Not sure if that was the good news, or more bad. I sighed, leaving my hand where it was, finding far too much comfort in the heat pulsating between us. “What’s the urgency over restoring this place, anyway? I mean, if there’s one thing Britannia is not short of, it’s carnivals and fairs.”
“What? Can’t believe I’m hearing those words coming from the pretty mouth of someone who owns a donut empire.”
“I don’t own anything.” I bristled.
“Okay, stop. Right there.”
I froze, my hands gripping his arm. “Ohmygod, what! What is it? Is it a snake? It’s a snake isn’t it!”
“Calm down, there’s no snakes here. Just… tell me what that’s about? The disdain that leaks into your voice when you say the word donut. It’s only junk food, Kat, not the devil.”
“Ugh, don’t scare me like that.” I smacked his arm. Puffing an exasperated breath, I kept walking. “Donuts are worse than junk food, they're garbage food. When my mother used to describe them, she'd leave off the word ‘food’ altogether. They're just…garbage.” I shrugged lightly. “My did disagreed, naturally, but I guess I've always believed it. Seems silly to you, I'm sure. Someone who's eaten like two donuts in his lifetime.” I nudged his arm. “For me, it's more symbolic, you know? An omen…a bad one. That hollow center surrounded by nothing but garbage...it shaped a lot of my beliefs growing up.”
“Wow. The Tao of Donuts,” he teased.
I nudged him again. “Joke all you want, but it’s pretty much as rock-bottom as it gets in this country Mr. Ivory Tower. It’s why my sister ended up working there.”
Ethan was quiet for a few steps as we made our way toward the bridge. “You’ve made it mean so much more than it does, Kat. The fact that your sister works there now, only means she didn’t have the will to hunt down something better for herself. You would never have that problem. You’re tough and resourceful, smart, and stubborn as hell.”
I looked up at him, shielding my eyes from the glaring sun. “Smart enough not to repeat her mistakes?”
He didn't respond, because we both knew the bitter answer to that. I was here with him, which meant, I wasn't. And my mistakes could be even worse.
I cleared my throat. “Subject change.” The moment we crossed over the precarious bridge and into the entrance of the park, I pulled my hand away from his.
“You tell me something now.” I pushed the hair away from my face, giving him a side glance. “Was this really your idea of a hot date?”
“What?” He laughed. “Where’d you hear that rubbish?”
“The tabloids, of course.” I shrugged.
“Ah, well, as long as you have credible info from a reliable source.” He rolled his eyes.
Sea breezes swept over us, and I pushed the hair back from my face. “Very reliable.” I nodded with mock gravity. “I mean, you do know your body parts have their own Instagram pages, right?”
He shrugged, clearly indifferent.
“That’s the kind of stuff they write about you.” I air-quoted with my fingers. “Prince Ethan enjoys long walks by the pier, a good single malt gin and banging his brains out on the billiards table. With the nanny.” I threw that in, just to watch his face contort. Which it did.
“Yeah, okay, if you're going to create a fantasy, love, at least have me banging someone who isn't triple my age.” He dragged a hand through his hair. “Anyway, everyone knows the prince prefers the Royal Tutor to the Royal Nanny,” he leaned in, "any day of the week."
I felt my face flush but kept walking.
“Actually, this would be a great place for a date,” he added.
I couldn’t hold back my laughter. “Let me get this straight. Your idea of a perfect date ends with a tetanus shot after being lacerated by rusty metal in a desiccated amusement park? You’re quite the catch, Prince Ethan. Any girl should be so lucky.”
“Not just any girl.” He caught my eye. “Only you.”
“Oh, well, now I really feel special.” I was intending to sound sarcastic, but it came out sounding more like what it was…true.
“This place is rich with history and memories. It has magic all over it.” He paused, holding up his hands. “Sorry. Poor choice of words.”
We ambled past a rusted fence. I tapped a finger on the railing. It groaned and tipped over, landing with an echoing clang. We kept walking.
