Page 52 of Faerie Marked

He pretended to be wounded, clutching a hand against his heart. “Ouch, the hurt!”

“You don’t have as much pressure on you as I do,” I teased. Although as Uncle Will was fond of saying, many a truth was said in jest. This time I surely told the truth. I wondered if Mike knew.

“You don’t want to talk to me about pressure,” he said with a shake of his head, causing a lock of gold to fall across his eyes.

I leaned forward with my arms folded on the desk. “Oh yeah? I’m sure being a prince is a really tough gig.” Did he want to trade places with me?

“Let me tell you something, Missy…” Mike glanced over at a couple of students walking by, pausing in his speech until they passed. I still hadn’t seen his personal guards anywhere. We’d been studying together a few times a week and those guys always managed to stay hidden. “Being a royal has its ups and downs and I’m not going to sit here and tell you it’s rainbows and sunshine all the time. There are definitely some black times. Some moments I would trade if I could.”

I appreciated his honesty. “I can understand.”

Mike mimicked my posture, his left eyebrow raised. “You never did tell me your story, young lady. Did you think I wouldn’t notice you have been avoiding any talk of your home life with me?”

“Because my story isn’t a happy one,” I retorted quickly. I had to work overtime not to let his nearness get to me. “And we’re supposed to be learning the secrets of tarot, not gabbing about my past.”

“We’ve been friends long enough I’m going to start to think you don’t trust me with the information. Unless you really want to stay with your mysterious vibe thing.” This time his eyebrows waggled.

I chuckled at his needling. “The mysterious vibe thing has kept me alive until now. I’ll give you a little history, then, to soothe your wounded ego.” Those brows drew down at the statement. “I’ve already told you I lived with my uncle. He was—is—a defense lawyer in the South. He wanted me to follow a certain path he’d set out for me. It wasn’t anything good. I want to be my own person and not be used as a pawn in his power games. I came to the academy to get away from everything.”

“Wait a minute.” I watched him blink. Blink again. “Your uncle doesn’t know you’re here?”

“No, he doesn’t. And I need to make sure he never does,” I insisted, making sure Mike understood the need to keep the information to himself. “Bad things would happen if he knew where I was. I wouldn’t want to put anyone in danger if he decided to send people after me.”

Mike mimed locking his lips. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to tell anyone.”

“I really didn’t expect to get in,” I admitted. I leaned closer still and dropped my voice. “The school provided me with theoutI needed, the only means to escape a bad situation.”

“In the spirit of candor, I should tell you about my own dad,” Mike said. Glancing behind him again to make sure there was no one else around before diving in.

“Are you sure your guards aren’t going to mind you spilling state secrets?”

“It’s common knowledge. Or at least it should be, to anyone who bothers to look beneath the surface. My father is the same way as your uncle. He is only concerned with power and how he can keep it. I’ve known since I was a baby, my role would one day be to step up as king of the Seelie court. Seems I’ve never really lived up to my dad’s high expectations. He’s not happy with me.”

“Do you…not want to be king?” I asked after a period of silence.

He raised his gaze to meet mine. “Would you? I’m not sure what I want. I mean, I’ve never been given a choice. What else would I do? I’ve trained my whole life for the role. The position of a lifetime. But I don’t know if I’d be a good king.”

“I truly believe you shouldn’t be made to do something you don’t want to do. I’m also trying to be supportive, so I’m not sure what to say to you. I’m not sure there is a right thing to say in this situation. If I tell you to step up into your destiny, it makes me a hypocrite.”

“We wouldn’t want you to be a hypocrite,” he said with a grin.

“Then again, I think maybe the best kings aren’t kings who are forced into their position, but kings who want to be there, who want to help their people and lead with dignity and strength,” I finished. As though my opinion mattered.

Mike reached out to grab a lock of my hair and tug gently, the space between us greatly diminished. “Now I see how you got to the top of the class. You’re too smart for your own good.”

“Stop it.” I swatted him away despite the warming in my cheeks from the contact. I wanted him to touch me. To put his fingers on my skin instead of in my hair.

“I’m serious. Not everyone would have the guts to be so honest with me. You don’t know how much I appreciate it, Tavi.” He kept hold of my hair.

“You’re joking.”

“I’mnotjoking.”

We leaned in closer still until I could sense the sweetness of his breath. Until I breathed in his exhalations. My gaze dropped to his lips. They drew me forward like a magnet. Another inch and we would be—

Laughter sounded and when I glanced up, Persephone and her cronies were crowding through the shelves of books, arriving in their usual loud attention-craving style despite a sharpshushfrom the librarian. Clomping around like ponies in a parade.

The moment was shattered.

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