“You deserved it.” Serenna noted the sore spot and tucked away the information, intending to jab him with it again later. She irritably tossed her disheveled braid over her shoulder. “Just because you know my chambers well enough to portal doesn’t mean you have permission to sneak around.”
While she couldn’t deny the convenience of avoiding the Spire’s ascent whenever the prince felt the need to summon her for training, Serenna should’ve known that no good would’ve come from asking the prince to attune himself to her sitting room. And now she was paying for her lapse in judgment.
Vesryn tugged the ring off. With a catapult of his thumb, he flung it into the air, catching it as it fell. His presence zipped in and out of Serenna’s awareness during the brief moments the gold wasn’t touching his skin.
“Your first instinct wasn’t even to respond with your power,” he said, like his theatrics were justification for scaring her. He sent the ring twirling up again. “You obviously need more practice.”
“What do you want me to do?” Serenna slapped the ring out of the air. “Splatter anyone who startles me?” The jewelry sailed across the room, clattering to the floor with a satisfying clink before rolling to hide under one of her dressers. “I don’t think a wraith is going to be lurking in my chambers. Unlike you.”
“Maybe not,” Vesryn agreed, tracking the path of the ring before glancing back at her. “Regardless, using the advantage of your power should be your first reaction.”
Serenna rolled her eyes, stalking to her bed. “Is there a reason you’re here beyond conditioning me with terror?” She dropped to the mattress to unlace her boots. “Haven’t you had your fill of that this week?”
The grin Vesryn gave her was all shades of amusement. Raising a hand to ignite orbs of whirling illumination, he cast her chambers in a dim glow. “I have a different activity in mind for tomorrow instead of training in the dungeons.” The prince lifted the side of her dresser to retrieve the ring. He bounced the jewelry in his palm while she ground her teeth. “I figured you’ve made enough progress and earned a break from fending off the wraith.”
“How generous,” Serenna said, unweaving the braid in her hair. “Considering you so admirably proved that I need more experience.”
Attempting to predict what the prince had planned, Serenna imagined the worst scenarios. Through flashes of the bond between Vesryn tossing and snatching the ring, she sensed him buzzing with anticipation, impatient for her to ask.
Cheeks puffing with a blown out breath, Serenna’s question was resigned. “What did you have in mind?”
Vesryn cocked his head. “Do you want to visit Naru and fly with me?”
“Fly?” Serenna’s hands froze in the middle of unraveling her hair. She blinked, taking a moment to determine if he was joking. “As in, ride Naru…in the air?”
“That would be the definition of ‘flying.’” Pursing his lips, Vesryn’s humor faded. “I received word that one of the human settlements spotted a group of three wraith skulking in the western realm.” He glanced at the sliver of light spilling in through the curtains. “It’ll be dark soon, so we’ll hunt at dawn.” Finally bored with the ring, Vesryn tucked the band into a pocket. He shrugged. “But if you don’t want to go, I understand.”
Serenna dropped her freed hair and scowled. “Of course I want to go.” Excitement spun through her at the prospect of soaring the skies, slightly dampened by the thought of tracking down the wraith.
“In the meantime, there’s something we haven’t finished,” Vesryn said. His attention flicked over her shoulder to the bed before he took a predatory step forward.
Heart bolting, ready to combust from that heated look in his eyes, Serenna scrambled to stand. Likely reading the effect he had on her, the prince grinned. Serenna’s pulse pounded into a gallop as the bond flared like a beacon, flashing his desire.
What little common sense Serenna possessed had her sidestepping toward the closed door leading to the sitting room. Even though all she wanted to do was grab Vesryn and finish what they’d mindlessly started on the dungeon floor earlier in the week, Serenna was hesitant to encourage him further. It didn’t matter what she wanted, she had to be realistic about what could be between them. I’m not interested in being cast in Ayla’s shadow as the prince’s courtesan.
