Page 46 of Façade

Unfortunately my successful escape was short-lived. I startled at a suddenwhooshthat pierced the tranquility. I slowed to search the surrounding trees for the source, but all was still. I started to turn away but froze at the sight of an arrow embedded in a nearby aspen. My blood chilled. Had that already been there…or was it from an assassin other than the one who’d attacked me in my room?

My previous desires to be alone vanished in an instant. “Ryland?”

When he didn’t answer, I hastily backtracked until he came back into view. His presence along with the sword at his side provided instant calm. He hadn’t seemed to notice my absence, instead staring steadily at the water. His gaze lit up and he dipped down to scoop something up.

A rock.

A smile tugged on the corner of his mouth as he ran his thumb across the stone’s surface before tucking it away in the pocket of his cloak. His gaze caught mine watching him and he froze. The blush filling his cheeks grew steadily darker before he determinedly lifted his chin.

“I like rocks.” The moment he’d spoken the words he seemed to brace himself for my ridicule, his look challenging as if daring me to laugh.

The prince likedrocks?The admission was so startling that it pushed out thoughts of the rogue arrow, and for a moment I couldn’t speak, a silence which only seemed to make him more anxious.

He nervously crunched the hem of his tunic. “Are you going to laugh?”

As tempting as that would be, I’d never felt less inclined to tease him. “You like…rocks?” I had no reason to find such a fact interesting…yet I did all the same.

A myriad of questions filled my mind, all demanding answers. Why rocks? What had first captured his interest in something so seemingly ordinary? Did he have a collection? I remembered the petrology materials adorning his nightstand back at the palace and suspected he’d collected at least a few. It appeared I’d finally solved the mystery that had been nagging me ever since I’d made that unexpected discovery during my spying efforts.

I fumbled to string together a response. “It’s unconventional for a prince to like something so vastly different than the interests of hunting and swordsmanship you claimed during our first evening together.”

“Perhaps, but we both decided to cease our charade in pretending to be something we’re not. I trust the secret of my collection is safe with you.”

My eyebrows rose. “Yourcollection?” The surprising admission only invited more questions.

He debated within himself a moment before concluding he’d reached well beyond the point of no return. With a reluctant sigh he reached towards the pocket of his cloak…and jiggled it. My eyes bulged at the almost cheerful sound of several rocks jostling about.

“How many do you have in there?” I sloshed closer, closing the distance between us that suddenly felt too wide, only to find myself surrounded by his surprisingly alluring proximity that made me slightly dizzy.

It was a struggle to force my thoughts away from him in order to reach inside his inside cloak pocket, but he seized my wrist to stop me; a heated tingle spread up my arm at his touch.

“While there are many things about my mischievous wife I’m still learning, I’m admittedly surprised to discover you to be a rock thief.” Despite the gravity filling his expression, silent laughter glistened in his eyes, a welcome respite to the tension that so frequently tainted our relationship.

“While I’d love to claim that being a thief is one of many talents, in this case I’m merely curious.” Once more I reached for his pocket, but his grip remained unyielding.

“Are you sure you truly want to look? You could discover more than you bargained for.” An invitation filled his teasing tone, almost as if hewantedme to learn about this part of him now that his secret had been exposed. I felt slightly tempted not to humor him but found myself intrigued against my will, an emotion that had no place with the man I remained determined to hate.

My suspicions that he wanted to share this part of himself with me were only confirmed when he no longer put up a fight after I wriggled my hand free from his loose grip, nor did he make any motion to stop me as I inched my fingers inside his pocket until the tips grazed the rocks. Further exploration only confirmed he’d collected nearly a dozen, all of various sizes and textures.

“How many are in there?” I stood on tiptoe to better peer into his bulging pocket before investigating his other pocket, also full. “Have you collected these while we’ve been traveling?”

“I have, during which time I’ve learned that observance isn’t a trait my wife possesses.”

It was unfortunate I hadn’t noticed; watching him scramble for rocks he discovered along the trail would have offered a much-appreciated reprieve from my boredom.

I lifted my chin. “Perhaps the case wasn’t that I’m not observant but that I simply don’t find you very interesting.”

He chuckled. “I can’t argue with you there. I like rocks; I’m not interesting at all.”

“That’s where you’re mistaken: this hobby of yours makes you infinitely more fascinating.”

His fading blush returned and he hastily looked away. I used the opportunity to seize a small handful of his rocks in order to better examine them. Upon first glance they didn’t seem particularly different from one another, making me wonder why he felt inclined to carry so many about while we traveled.

“They all look the same.” In truth my ignorance didn’t extend that far, but riling him in hopes of getting a reaction was my own favorite hobby. Sure enough, his affronted gaze snapped up to mine.

“They’re most certainlynotthe same. Rocks are differentiated by several characteristics—their physical properties, chemistry, biology, and particularly their origin.” He counted each of the different types on his fingers as he listed them. “Sedimentary rocks are formed from the compression of sediments, dirt, or sand; igneous rocks are formed from cooling magma deep in Earth's crust or mantle, which forms rocks such as granite when the cooling magma crystalizes; metamorphic rocks are a formed from the partial melting of previously existing material, either sedimentary, igneous, or older metamorphic rocks.”

He took a breath before continuing in even greater detail. My attention remained riveted on the prince as he spoke with far more animation than I’d ever seen him exhibit. Enthusiasm lit up his eyes and movements as he showed me each rock in painstaking detail. What had previously seemed like nothing more than plain stones took on new life until I could almost see them as he could—items of great worth, far more valuable than even the most precious of jewels.

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