Page 24 of Joined By Magic

“I understand, Your Highness.”

And I meant it. I breathed in the prince’s familiar scent and tried to banish all other thoughts. Getting through the next few days was what mattered.

Chapter Eleven

Liv

IglaredintoLeo’sstony face. Damn the height difference between us, forcing me to stare up at him. Sometimes I’d kill to be a few inches taller. Arguing with Leo rarely turned out well, but this time, I couldn’t back down. I wasn’t missing the creation of the portal to Atar for anyone. Not even him.

“I’m coming.” I kept my voice firm.

“No, you’re not. It’s too dangerous.”

Too dangerous. The words set my fraying temper careening toward implosion. In the month since we’d returned to Dexia, I’d heard the phrase over and over again, to the point it’d lost all meaning. Tension in the city over Leo’s new status as a foreign royal, plus his push for an exemption to the magical tech ban to create the portal, meant everywhere besides the palace was “too dangerous” for me to go without an armed escort.

It was infuriating. I was free, but it didn’t feel like it. The idle days chafed far more now because this wasn’t a temporary situation. It was my normal, everyday life, and I had no idea what to do with myself.

“You can’t expect me to sit at home! This is once in a lifetime. It’s never been done before, and I want to see it happen.”

Leo took a deep breath and cast a glance down at his pocket watch. “Curiosity isn’t a reason to put yourself in danger. Protesters will target this. If you’re there, I’ll be too busy worrying about your safety to concentrate on what I need to do.”

A rush of fury broke through my control. “That’s bullshit and you know it! All your guards will be there. You’re not the only person on the planet who can keep me safe.”

Leo’s link-up buzzed, and his face hardened. “I have to go. I’m already late for a meeting. I’m sorry, but I’ve made my decision.”

Zantus, that calm tone to his voice. As if I were irrational and needed to be pacified. “Stop acting the Lord Commander with me. You don’t get to make sweeping decisions like that anymore. You—”

“I do when it involves your safety. Now, I have to go. I love you.”

He vanished.

Fuck.

I stared at the spot he’d vacated. Adrenaline whirled through me, useless without a target. So that was that then. Decision made. I threw myself onto the sofa. A small part of my mind began to rationalize, to make excuses for Leo’s behavior.

He’s got a lot on his plate. He’s worried about you. He had to watch you almost die, and he’s scared to risk you again.

But no. It was one step too far. I was his girlfriend, wasn’t I? Supposed to stand beside him, not hide away behind closed doors like a shameful secret. A small tendril of doubt edged into my heart. Was that the real reason he didn’t want me there? But no. He’d made our relationship very clear to the Assembly, much to their disgust. He wasn’t ashamed of me. Just paranoid as all hell.

I considered my options. Option one: accept his decree like a good girl. Not this time. Option two: track him down to continue the fight. No point. It wouldn’t end any differently than the last five arguments we had. So that left option three: turn up anyway. He couldn’t send me away in front of the gathered Assembly and press. He’d have to slap on a fake smile and pretend he wasn’t furious with me. A little shiver of satisfaction ran through me at the thought. It’d prove to him I wouldn’t stand for being locked up like a valuable painting.

The consequences once we got home might be painful, but worth it.

Decision made.

I pulled out my link-up to call Hex.

Thirty minutes later, I arrived at Hex and Atalie’s small apartment in the palace. Leo had granted all Peter’s group accommodation, and none of them seemed in a hurry to leave. A side effect of their sudden fame, their faces splashed over every news channel and circular, was the ruin of Peter’s smuggling business. Damien had joined the palace guards, Peter and Atalie had agreed to assist in the hunt for Adante using their connections in the underground weapons trade, and Hex was still making up her mind.

Hex grinned as she waved me through the door. “You’re finally standing up to him?”

I rolled my eyes, compelled to defend Leo despite my irritation with him. “He’s worried.”

“Of course he is. And the fact that he’s still got you sitting at home waiting for him to grace you with his presence is just an added benefit?”

“Hex . . .”

She raised her hands. “Sorry, sorry, I know. I’ll shut up. Let’s work out how to gate-crash this thing.” Her soft, brown eyes lit up with mischief, and her lips curved up into a smile. “This is going to piss him off, right?”

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