I shrugged. “A lot of what you’ve shown me is physics – figuring out where and how to hit the blade to force an action.Of course, it’s hard to remember physics when a crazy sword-wielding Viking is coming at you. But I’m getting there.”
I leaned in, drawn by the curl of Arthur’s lips, by the sharp intake of breath as I came closer. His beard grazed my chin. I touched my lips to his.
Arthur drew away. “Maeve…”
My body ached for him to touch me. “You don’t have to do the group thing, but I thought?—”
He looked away, shaking his head. He touched his elbow, and I noticed he wore long sleeves today, rolled up to just under his elbows, hiding the scars I’d seen there. “I can’t.”
Disappointment surged through me. “I just thought…you and I…”
Arthur stared directly at me, fire blazing in his eyes. “You’ve every right to be with and do whatever you want with whoever you want. But I can’t be part of it. Not with those guys. I can’t share you, okay?”
“But what if?—”
Arthur whirled away. He drew back his fist and slammed it into the trunk of the apple tree. I winced as the whole tree shuddered and bits of bark flew off in all directions. Smoke smouldered from the trunk where his hand had hit.
Arthur stepped back, breathing hard, staring down at his hand as though he’d barely noticed the punch.
“Okay,” I held up my hands. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“Not your fault. I don’t want to force you to choose. If it’s them or me…I know what the answer will be. So I’m taking myself out of the equation—bloody hell!”
I leapt back as a flame exploded on the grass beside me, making short work of the wicker basket filled with sandwiches Rowan had given us for our lunch. I grabbed the water bottle and emptied it over the flames until they fizzled and died out.
Arthur grabbed my shoulders. “See what happens when I’m around you? I know you’ve got this hunger gnawing away inside you, but please, you have to promise me you’ll control it around me, okay? If things get heated, I might not be able to stop myself.”
I didn’t want to stop, but this is what Arthur wanted, so I nodded. “I’ll try, but this magic is in me, too. It’s pretty hard to deny, especially when you’re there looking all hot and Viking-like.”
Arthur leaned back, wiping a layer of sweat from his brow. “Maybe we should call it quits for today.”
“Are you going to be okay to hang out with the rest of us and not be all surly?”
“I’ll try.” He stood up and held out his hand. I took it. He threw the swords over his shoulder and we walked back in silence. As we neared the castle, I noticed Blake coming up the path on the other side of the topiary maze. As soon as he noticed us, he ducked into a briar bush, which had to hurt like hell.
Odd. What’s he doing?
We kicked off our dirty shoes and went into the kitchen. Rowan stood behind the island, rolling out a sheet of cookie dough. “Chocolate chip biscuits will be ready in twenty minutes.”
“Chocolate chipcookies,” I corrected him, leaning in to kiss him on the cheek. Arthur’s hand tightened in mine, but he didn’t scowl or stalk away. “Where are the others?”
“Flynn’s trying to teach Connor how to play PlayStation in the Great Hall. Corbin’s in the library.” Rowan darted a glance out the window. “I have no idea where Blake is.”
I wondered again if I should say something about Blake hiding in the bushes, but what could I say, exactly? He had lived in a tiny forest with a bunch of fae his entire life. His ways weren’t our ways. Maybe leaping into briar bushes was a totally normal thing for him, and I didn’t want to give the guys anotherreason to suspect him, not when everything was just starting to feelright.
We went into the living room to find Flynn balancing Connor on one knee, explaining to him the intricacies of using the controller to decapitate zombies. Considering Connor hadn’t even mastered aiming food at his mouth, I thought it was a little ambitious.
On the couch behind them, Jane read a magazine and sipped a glass of wine. She looked pleased with herself.
I sat down beside Flynn. Arthur sat on his favourite beanbag and picked up the other controller. “What do you say, Connor?” he grinned. “You and I can gang up on the big boss.”
“You’re both ridiculous,” I said. “Babies can’t kill zombies.”
“That’s some serious trash talk from someone who hasn’t killed a single zombie herself, don't you agree, Connor?”
“I bet I can do better than a baby. He doesn’t even have hand-eye coordination.”
“Oh yeah?” Flynn tossed the controller in my lap. “I think you’re all mouth, no trousers. Go on, Connor and I want to see what the famous High Priestess can do.”
