Page 75 of A Storm in Every Heart
Dressed in a blue gown and a wide-brimmed hat, she’s standing at the end of the small dock and talking animatedly with a man clad in a red jacket. I shift to the left, attempting to see past the crowd separating us. My heart sinks when I realize who she’s speaking with—Lord Ren, the same degenerate bastard my sisters were fighting over.
As I watch, Lord Ren points toward one of the boats, prompting Odessa to smile and nod in agreement. Suddenly, a wave of intense anger wells up inside me. My stomach burnsand turns hard, my breath coming faster. Before I know it, I’m moving.
Hundreds of eyes follow me as I sprint across the lawn. I vaguely wonder how many of them will report to Magnus about this and what my father will say later when he hears that I’ve shoved Lord Ren into the lake and held him under until he stopped breathing.
I come to a screeching stop at the dock’s edge and walk briskly toward Odessa and the lord, struggling to suppress my violent fantasies.
Lord Ren holds Odessa’s hand, helping her to lower herself into the boat. She settles her wide skirt around her and fixes her hat before finally lifting her gaze.
I witness the precise instant when she sees me.
Recognition flickers across her face. Her violet eyes widen, and for the briefest heartbeat, her lips curve into a soft, involuntary smile. But then, as if catching herself, her expression shifts, and her brows knit together in a disapproving frown.
Lord Ren, still standing on the dock, pivots to see what has caught Odessa’s attention, and his eyes grow large upon spotting me, breathless from running. His eyes widen even more as he glances beyond me, undoubtedly noticing the hundreds of nobles gathered on the lawn, all focused on us. “Your Highness, what?—”
I don’t stop walking, knocking my shoulder hard into Ren’s. “Sorry, this boat is taken.”
“What—” Lord Ren teeters, but doesn’t fall into the water—an immaculate show of restraint on my part.
I elbow him out of the way and step into the boat.
Odessa grips the edges of the boat, and her mouth falls open as if words have momentarily escaped her. She finally regains her composure, crossing her arms tightly over her chest. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“Rowing,” I reply, grabbing the oars.
“Get out!” She hisses, looking anxiously around at the crowd on the lawn. “Everyone is staring.”
“They’ll stare more if I get out now.” I raise the oars and push us off from the dock, leaving Lord Ren gaping after us.
Odessa shifts in her seat, looking out over the water as if seriously considering jumping overboard. Evidently, she decides it’s not worth it, because she stays put but crosses her arms more tightly over her chest and refuses to look at me as I row away from the dock.
“Lovely day, don’t you think?” I ask her.
She sniffs, but doesn’t say anything and I’m tempted to laugh. I think I might like teasing her, if only because she looks cute with that stubbornly miserable expression on her face.
“Are you really going to ignore me?” I ask after a silent moment. “This will be a very boring ride if you refuse to talk.”
“Why would I want to talk to you? You kidnapped me and stole my boat!”
I try to repress a smile. “I’d hardly call this kidnapping.”
“Then what would you call it? Piracy? Villainy?”
I can’t hold back my grin. “I’d call it heroism. Believe me, you did not want to be stuck in the middle of the lake with Lord Ren. I was saving you.”
“Oh, please,” she scoffs.
“Ren is an arrogant, penniless gambling addict with a reputation for ruining virgins. You can do better.”
“Better like you, you mean?” She scowls and holds up her fingers as if counting off a list. “Arrogant.” She puts down a finger. “Has gambled literally every time we’ve met.”
She puts down another finger, even as I interject: “I don’t see how one bet on a horse race could be considered an addiction. We weren’t even using money.”
She ignores me, still counting down my supposed shortcomings. “—has undoubtedly ruined dozens of virgins.”
I choke. “Dozens is a bit extreme.”
She raises her middle finger pointedly before putting it down. “Guilty of kidnapping and thievery.”
