Page 46 of Crown of Slumber

Fenn’s eyes remained fixed on mine. I wasn’t sure why, but I kept talking. I needed to distract him, so I babbled the first things that came to my mind. “She would adore you. Her greatest ambition is to marry the most gorgeous royal in the realm.”

“Are you… calling me gorgeous?”

“I’m saying she would overlook your appalling behavior and rakish reputation in favor of your good looks.”

His eyes crinkled with amusement. “So youdofind me handsome.”

My cheeks heated. “Perhaps. Not right now, though. Right now you look like a corpse.”

He wheezed, but I touched his good shoulder to keep him still. “No laughing. You’ll ruin Healer Warren’s hard work.”

“I didn’t know you had a sense of humor, little firebird.”

“Of course I do. You just never give me an opportunity to show you everything I have to offer.”

“Or perhaps you’re too busy hating me to find my jokes funny.”

The words were playful, but his tone was serious. He held my gaze, and I couldn’t look away. I was painfully aware of my hand still pressed against his cheek.

I swallowed. “I don’t hate you.”

He huffed in disbelief.

I rolled my eyes. “All right, Istrongly dislikeyou.” Healer Warren tugged on the thread, and Fenn’s body twitched again. My eyes flicked to the healer, then back to the prince, and I remembered we were supposed to be engaged. I quickly added, “Well, I did before. But of course, now that we are betrothed, it would only be appropriate for my feelings for you to… change.”

“And have they?” Fenn’s eyes burned into mine.

My throat was so dry. I considered my words carefully. “Regardless of who my fiancé was or what kingdom he came from, yes, I would strive for fond feelings to ensure an amicable marriage.”

To my surprise, Fenn chuckled. “You make marriage sound soboring.”

“Well, we hardly knew each other when we got engaged,” I said. “We still hardly know each other.”

“I’ve done scandalous things with complete strangers,” Fenn said smugly. “So you can only imagine what unspeakable things I could do to you, fair princess. Especially on our wedding night. That is anything but boring.”

Now my face was on fire. “And what if I said I wanted to wait until then?”

“Then I would laugh, because I certainly can’t wait. Your body is too irresistible to me. To wait the duration of our engagement would be torture for me. And you wouldn’t want to torture your dear fiancé, would you?”

Your body is irresistible to me.Fenn couldn’t lie.

My heart twisted in my chest, but I forced myself to respond. I doubted Healer Warren was paying much attention, but just in case he was, we had a ruse to maintain. “I certainly wouldn’t.”

I wasn’t sure when,but at some point, I lost consciousness. The last thing I remembered was Aurelia, with that endearing blush tinting her cheeks, flirting with me.

The ruthless Summer Princess… flirting withme.

Surely, I was delusional.

When I woke, darkness surrounded me, save for a dying oil lamp in the corner of the room. With a groan, I sat up, blinking to allow my eyes to adjust. The mattress dipped from my movement, and I ran my hand along the fresh sheets. Someone had changed them while I was unconscious. Which was a good thing, since I had thoroughly stained them with my blood.

“Aurelia?”

From across the room, a soft grunt sounded, followed by shuffling and the creaking of floorboards. I squinted as a dark shape rose from the floor and hobbled toward me.

“You’re awake.” Aurelia’s voice was groggy from sleep.

I frowned. “Stars, Aurelia, were you sleepingon the floor?”

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