Vesryn hadn’t mentioned the invitation he’d offered to the Summer Lunar Solstice again, where—ironically—the king would announce the prince’s engagement to Ayla. Serenna couldn’t say why she’d expected to go, considering Vesryn was half dead and delirious when he’d brought it up. Holding onto the last scrap of hope that she had a place in Kyansari was foolish.
Jassyn had informed Serenna of her shaman ancestry and she had yet to wrap her head around her ties to those ancient elementalists. With him divulging the secret, it seemed her usefulness to the realm only existed in her blood—and furthering the population like her sire had been so adamant about. She didn’t know if she wanted to belong in that world anymore. Not that she really had a choice.
Serenna retreated to the threshold of the room, facing the prince across the bed chamber. “I—I’m not sure this is proper,” she stammered before she lost her nerve in denying his advances.
Vesryn arched his brow, glancing at her bed. “And when have I ever given you the impression that my intention is to be proper?”
The calculation in his tone sent Serenna’s pulse lurching as she directed her thoughts away from being tangled in her sheets with him. Steadying herself, she gripped the door handle. She didn’t want an argument, but she had to be honest with herself—and him. Though trying to reason with Vesryn is as pointless as sparring with the wind.
“You’re engaged.” An acidic question rolled off of Serenna’s tongue before she could bite back the remark. “How many times do I have to ask what that means for us and this bond?”
The prince’s eyes flashed with a look that could only be called dangerous, making her reckless heart skip in her chest. Courage splintering, Serenna opened the door, fleeing to the sitting room. Where it was brighter and more appropriate for a conversation that would likely turn heated if she didn’t leash her erratic emotions.
Vesryn’s boots struck the hardwood floor, sounding furious. Serenna spun around in time for him to seize her shoulders. He dragged her back into her bed chamber, shoving her against the wall. She squeaked as the swift motion pinned her beside the door. Snatching her chin, Vesryn angled her face to meet his eyes.
“You know that engagement means nothing to me.” The rumble from the prince’s cadence reverberated through her chest, low and sensual, flushing her with a wave of heat. His other hand trailed up her arm, palms rough, but fingers gentle. Serenna’s magic shivered in response as static built where their bodies touched.
Her protest was feeble. “That doesn’t mean you have the option of ignoring your duty.”
“I’m handling it,” Vesryn growled, his hands tensing against her.
Struggling between the weight of the prince’s combative glare and her established unworthiness of him, Serenna whispered, “I want to belong somewhere, but I don’t have a place in the realm.” Blinking back a sting of disappointment, she glanced away after the confession.
“Fuck the realm,” Vesryn snarled, his fury scorching her through the bond.
Serenna tensed in his grip when he slammed the door shut. Her heart rattled along with the wood shaking on its hinges.
The prince’s jaw tightened before he gently cupped the sides of her face. Lowering his mouth to hers, he growled, “I’ll show you exactly how much more you matter to me.”
CHAPTER 14
SERENNA
Serenna’s heart stopped as the prince’s mouth hovered a whisper away from hers. The pressure of his fingertips on her face and the simmer in his eyes fractured her concerns about his duty. Serenna’s chest bumped against his while the offer floated between them. She swallowed, struggling to see beyond the haze of desire obscuring her thoughts.
“But what does this mean for us?” Serenna asked, searching the prince’s face.
I know I’m powerless against what the realm requires of him, but I want to have a place somewhere in all of this. “What about this bond?” Seeking reassurance, she clutched his forearms. “We haven’t discussed completing it. Can we talk—”
Vesryn’s mouth crashed into hers. The prince’s tongue swept past Serenna’s parted lips, swallowing her startled gasp, silencing her worries. Shattered air rushed out of her lungs from the intensity of the kiss. Her hands tightened around him, all resistance vaporizing completely.
Cradling her face, Vesryn angled Serenna’s mouth into his, shoving her further into the wall. She explored his corded muscles, palms skimming over his tanned skin, winding up his shoulders to thread through his hair.
