can’t remember your name,” Gaius said.
“Tiana,” I replied on her behalf.
“Sorry about that, Tiana. I wasn’t watching where I was going.”
She circled her hands around the same spot I had touched her. “My apologies… about getting in your way, my prince,” she responded, not daring to look up. “If you would excuse me, I must be going.” She curtsied, then quickly scampered in the other direction.
“Wait,” Gaius said. “There’s something else.” He scratched the back of his neck.
She whipped her head around. “I really do have to be going…” Her gaze dropped down to my gloves then back to my face.
Gaius start
ed, “I wanted to apo—” What was his sudden change of attitude?
“If you intend to hurt me again, Your Highness, be warned that I have contacts, and that you should think twice.”
He tilted his head back. “Is that a threat?”
“Yes, yes it is. Lady Cadriel here shouldn’t even be in this palace, and should my mouth slip…”
Gaius narrowed his eyes. “You dare have the audacity—”
“I must be going, Your Highness. If you would excuse me.” She picked up the hem of her dress and scuttled off.
I wasn’t sure what to think of the exchange, but I knew that fear had trickled into my thoughts. Would she really do that? Expose me? Should I be worried? She could have had made an empty threat, but I already sensed danger flashing through my mind.
“You’re paling,” Gaius said, turning to me. He dragged a hand over my forehead. “Are you sick?”
“It’s the heat,” I replied. “That maid… you were going to apologize to her.”
“I wanted to. Until she dared speak so brazenly. I guess lowborn are”—he caught my glare—“are wonderful people, just like nobles can be. Hardworking and smart and every bit as deserving of respect as people like me.”
I lifted a brow before walking forward. “People like you? And what are you, exactly?”
“Handsome, intelligent, adept at most things that people find impressive, and—”
“Cocky.”
He smiled. “That too. Why are you walking away?”
“I’m going back to the council, so Rylan can pick me up.”
“It’s a long way.”
“I can manage. It’s good to be on your feet every so often.”
“Why be on your feet when you can ride with wings?”
I pointed at my back. “In case you haven’t noticed, I don’t have any.”
“My wings, I mean.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m still not sure how to feel about you, Gaius.” But he was so handsome. And I was starting to find him sweet. Gods blast me. Why couldn’t he go back to being the ass he had been just a couple days ago? That would make things so much easier.
“Absolutely enraptured? Entranced? Mind blown?”
How about confused? “Turned off, maybe.”
He grabbed my hand and spun me around. In a split second, I found my behind against the wall of the corridor we were strolling down.
“You can’t mean that,” he said. His face was only an inch away from mine, and his earthy scent was all over me, making my head spin.
My mouth watered. My mind fogged. His body was pressing on me. I blinked hard. “I completely do.”
“Turned off? Even when I do this?” The tip of his thumb ran down from my earlobe, across my jaw, then to my lips. His heat prickled through my skin as he tipped my chin up. Until his lips were so close to mine that I could feel his breath.
Then he smirked, crinkling up the corners of his eyes. Gaius was mocking me, and that made me redden. “You want me, Sera love. I can sense it from the way you’re reacting. You just won’t admit it.”
“Yeah, maybe I do.” Wait, what? I had to take that back, but he had heard my admission.
He leaned in for a kiss, so I did the most sensible thing I could think of: I stomped on his foot. That only make him draw back slightly and cock his head in amusement. “You’re lying to yourself.”
“So what?”
“It’s only a matter of time until you cave in.”
“There’s Rylan, Kael, and Micah.”
His eyes flickered yellow. “We can tolerate sharing. It wouldn’t be the first time.”
I licked my lower lip out of nervousness. That only seemed to stir something in Gaius. “You can get off me now. Rylan’s probably waiting—”
As if on cue, Rylan’s voice came from my peripheral. “Sera? Gaius, what are you doing here? You’re making a scene.”
Gaius pried himself away from me. I looked around and saw that some scholars were staring, but not many. Drats. I quickly took a few steps away from the prince, rubbing my gloves as I did.
“I was looking for you at the council,” Rylan said. “Tindyll told me you’d be here. Gaius, I thought you hated Sera?”
Gaius shrugged. “Changed my mind. And you know I didn’t.”
“More competition?”
“All’s fair in love.”
I padded over to Rylan. He quirked a wicked grin and took me into his arms. “You’ve gotta catch up. You can’t expect to get to the same level with Sera, not with you being a stubborn ass for so long.”
Gaius sighed, though only in jest. “You have us all beat. Is he your favorite, Sera? Is that why he gets so much time?”
“Maybe.” I couldn’t decide. They were all equal levels of amazing, and I couldn’t decide who I adored more.