“Yep.” I nodded. “Very magical.”
Ethan rolled up the long sleeves of his black shirt, exposing his tanned forearms and his tribal tattoo. It was one of the most photographed parts of his body. Aside from his face, and bare chest. I cleared my throat and focused on the path ahead.
“You’re the only girl I know with a phobia of places like this,” he said, casting a side glance in my direction.
My feet stopped. “Woah. Hold on.” I faced him. “Let me clarify something here. I’m not afraid of amusement parks. I just don’t want to wind up working in one. You know because…” I paused. What I was going to say next was, because that’s where the people your mother allows to live are banished to. The only employment they’re fit to find. Serving donuts at the queen’s park. But I didn’t. Instead, I shook my head, saying, “I just have higher aspirations than that.”
He turned to face me, his eyes narrowing. “You have a master’s degree in foreign languages, a bachelors in English Lit and Humanities, Kat. I don’t think that will be your fate.”
“Neither did my sister.” I glanced up at him, then lowered my gaze and continued walking. It was out of necessity, because staring at him for too long was a little like staring into the sun.
“All right, then.” He clapped his hands and the sound echoed around us. “You’re not afraid. Good. Now that we’ve solved your post traumatic issues, let’s have some fun. I’ll make you love amusement parks, if it’s the last thing I do.”
“You might have had a fighting chance had you not brought me to one in ruins.” I laughed.
He led me through the park with the ease of someone who’d spent a lot of time here…past the haunted remnants of a place once filled with life and people, while he explained the restoration initiative, and what that would mean for some of the ancient attractions.
“How often do you come here?”
“Not very often. Usually, I come on my own.”
“Is that safe? I mean, you’re a royal, isn’t there always a target on your back? Honestly, I’m surprised you managed to give your bodyguards the brush-off today. Thought they’d never agree to let us wander here alone. Unsupervised.”
“Sometimes, you have to say fuck-it and take the risk, you know? I can’t stay cooped up in a cage the way my mother wants me to. I’d die.” He shrugged a shoulder. “Who the hell wants to live like that?”
“If by cage you mean the multi-acre palatial estate in which you live that spans across several countries, then I’d have to question either your comprehension or definition of the word cage.”
“A prison is a prison when you’re not free to come and go as you please, isn’t it? Does the size of the cell really matter?”
I knew that it didn’t because I’d experienced it for myself. Freedom had very little to do with where you were. It was all about how you felt. “I guess not,” I conceded. We walked along in silence for a few minutes, before I blew out an audible breath. “Well, this is rather somber for an amusement park. Gotta tell you, it’s doing nothing to warm me toward them.”
His eyes lit with mischief. “Then we’ll just have to change that, won’t we?” He pulled out a flask, jiggling it in front of me. “It’s past noon.”
“Yeah, but nowhere near six.” I laughed.
“It is in China.” Deft fingers unscrewed the cap and he pulled a long mouthful.
He coerced a small smile from my lips. “We’re not in China.”
He gave me that smile and I shook my head, then held out my hand. “Give it to me. At least if I drink some, I know you’ll be drinking half as much.” I tipped it back, lett
ing the liquid burn down my throat. It was amazing what alcohol did for inhibitions. Magical really, because after just a few swigs of his thousand-dollar Scotch, I was racing through the park with Ethan on my heels, in a game of tag.
He caught me, looping an arm around my waist, and hoisting me off my feet. “Hey. You’re cheating.”
“All’s fair in—"
“Love and war. Yeah, I know, but this is neither.”
He set me down, then spun me around to face him. “Are you certain of that? You’ve been avoiding me for days now. Ever since that night.”
His eyes taunted me. It only made me more determined to resist. A spark of annoyance fired through me. "Admit it, you're doing this on purpose."
"This?" He cocked a brow.
"This. Provoking me."
A hint of a smile touched his lips. "Say that word again. It makes your mouth look extra provocative."
