We orbit each other once more.
“Faster than I thought,” he remarks. “For a faerie.”
“Slower than I thought for a High Fae.”
His expression flickers, smile dropping.
So that was too far.
Maxian lunges. I sidestep. He grabs my shirt, yanking me toward him.Damn sleeves.Breath puffs out of me as my back slams into his torso, and he wraps large arms around me.
Trapped.
“So we’re grabbing clothes now,” I gasp, squirming.
His mouth drops to my ear. “Too bad yours cover so much.”
I shiver.
Maxian shifts, one hand reaching up to the neckline of my shirt, his other arm still banded around my front. I freeze, unsure what to do. To smack him when he’s off guard is dirty fighting, and for as much as he’s teasing now, I don’t think the king would appreciate an elbow to his pretty face. Worse yet, if I succeed, I’d knock out the royal in one hit.
So I guess I’m like every other opponent of his: holding back.
Unacceptable.
Maxian’s fingers tug on my neckline, gentle. Cool air tickles the raw skin of the bite, the bandage site itchy where it adheres to my skin.
“I’m sorry,” the king says, low, his thumb grazing my neck.
I don’t move, feigning uncertainty. “It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not.” His voice is so soft it makes me shiver again. My heart knocks against my ribs, and I’m sure he can feel it where his thick arm binds me to him. His nose is in my hair, curling wildly with sweat, and I hear him swallow. He adjusts to give more room between our bodies, as if he’s changed his mind about his front pressed against my back.
I have the advantage.
I twist in his loose grip, one hand clamping down on his arm as the other snakes beneath his pit to find the small of his back. He braces, realizing what I’m doing.
“Wait—”
Tipping us forward, I push my tailbone into his quad to lift him off his feet. The move would flip his body over my shoulder so that he slams onto his back on the ground. I would keep hold of that one arm so I can control how he falls and ensure he can’t get up, maybe jab a pressure point and twist his arm so he’d surrender.
But I don’t.
Not because he’s the king and I could win with this move.
But because there’s something on his back, rough like tree bark. My palm slides under the hem of his shirt, feeling the expanse of gnarled—
Reign magic tumbles through my legs, bringing me to my knees. It’s so abrupt, my own genius flails, a moth trapped in a stony room. His power shoves me away, and I sprawl across the mat as it releases me. My head spins, a protest rising to my mouth.
“We said no—”
Breath seizes in my chest. The king towers over me, panting, fingers twitching, gaze unnaturally bright and shining. Something has died in him; something new has come alive. Power thunders into the plane like a rockslide. On the other end of the room, a shield crashes to the floor.
No one says a word.
He takes a step forward, plane rippling. I scrabble back.
“Never do that again,” Maxian says.
