His answering smile was wicked. “Of course, you want to know what we truly ask in return. Don’t worry—there is a much more tempting prize waiting for you should you succeed.”
She paused, curling her hands into fists. She could try to run or fight this, but in the end, she supposed she was farther gone than she had hoped, because she merely whispered, “I’m listening.”
Chapter 15
Wheat stalks swayedin the warm air on either side of her, and a black beetle crawled up her calf. She ferried the shining insect into her hand before releasing it into the air, buzzing as it flew away. She watched it forlornly, her lips pinched.
“Jealous of a bug?”
She snorted softly, but it was half-hearted. “Aren’t you? He’s free to go where he pleases and do what he wishes.”
“His lifespan is probably only a few days.”
“Of freedom.”
The man chuckled, his voice rough and deep. She liked the sound of it much more than she wanted to admit, even to herself. Last week, he had tried to tell her his name, but she’d stopped him. Names would make their meetings far too real, much too personal. Knowing his name would break the bubble of the dream, the one in which she could always come here and laugh with him.
“When is your wedding?”
She sighed sharply and turned to face him. “Do we have to talk about that?”
His gaze was heavy on her, his voice steady as he replied, “Ignoring it will not change your fate.”
She rolled her eyes. “When are we going to talk aboutyou?”
He tilted his head, lifting a shoulder. “There’s not really much to talk about.”
“Hmm,” she hummed, lips tilting up. “You know what I am. Don’t think I can’t sense what I’m sure you can feel.”
He stiffened. “It’s nothing. Besides, plenty of humans have magic.”
“Not like yours. It’s too potent. Which parent is missing? Or are you an orphan?”
He eyed her with that same unflinching gaze. “So delicate with my wounds,” he murmured, raising a sarcastic brow.
But the soft way he said it, looking at her like that, had her stomach dipping. A gentle heat spread inside her, slowly melting into an ache at her core. She shouldn’t be feeling this…thiswant, looking at him now, but she couldn’t deny it, not as their gazes caught and her breath shuddered audibly. Something was shifting between them, and she didn’t know how to stop it. Perhaps it wasn’t even possible, not if she remained here.
She stood abruptly, the wheat tickling the sensitive skin of her thighs. “I should go,” she said quickly, turning and hurrying away from him.
But he caught up with her, a little breathless as he admitted, “My mother raised me alone. She passed when I was seventeen.”
Pausing, she turned, meeting his earnest dark eyes. “You feel it most when you are around fire, don’t you?”
His brow creased, but as she’d expected, he nodded.
“I believe your father might have been one of the bastards of Vulcan. Though, he is rather tight-lipped about his personal affairs, so I have no idea who it could be beyond that.”
“I see.”
She searched his face for any sign of distress, but his expression remained the same. Tilting her head, she said, “That doesn’t bother you at all?”
He shrugged, though she caught the flicker in his jaw. “My place in this world remains the same.”
“You’ll just remain a farmhand then?”
His lips twitched. “Don’t look so disappointed, princess.”
She froze at the nickname. Or was it more than that? The man grinned, and she hated how much she liked his smile. It was dangerous.
