If anyone were the king of pissing people off, it would be Asmo.
“Mae, can I talk to you for a moment?” Koa asks, standing up and offering me his hand.
I nod, accepting his hand and allowing him to pull me from the couch. He leads me to a private corner out of earshot from the other princes and faces me, my hand still in his.
“Listen,” he says, looking at our hands instead of my face. “I wanted to apologize for the way I acted the other day. I’m starting to care for you, and I’ve never been in a situation where the female I’m courting has been with other males. It’s been difficult to think about.”
I refrain from pointing out that everyone else is in the same situation as he is and, that hasn’t impacted their behavior. At least, not that I’m aware of.
“Thank you for the apology,” I say instead.
“I shouldn’t have acted like that.” He still won’t look at me, which is pissing me off more.
“You’re right. You shouldn’t have,” I say curtly.
He sighs, finally looking up at me. “Forgive me?”
If this was any other male and I wasn’t the High Queen, I would have said no. But I remember what Elle said about alliances. Not to mention, I don’t have the time to hold onto any grudges right now.
I nod and try to push it from my mind. “It wasn’t okay, but I accept your apology.”
He breathes a sigh of relief. “Good. I really am sorry.” He offers me a smile, like an apology and a pearly-white smile are all I need to move on from him being an asshole.
I don’t return the smile. I steel myself, then say, “For what it’s worth, I didn’t sleep with him.”
His smile falls and he holds up a hand. “I don’t need to know. It’s not my business.”
I nod curtly. “Anyway, let’s move on.”
“You look gorgeous tonight,” he says placatingly, trying another smile. His emerald eyes search mine, looking for any indication that I’ve truly forgiven him. It’ll take more than what he’s given me tonight.
“Hey, quit stealing our time with her!” August yells from across the library. Koa holds up his middle finger in response, and I can’t help the laugh that comes out.
Koa’s eyes widen at the sound, the corners of his lips quirking up. “I missed your laugh.” He steps closer to me, but my eyes catch on someone else over his shoulder.
Asmo.
His eyes don’t leave mine as he stalks toward us. My magic sings with every step he takes.
“Mind if I steal you?” he asks, his black eyes locked on me.
“We’re not do—” Koa begins, but Asmo interrupts him.
“I didn’t ask you, kitty cat.”
Koa’s eyes narrow at the insult. Before he can respond, I step in between them and take Asmo’s hand, leading him away from Koa.
“You have got to stop pissing people off,” I mutter once we’re out of earshot.
“But it’s so fun,” he protests. “And I’m so good at it,” he adds with a pouty lip.
He places his hand on the small of my back and leads me to a hidden alcove in between two bookshelves. The space is small, clearly only meant for one person. I turn to tell Asmo as much, but I almost run into his chest. He doesn’t move, and my body instantly begins to sing, nerves alight and ready to be touched.
For fuck’s sake. I have to calm down. I look up at him to find him already looking at me.
“This dress is mesmerizing. I couldn’t stop staring at you when you were talking to the cat.” He says, one finger tracing the line of flowers from my chest to my waist, goosebumps erupting with his touch.
“Koa. Call him Koa,” I manage to say.
