Page 71 of The Heir's Bargain

He blinked, his long eyelashes brushing his cheek. I dropped my hand.

One day, he would talk about the trauma of his past. If not with me, then with someone.

"The dress is perfect," I whispered. "Thank you."

He offered me a small smile as he lifted a hand and brushed a curl behind my ear. The pads of his fingertips were coarse against my skin from years of training with a sword and countless hours of studying, flipping through old books.

Fynn might have been daft at times, but he had not earned his title simply because his brother was too reserved. Fynn worked for his position just as hard as any soldier I had seen rise in the ranks.

But Fynn didn't see it that way. He never did.

If only he saw what I saw when I looked at him.

My lips parted, but before I could say anything, Fynn dropped his hand and said, "All the details are in the letter. The ball is in two weeks."

I nodded. Then, taking it as a dismissal, I turned around, heading for the door.

As my hand gripped the cold metal door knob, Fynn said to my back, his words quiet but sharp enough to cut through my heart like a blade, "If we're reminding each other of the rules, let us not forget the other three."

I bit down on my lip and nodded again before pulling open the door without a second glance back at the prince, whose touch still warmed my cheek.

His touch, I reminded myself as I walked through the cold halls, didn't belong to me.

Chapter 17

FYNN

"Where's Dani?" Terin asked as we settled into the carriage.

Sinking back against the gray crushed velvet cushion, I plucked off a piece of lint from my lapel. "She had a training early this morning that she couldn't miss, so we decided it would be best if we rode separately."

"Menides sure is working the troops hard lately, isn't he?"

"Seems so."

The carriage started forward. The muffled sounds of the horses' hooves pounding against the ground seeped inside.

Terin rubbed the top of his head, exhaustion coloring the bags beneath his eyes purple. "Any word about the scouting mission?"

I leaned my head against the carriage wall. "You've attended the same council meetings I have. There's been little talk about anything other than this ball."

"Yes, but I would have thought Dani would have mentioned something if she had heard anything."

I shook my head. "Our schedules haven't exactly aligned lately."

"Trouble in paradise?"

My eyes sprung open. "No. Why would you think that?"

Terin put a hand on my knee, stopping its rocking. "You haven't stopped fidgeting since we've sat down, brother."

I shook off his hand. "Dani and I are fine, Ter."

"Then why do you keep looking out the window toward the training grounds?"

The curtain slipped through my hands, the fabric swaying as the carriage rocked.

I folded my hands in my lap and turned to Terin. "Dani's training is important to her. I wouldn't want to get in the way of that. If Mother wasn't forcing me to arrive early, I would have stayed back and traveled with Dani instead. But according to Mother, I need to mingle and talk politics." I rolled my eyes, running my fingers through my hair. "I thought that was what council meetings were for?"

---