He shakes his head, letting out a frustrated sigh.
“You’re better than them,” he says, barely above a whisper.
I stop and whirl on him. “Excuse me?”
He sticks his chin out, folding his arms. “You heard me.”
“And what do you base that ridiculous claim off of? You know absolutely nothing about them!” I’m boiling now.
“I know you.”
“And what, because I’m an elf and they’re dragon shifters, that automatically makes me better?”
He raises his eyebrows, as if to tell me I already know the answer. “You’re the princess,” he adds.
“Who cares!” I seethe. “It’s a role I was born into. I’ve done nothing for it!”
I can’t calm my anger.
I want to punch him in the fucking face for looking down on them. Instead, I spin around and storm off. When he moves to follow me, I shoot tiny icicles back in his face. Not enough to hurt him, but to warn him. “Ah!” he yells. “What the…”
“I know the fucking way!” I call back.
Today is not the day to mess with me.
I try to calm down the rest of the walk to my father’s office, but it’s proving to be difficult. I shake my hands out, close my eyes, and take deep breaths. Nothing’s working. I’m a female standing at the mouth of a storm, and no one would be wise to stand in my way.
“Father,” I announce as I enter the room, out of breath.
“Sit,” he commands.
“I’d rather stand.”
He fixes me with that cold, even look of his.
“What news do you have?” he inquires.
“News?”
“You’ve been spending a lot of time with them. I expect something worthwhile by now. As we discussed.”
“Right. Right.” I shake my head, regaining my breath. Mostly trying to stall while I form an idea.
He watches patiently as I pace.
“They’re very, very private. It’s rather frustrating.”
He doesn’t look pleased.
“Do you like him?”
“No. I do not. But I think he’s falling for me. I’m fairly certain he is. I think I can crack him soon. I’m playing into it.”
His brows furrow as he mulls this over.
“It’s quite fun, actually. It’s been entertaining me these last few days.” I’m lying. A lot. Playing pretend with Daegan when I’m enjoying every moment around him is killing me. There’s nothing fake about it.
For me, at least.
