I can feel my eyes flare. “Wow, you deserve a high five for that one.”
Tristan frowns, clearly confused. “A what?”
“A high five . . . in the face . . . with a chair,” I reply, giving him a flat stare.
Raiden snorts again, shaking his head in amusement. Tristan still looks thoroughly confused as he looks off to the side, a muscle popping in his jaw.
“Look, the crown prince told us to protect you with our lives, and I take that seriously. If you want to see the gardens, ASK.”
Kian steps forward. “We are glad you’re okay. But he is right. Next time, please ask, and we will take you.”
I look between the two fae soldiers that I only met a day ago and nod.
“Would you two please fetch Everly some food—something sweet—and meet us in the west gardens,” Raiden says.
Tristan’s eyebrows shoot up and Kian looks speechless.
“Sir, you don’t want us–”
“Nope. I will take her to the gardens myself.”
A tingling sense of awareness washes over me upon finishing the food Tristan and Kian brought me, making me sit up straighter.
“What is it?” Raiden asks from his position, leaning against the base of a tree. He has been silently sitting there, his hands carefully shaping a small piece of wood into something beautiful with a small carving knife. Not that he’ll show me what it is.
I don’t answer as I watch Maxon stalk around the corner of the garden, heading straight for us.
Raiden follows my line of vision and stands. “Finished the meetings already?”
“Yes. Thank fuck,” Maxon exhales.
My eyes wander over him. He looks good, really good.
My dark prince.
Wait, what?
My dark prince, what made that thought pop into my head? He is definitely not mine. But still my eyes roam over the uniform. The black ensemble hinting at danger.
Maxon’s gaze meets mine, and I feel a blush spread across my face. My fingers twist in my skirt and I look down at the grass.
“Mind if I join you?” he asks.
My head snaps back up to him. “You want to sit with me in the garden? Don’t you have a sword to swing around?”
With a mischievous glint in his eyes, Maxon's lips curl into a playful smirk. “Swing my sword around?” he questions.
I pick up a grape and throw it at him. “Oh, shut up.”
Raiden shakes his head. “I need to see a nymph about a dragon.”
“I will take care of Everly,” Maxon replies without looking at his friend.
“I’m sure you will,” Raiden quips, sending me a slight smile.
“Bye, and I appreciate your help earlier,” I respond, shifting on the blanket so my legs are stretched out in front of me, and rest back on my hands.
Raiden gives me a nod and starts walking toward the castle. “FYI, she wants to see a unicorn,” he tosses out over his shoulder.