The impulse to retreat pounded through me, but I knew that was exactly what Ethan wanted. He enjoyed pushing things, testing limits, going too far. Standing my ground, I forced myself to look annoyed instead. Still, it took me a moment to find my voice. "You know, we should probably keep moving if we’re going to survey this whole area before it gets dark."
Instead of taking my suggestion, he took a step closer, maybe two, because within seconds, our bodies were separated by little more than a narrow strip of air.
"What’s behind those eyes, Kat? Those dark, fathomless eyes… they’re surprisingly irresistible."
I didn't say anything right away, suddenly feeling hot and parched. I licked my lips, and Ethan inhaled sharply.
“I’m so distracted by your mouth right now.”
Heat kindled the space between us, singeing the nerve endings and sending tingles through my body. The air pulsed around us, the sound of blood rushing past my ears mimicked the roar of the distant waves.
Ethan tipped his head sideways, as if to examine me from a different angle. "That wicked-curvy mouth. It’s all I can do not to—"
Unnerved, not so much by his words, but by the part of me that responded so powerfully to them, I took a small step back. This ubiquitous thing pulling us together—we couldn’t give in to it. It was reckless and dangerous, and it had no chance of leading to anything meaningful…or lasting. I swallowed, hyper-aware of how close we were. Feeling everything slow down and speed up all at once. Knowing exactly what we shouldn’t do, and why we shouldn’t, yet at the same time, knowing exactly what was going to happen next.
Darkness didn’t always greet you with razor-sharp talons. Sometimes the darkness was like chocolate...rich and decadent. Sinfully sweet. I felt it summoning me, heard it whispering my name, caressing my cheek. Warning of the calm before the deadly storm.
There were moments in life when something happened to irrevocably change everything. But when they were happening, it was nearly impossible to know the epic, monumental life-altering effects they would have. It was only after. Later…once your life had completely broken apart and remade into something you no longer recognized, that you saw that moment for what it was.
Annihilation.
The beginning of the end.
Today. Being here with Ethan...this was our moment.
It was the last thought to enter my mind before Ethan leaned forward and touched his forehead to mine. His hand clasped mine, giving it a gentle squeeze that vibrated all though my body. I felt the world around us unravel. Life itself was wilting, burning, dying. I stared at the ground, unblinking, as everything slowed.
"Can I kiss you, Kat?" His words were whispered on a warm fragrant breath.
I nodded, because, in that moment, all I wanted was for him to kiss me. To feel his warmth, his lips, his touch. But I was too nervous, too excited, too terrified, that I couldn’t articulate the words. Enslaved by this weird electrical current crackling between us.
His hands cupped my face. I could smell him, felt his exhaled breath on my lips. My heart was racing. I was so afraid, but not even certain of what.
The heavens above began to darken, as he pressed his mouth to mine and kissed me deeply.
That's when disaster struck…
To Be Continued…
* * *
Continue the Courting Magik Series in Of Royal Blood: Part Two
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Author, artist, teacher, lover of chocolate...Michele Barrow-Belisle has always lived with one foot in the real world and one foot in the imaginary. So, it follows that she would grow up to write about characters from those enchanting worlds she knows and loves so well.
As a fan of magical realism, Michele's young adult novels are populated with scintillating Witches, Elves and Fey, and her illustrated children's books reflect her otherworldly imaginings.
Her bestselling debut series Fire & Ice (Faerie Song Saga) is currently in development for a film.
Michele resides in southern Canada with her husband and son who indulge her ever-growing obsession with reading, writing and most importantly... chocolate.
For More Books from Michele Barrow-Belisle visit:
WWW.MICHELEBARROWBELISLE.COM
Thanks for Reading and Stay Tuned….
Kat and Ethan’s story continues in the next installment of the series.
Pick up OF ROYAL BLOOD: PART TWO, available now!
Of Royal Blood: Part One (Courting Magik Series Book 1) Page 16
