Page 108 of Draekora

Smiling widely, Aven stepped closer and activated theValispath. He didn’t say anything as they soared away from the palace, nor did he speak as they rose atop the Golden Cliffs and continued into the Silverwood. It was only when they came to a stop at the edge of Raelia that he turned to her, the last rays of sunlight shining through the canopy and catching his golden mask, creating an angelic effect.

“Do you remember this place?” Aven asked.

More than you can know, she thought, looking around the forested crossroads, but all she said was, “I do.”

“Do you remember what you told me that night?”

That Alex didn’t recall, so she shook her head.

“You said that no one can tell us how we should feel,” he recounted. “As a prince of Meya, I’ve had to live my life by a set of values. I’ve resented that, never knowing if I believe what I believe becauseIbelieve it, or because it’s what’sexpectedof me. My disagreement with my father over the mortals was the first time I felt anything strongly enough to question my family and fight for something Itrulybelieved in. It was a powerful, heady feeling to stand for a cause I considered just, to have others stand alongside me.”

He paused, took a breath, moved a step closer. “Last night, you made me realise how wrong I was.”

Alex’s mouth opened in a silent gasp.

“I became so determined to prove that I could have different feelings, that I could have beliefs that were my own, that I became blinded by my passion for what I considered justice. I wouldn’t listen to reason—my father’s, Roka’s, not even yours. Even when I began to wonder if I was being naïve, if it wasn’t the big deal I was making it out to be, I was then too afraid to change my stance, fearing my feelings again weren’t my own, but rather those that were expected of me. But last night, Aeylia, you helped me see that I was wrong, and that even if I wasn’t, none of it matters.”

He reached out a hand, pressing it against her bare cheek, the tips of his fingers just touching her mask. Too transfixed by his words, she didn’t have the presence of mind to pull away.

“I won’t lie to you,” he said. “I still don’t like the idea of us giving so much to the mortals, since I do consider them inferior, regardless of the parallels you so astutely highlighted with our dependence on the Draekorans. But I realise now that Meyarins far older and wiser than myself have decided in favour of supporting the mortals. Those same Meyarins have listened to my voice and the voices of my Rebels, and now I understand it is time for me to yield to the leadership of our city and have myGarsethstand down. The council will decide what is best for our future, and the future of the mortals. I don’t have to agree with them—you helped me realise that—but as a citizen of Meya, I do have to respect their decision. And now more than ever I’m okay with that.”

Mind reeling, Alex repeated, “Now more than ever?”

A smile touched his lips. “Let’s just say that of late I haven’t been as… dedicated to my own cause as I should have been. Something much more important has been distracting me.”

Oh, crap, Alex thought, noting the meaningful look in his eyes. Suddenly realising just how close they were standing, with his hand still on her cheek, she pulled back, retreating a step.

“Aven,” she said, her voice a whisper.

“Aeylia, surely you must know how I feel about you.”

She put up a hand between them but he ignored it and moved closer, prompting her to edge backwards again. “Aven, please—”

“Everyone seems to know,” he said, appearing both amused and slightly exasperated. “My mother is in raptures. Apparently she picked you for me the moment she first laid eyes on you. She’s been thanking the stars ever since your arrival.”

Alex resisted the urge to groan. She’d thought Niida was just that nice to everyone. But now she wondered how much of their bonding was because the queen saw her as a potential daughter-in-law.

This is so not good, Alex thought, wondering how she was supposed to find a way out of her current predicament and wishing she’d left the ballroom balcony when she’d had the chance.

“Are you going to say anything?” Aven asked, still heading towards her, with them now moving deeper into the dense trees surrounding the clearing.

Alex pushed away a thin, low-hanging branch that poked into her back, snapping it as she continued scrambling backwards through the forest.

“Aven, I’m not sure—”

“I am, Aeylia,” he interrupted, his expression fervent as he reached out in a blur of movement, grabbing her shoulders to stop her retreat. “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”

Alex felt like a caged animal, caught in his grip as she was. She shrugged her arms, trying to dislodge his hands, but he wouldn’t release her.

“Take a moment,” he offered. “Think about it and you’ll realise that I’m right. Thatwe’reright. Please, Aeylia—you know what I’m saying is true. Don’t you feel the same?”

Niyx!Alex cried frantically in her mind, having no idea of the etiquette required to carefully but effectively turn down a prince’s unreciprocated advances.Aven’s just told me that he—

She couldn’t finish her line of thought so she shoved the memory of Aven’s declaration through their mental link and asked,What should I do?

Niyx’s response was immediate, a string of curse words in her mind, followed by,I was hoping he’d wait until the festival mania had passed and then it wouldn’t matter since you’d be gone.But there’s nothing for it now—you have to tell him the truth.

Alex’s eyes widened.Are you crazy?

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