He cuts off the moment I trip backward over a rock in the path. My heart skips and I brace for pain, but before I hit the floor, there’s a sudden strong wind against my back. Instead of falling back, I stumble forward and smack right into Will’s chest. His hands catch my elbows and the magic wind that saved me withdraws.
“You really can’t go anywhere, can you?” he says.
His voice is distant compared to the hammering under my ribs. The anticipation of pain to the abrupt safety of his arms has given me whiplash. I breathe hard against the front of his jacket, and he smells so…him.Thank you, clumsiness.Thank you.
“Are you okay?” Will asks, and I pluck up the courage to lift my chin. When I do, those hazel eyes distract me long enough to make him raise his eyebrows. “Fliss?”
“Oh. Yeah. I’m fine. Um.”
His hands don’t leave my elbows. One of us has to move. One of us has to be the one to step back. He doesn’t. And neither do I. My eyes fall down his sun-kissed neck to his collarbone. Under his jacket, he’s wearing a pullover shirt with an open buttonhole at the top.
“For your service, sir,” I say, and thread the stem of the blossom through the buttonhole. Will tenses but doesn’t move away.
When the flower is fixed in place, I don’t know what to do with my hands. His shoulders are right there. I could run my hands over them. I could see where this goes. I could find out if this fluttering in my stomach is worth the risk.
“Thank you,” Will says. It’s softer than he’s ever spoken before, and it knocks the breath out of me. I couldn’t reply if I tried.
His eyes waver between mine like he’s scouring for an answer, waiting for my response. A wavy lock has fallen over his forehead, and I still haven’t moved my hands. There’s an idea:Tuck his hair behind his ear. Do it. Go on. It’s so simple. It’s right there. You can graze his jaw on the way down. You can wrap your hands behind his neck. Stop being a coward and do it. Stop remembering the last time you were in a position like this and how that relationship ended.Will’s thumbs tighten on my elbows and those searching eyes flicker to my mouth. I’m convinced he’s going to kiss me. The thought turns my heart into a fast-fleeing rabbit. Will is not Lark. They couldn’t be more different. I want this. I like this.
And—
He lets go of me, his expression creasing in confusion at the tree line. I stay still, stunned, blinking at the emptiness. Oh, I’mlivid.He can’t do that. He can’t just reel me in like that and speak so softly and look at me that way and not—
“Fliss, don’t move,” Will says urgently.
“What is it?”
He squints at the forest.
“I don’t know…” he replies. “Give me a second.”
There’s the faintest brush of wind as Will’s eyes focus on a spell. Is it Pigeon? Could something have happened to the guards? Did something go wrong? Did someone get hurt?
I hear a crack of a twig underfoot from within the tree line, then another, followed by a clamor of rustling that grows closer and closer like a wild animal lurching through the trees. Suddenly, a lean figure topples out of the brush, their dark hair a mess and travel clothes smoking from scorch marks. The person gasps, collapses to their knees, and passes out face-first into the gravel. It’s a face I know.
“Oh my gods, Prince Merit!” I cry, rushing to his side. I push Bastion’s brother onto his back and slap his burning red cheeks. I’ve only met the younger prince a handful of times in the three years since Card and Bash started dating, but this doesn’t feel like a time for formalities. “Merit, wake up!”
“Fliss,” Will warns, “you need to get out of here.”
Prince Merit is out cold. Whatever happened to him, he used every last ounce of strength to escape. I pat down the arms of Merit’s thick coat, checking for blood, for injuries I can calm. There don’t seem to be any big cuts, nothing surface level ailing him. Hopefully he’s just exhausted and in shock. Until I check his thigh. There’s a slice so deep, his dark trousers can’t soak up the blood oozing out. I press down on it as hard as I can and the blood leaks through my fingers. How did this happen? Didn’t Ava say they upped the security for his return?
“Will, help me. Get something to wrap around his leg.”
“Fliss, listen, there are more people coming. You need to run.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
Will crouches and grips my shoulders. I keep the pressure on Merit’s wound.
“You need to go. The guards will be here soon and you can’t be caught up in this.”
“I don’t understand. I’m friends with some of the guards. I’ll just say I was walking home and found the prince, which is the truth.”
Will wipes his hair back. “You’re insufferably stubborn.”
“If someone should run, it’s you. The guards might think you did this,” I say.
He shakes his head. “I can handle the guards. You shouldn’t have to deal with their questions.”