Rylan’s smile grew wider. “I’ll take that as a yes.” He pressed his lips on my temple, seemingly not caring that he was causing a scene.
Gaius muttered something as Rylan flew me away, and I felt my heart dance a little.
Fourteen
So let me get this straight,” Frederick said, after sipping on his tenth cocktail of the night. It didn’t have any alcohol in it—he didn’t react well to it, like me. Darmar weren’t that resistant to alcohol. “The princes… they come to your room every night, to help you out with work?” That had been a great stress reliever for me. “And Rylan likes to have you by his side before bedtime, before he heads off to his own room? You little she-devil. You’ve been keeping this all to yourself?”
“Sh!” I replied.
There were people all around us, and the scholar next to me gave us a weird look. It was starting to become no secret the princes and I had something going on. I tried not to let the rumor affect me too much, and denied it with everything I had—even though I was lying through my teeth.
The council was having its annual ball, and it had come at a timely moment, a few weeks before the vote. It was supposed to give us candidates time to mingle. I’d already done my fair share and was taking a breath, but Mei was still going strong, surrounded by people from commerce. I was actually starting to get worried she might win.
Frederick had moved on from his cocktail and to eating an inca-dog. He said over chewing, “And you said nothing happened.” He gestured with his dog as he spoke.
I winced. “Nothing more than that happened.”
“That’s already a dragon’s load! Tell me more.”
“Micah loves sweet foods. Candy of all sorts, and I think his lips are the softest.”
“You’ve kissed them.” Frederick looked like he was about to faint. He fanned himself. I allowed myself to beam from my gloating. Frederick leveled his gaze me. “I am so jealous of you, Sera Cadriel. You’re living the dream that every man wants.”
“Woman,” I corrected him.
“Both. They are just so mouth-wateringly good looking.”
“They’re more than that.” They were my men, and although they seemed cold and regal from a distance, I knew their weak sides, their softer natures, and I loved spending every minute with them.
Wait. My men? When did I start thinking of them that way?
Frederick rolled his eyes. “Yes, but that’s all I want to think about. How good they look. Never mind the baggage.”
I accepted them, baggage and all.
And they were willing to share. We hadn’t gone anywhere beyond kissing, and I was still deciding who I was going to let win Kael’s game. I was certain that it wasn’t going to be Kael, because he might get too clingy and start gloating to unimaginable degrees.
The princes were also at the ball, but their royal status gave them a separate location. They were up in the gallery with their own separate feast, which was probably filled with ingor and food from the Black Seas.
Rylan caught me staring at him from the first floor, and he waved. I wave back, feeling my stomach turn with the excitement of knowing they paid attention to me.
Princess Anato
lia and the king and queen were with them. The princess usually spent more time with Queen Miriel. Looking at the young girl reminded me of the vision and what was coming, but so far, spending time with the princes had given no clues. Why would they be crying?
“Okay, forget about the princes,” Frederick said. “Vancel Gavril beets them hands down.”
My gaze followed where Frederick was looking. Vancel, head of the Council of Fortitude, strolled in, walking toward Mei. He was dressed like the princes, in the same decorated slacks and straps of weapons and leather. He bore the same tattoos as they did, because as the grandson of Aiden Gavril, he was related to the royal line.
Aiden Gavril, brother of the king, had been executed due to his rebellion, but Gisiroth, despite his hard exterior, was a merciful king, and his children were allowed to live on. They were, however, stripped of their royal titles.
Technically, Vancel was the princes’ nephew, but he was older than them by a hundred years or so. They had a strange family tree.
Frederick sighed. “Intense, smoky gray eyes. That dark hair. He can take me any day.”
“Are you sure?” I asked. “He looks like he’s in a daze half the time, and angry the other half.”
“What do you know about love? It knows no bounds.”
“You’re admitting you love Vancel? So how far has your relationship progressed?” I took another bite of pastry. Not good for the waistline. I’d start dieting tomorrow. Maybe.
“A boy can dream.”
“Dream all you want, then,” I said, setting my plate down. Why did dessert always finish so quickly? It felt like it was only three bites, but I’d probably had more than that.
Mei hooked her arm around Vancel, apparently not caring it might affect impressions of his manipulating the vote. Mei said goodbye to the people from commerce. Then they turned and sauntered toward me. They were both at least a head taller than me, which made them even more imposing.
I wasn’t sure what their relationship was—lovers, perhaps? It seemed the most likely.
I frowned. What did they want?
Frederick ran a napkin across his mouth and adjusted his hair, which was always going to be a bright shade of ginger. “How do I look?”
Bane of Dragons (Sera's Curse Book 1) Page 15
