Page 66 of Court of Secrets and Flames

I catch it, my wings beating the air. Each pass, each command from Knox, only fuels the fire of my discontent.

They expect me to be their champion, their prophesied savior, but no one asked me if I wanted to play this part. They want me to fulfill their prophecy, yet no one bats an eye that it calls for my death.

Not even Knox.

For a fleeting moment, I search for a sliver of what once was in Knox’s gaze, but he’s all business, his expression unreadable. All traces of the softer man from last night have disappeared.

His voice cuts through the air, heavy with impatience. “Higher.”

I push against the gravity that drags me down. The field, a vast canvas of green devoid of any cover where I might seek respite, stretches out. My wings beat harder, lifting me another inch, another foot, obeying despite the wail of overworked sinews and the heaviness that clings to my bones.

He throws the ball, and for a moment, it’s just the two of us and the challenge between us. A searing image intrudes on the thoughtless work. One of Knox, bare and glistening. Of skin against skin, breaths mingling, and passion igniting.

My skin prickles, not just from the sweat that drenches my clothes but from the remembrance of a time when Knox and I were more than just trainer and trainee. The memory of our closeness, the intimacy we shared, stings more sharply than any physical pain.

The ball slips through my grasp, thudding to the ground.

“Damn it, Lark! Pay attention.” His eyes spark as he glares at me, his tone curt. “You need to learn to fly with weight, or you’ll end up in a twisted heap or dead. Go again.”

Biting back a retort, I swoop down to retrieve the heavy sphere despite my protesting muscles. I’m so very tired. Not just from the exertion, but from the constant battle raging within me to push away the desire that clings like a second skin, to ignore the longing that distracts me at the worst possible moments.

After a deep breath, I rise back into the air, the motion straining my sweat-soaked shirt taut across my breasts. Knox’s eyes flicker to my chest, revealing a hint of the man he hides beneath the surface. For a heartbeat, he’s vulnerable, and in that instant, I’m spurred by a reckless impulse.

“Is that what I am to you? A symbol? Someone to fulfill an ancient prophecy?” With leaden arms, I launch the ball, infusing it with every ounce of strength I can muster.

“What? No.” He catches it with a grunt and staggers backward. “Shit. Not bad. That’s more like it.” With a sigh, he sets the ball on the ground and motions me toward him.

I ease myself to the ground and walk to him, aware of the eyes on us. Courtiers chatter and observe like I’m king-appointed entertainment, there to prevent boredom from setting in. Some of them whisper behind their hands, eyes bright with morbid fascination, and yesterday, a group of spectators even had the unmitigated audacity to come out with a blanket and hamper carried by servants and have a little picnic while they watched us spar. I spot the curvy woman with shiny hair from the other night studying me from within a small group of other well-dressed people.

Their attention crawls along my skin and rattles my nerves. I’m starting to feel a little bit like a pet bird again, one they’re training to perform on command.

Yeah, not happening. I refuse to escape one cage only to get trapped within another. Aclaris may not be my home any longer, but here, among these people, isn’t either.

Not yet anyway.

I stop a few feet in front of Knox. “Care to tell me what’s got you in such a lovely mood?”

Though I half-expect him to brush off my concern like he’s done all day, he gestures for me to walk with him. Once we’re out of earshot and away from all the prying eyes, he halts.

“My worries are probably the same as yours. I hate that someone tried to kidnap you, and we have no idea who he is or if he’ll come back.” Knox makes a circle in the dirt with the toe of his boot. “And then there’s Jasper’s comment aboutyou producing his heirs. It’s bad enough that you two are betrothed.”

“Agreed. I worry about those things too. But you know I have no intention of following through with any of that with Jasper. If he wants me to produce royal heirs, well, he’s shit out of luck. I’d find a way to escape.”

Knox goes rigid. “I’d help you escape myself before I ever let that happen.”

I stare at him and shake my head. “I don’t get you. You’re the one who deceived me, kidnapped me, and brought me here in the first place.”

He shrugs like we’re talking about something as mundane as the weather. “Like I told you before, things are complicated. I love my brother, and that will never change. But my loyalty? That’s with Tirene…and with you.”

At his confession, my heart does a little dance, one I attempt to squash. Misplaced hope will only hurt me in the long run.

I do my best to play it off. “Big talk considering you didn’t like me when you first met me.”

“Never said I didn’t like you.” He leans down and rests his forehead against mine. “I had a job to do, but from day one, you distracted the hells out of me.”

I trap my lower lip between my teeth. “Am I distracting you now?”

Knox releases a low, guttural, need-filled groan. “What do you think?” He presses a soft kiss to my lips, and I wind my arms around his neck. “This is risky. If we’re caught…”

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