She fought not to squirm. Turning her face slightly, her cheek pressed against his.
“I don’t know, you tell me, Prince.” Her voice came out a little breathless, and she cringed.Come on, Parker, have some godsdamned self-respect.
“What good is being prince if I can’t have the one thing I truly want? I think I’ll have it no matter the price.” His over-the-top words brought an unbidden smile to her lips.
But then she came back to herself, wiping her face clean. She needed to know what he was planning, not engage in whateverthis nonsense was. Indignation shot through her, pushing away the previous moment’s levity. He had some fucking nerve. Coming here, saying things like that, when he knew the truth about her. As if her impending death resting in his hands wasn’t a serious, terrifying thing.
Elysia spun round ready to cut through his foolish words before he was her undoing, but stopped short at the sight of his bright eyes latching onto hers, looking at her the same way he always had—intense and mischievous, as if this was all still going to be okay. Her heart stuttered. It wasn’t fair of him to still look at her like that. It wasn’t fair at all.
Water dappled his striking face, and she found her thumb brushing it away. A single drop right off the heart of his cheeks.
Topp watched her through wet, sticky lashes, unhurried and completely focused on her. Like he could stand there all day with her in the miserable, godsforsaken weather. She snatched her hand back, embarrassed at her own actions.What am I doing?Wiping her hand against her cloak as if her fingers had betrayed her, she scowled at him and moved away, claiming distance between them.
“I don’t know what your aim is, but I would rather die than be your hound. Do you hear me?” Her words were a sharp hiss. She hadn’t realized how true they were until she was spitting them at the prince. She was done collecting the cursed for the Crown. Her eyes grew fierce, her voice jabbing out like a sword. “I willnotbe why waves and waves of people die.”
Topp became still, his eyes tracking over her as if she might spook. He spoke carefully, slowly, his hands going up placatingly. “I have no plans to harm you.”
He took a step closer, but she backed away, bumping against the pole of her tent. His voice became soft. “You can trust me, Elysia, I promise.”
Her body remained tense in spite of his words to reassure her. Gathering her arms tight to her body, she held herself together to his face. But inside, her fractured heart crumbled.
That was a lie.
Her magic thrashed, angry at the undercurrent of something false and oily beneath his last words. He might not have plans to harm her, but he’d confirmed what she already knew: Topp Blatz was not to be trusted.
He closed in on her, bringing them nose to nose and his mouth a breath from hers. The tent pole dug into her back, giving her nowhere to go. Hand slipping inside the pocket of her trousers, he dropped in a handful of coins, taking his time to squeeze her waist as he let go of her body. “I think I’ll take it. I’d hate for anything to happen to a piece so rare as this.”
She looked up at him in confusion.What?
He collected the last flower pressing from her collection and went about inspecting it. Like he hadn’t just shredded the last straggling piece of hope within her.
Topp continued evaluating the flower pressing as if it were the most exquisite, intricate piece of art, when really it was the result of a night of too much wine and arguing with Beatriz. He looked up casually enough then, one hand shoved into a pocket, the other holding her art. There was nothing special about the movement or the look on his face. But she still watched the rivulets of rain roll down his face to his lips to the line of his throat. Frustration churned within her. It seemed no matter what he did, the mere sight of him would be enough to do her in, and yet, it wasn’t romantic at all.
It was tragic.
Her body could not seem to comprehend that Topp was no longer to be trusted. That years of memories and touches did not outweigh what she knew now. He was a beautiful, honeyed trap set by the gods who hated her enough to curse her.
His lips quirked, mistaking her lingering stare for lust. His voice dropped into a lower, more intimate register. “Are you going to bolt away again? Like you always do when I get too close lately.”
His words caressed her spine, causing an involuntary shudder. Green eyes looked down knowingly. “Wish you wouldn’t. You know my door’s always open, Parker.” The look on his face turned sensual while hers went flat in annoyance and she shoved him, palms hitting his taut chest before she could think better of it.
“Hedonistic pig,” she flung back, turning fast to leave. His money was as good as anyone else’s, and she didn’t need her ragged tent that bad, anyway. Topp laughed loudly, the sound suddenly terrible and infuriating to her ears. Jogging backward, he stayed beside her even as she marched away.
“I’ll see you tonight then?”
She frowned, stopping in the middle of a swarm of people. “You never come to anything you’re supposed to.”
You have to be kidding me.Her internal alarms began to wail. Topp never attended her mother’s societal functions. As a general rule, he couldn’t be bothered unless his father forced him, or it was a proper ball with wine and gin that ended with people half naked in the bushes and frisking in dark corners like everyone couldn’t see them.
Tonight was not anywhere on the scale of a Kavian ball. It was light food and drinks, maybe a few dances with boring conversations. A standard cocktail affair.
He shrugged, and a glint that she did not like appeared in his eyes. He backed away, out into the crowds. “My father has been more demanding as of late. I said I’d go, knew you’d be there, after all. There’s not a reason you don’t want me to go, is there, Parker?”
Elysia narrowed her eyes, knowing she couldn’t say a damn thing without it sounding suspicious. She called out to his retreating frame. “I already invited the girls. I didn’t expect you to come.”
He didn’t answer, weaving into the crowds, somehow never stumbling or losing sight of her until the throng of people swallowed him up.
Elysia threw her head back. She was already poisoning the king, why not the prince as well?I’m so going to die.
