Page 85 of A Kingdom of Destruction

Was something wrong with her?

She worried the inside of her cheek, bit down on her lip, too lost to do anything except assure Cillian that she’d see him for dinner.

He didn’t try to push her when he gave her a fleeting kiss on the lips.

Didn’t try to push her as to where she scurried off to in a hurry.

She had to find Roran.

This was a mistake, surely, Aven thought, as she jogged through the halls of the palace. What did she really know about him? Nothing. Only his temper and the prickly way he interacted with everyone.

Aven knew the way he fought. The way he’d started to hold himself back at the last minute when they sparred together to make sure she learned what to do and what not to do. She knew how he’d looked at her the other night and instead of taking her wand, he’d given it back to her, telling her to be careful.

He wasn’t in their workout space. She didn’t expect him to be, but it was one of the first places she thought to look. She’d never been to his room, or Cillian’s for that matter. Had never stepped foot in the private wing of the royal family before.

But she doubted Roran would be in his room.

He always seemed to find her when she was outside. Wouldn’t that be the best place to start her search rather than this? And how nice would it be to sneak up on him for once rather than the other way around?

Aven swallowed over a groan, halfway disgusted with herself and halfway excited for the hunt. Skills she’d buried since coming here dusted themselves off inside of her. She stalked her prey through empty rooms and out toward the gardens closest to the palace. She found only a few fae nobles lounging near the main fountain, and they looked at her as though she’d bothered them with her bumbling presence.

The sky grew darker overhead with night on the horizon, and soon the lanterns would burst to life without any help, illuminating the grounds in a golden glow.

She finally came across Roran near the base of a staircase leading up to the open doors of a second-story space. He crouched on the lowest step with a book hanging loosely from his hands and didn’t look up from it at her approach.

Aven skidded to a stop to catch her breath.

The flowers here were all varying shades of white. Like someone captured the stars, the moon, and turned their light into flower form. The blossoms in this garden, unlike many of the others, were large and each one of them in its prime. There were no signs of decline or brand-new buds ready to burst open.

“What do you want, little princess?” His voice came out low, rough, before he forced it into a drawl.

“I was looking for you.”

He slowly lifted his head, and those blue eyes speared her to the ground where she stood. Aven couldn’t lift her foot even if she wanted to, or her life depended on it. “Why?”

A single word spoken in a bored tone, but she knew she’d stoked his curiosity. Roran smiled in a way that did not extend up to his eyes.

“It’s about the other night,” she began, unclenching her jaw. If she was to do this, she had to get the words out before she lost her nerve.

Spearing an enemy through the gut? She could handle it. She could handle so much more than people gave her credit for. She’d handled her family’s deaths, hadn’t she? Being stolen away to this place and forced to parade in front of the royals like their toy for pure amusement.

Aven was completely capable of speaking to a man from the heart.

Or maybe she couldn’t. What kind of practice did she have with this kind of thing? Absolutely none.

“Whataboutthe other night? Or maybe you wanted to distract me while I’m reading.” He sounded as bored as he looked. “Either way, get to the damn point.”

She forced herself to shrug. “Let’s be honest. You’re not reading. You’re putting on an act because I don’t see any pictures on those pages.” She offered up the remark blandly.

Roran, mercifully, chuckled at her joke. “There is a lot you don’t know about me.”

Which was what she wanted to change. Aven shifted from foot to foot, and her chest swelled, heart whapping painfully against her ribs. The thought of going through with any engagement to Cillian, without talking to Roran first, didn’t sit well with her. She’d shoved the idea away for much longer than she would have normally done, but she was out of time now.

She blocked out everything else except for him. The night, her worries, her anxiety.Everything.

Roran stood in one fluid motion, his height forcing her to step back. His gaze burned despite his carefully controlled expression. “My brother is waiting for you, I’m sure.”

A long pause stretched between them, but rather than allowing herself to crumble in the quiet, Aven stood up straighter.

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