Page 8 of A Storm in Every Heart
“Fine,” he snaps, as the door to the shop swings shut behind us.
He lets go too quickly and the force of my effort to break free causes me to stagger backward a few steps. Mercifully, I don’t fall. I don’t think I could stomach the humiliation.
I straighten, smoothing my dress, and glare up at him. “You’re such an arrogant prick.”
He crosses his arms over his chest. “And you’re a prissy little princess, but I’m polite enough not to scream about it in public.”
I toss my hair over my shoulder with a sniff. He’s exaggerating; this is hardly public.
The village of Storia is alive with activity. Sunlight bathes the thatched roofs and timber-framed homes in a warm, golden hue. Villagers fill the cobblestone streets, but not a single one of them pays us any mind.
“Are you going to tell me what you’re doing here?” I demand. “I assume if you had to be the one to come get me then someone is dead.”
His dark eyes widen. “No, nothing like that. It’s not urgent, Alix just needs to talk to you.”
“And she sentyouto find me? I don’t believe that for a second.”
“Believe whatever you want, Princess.”
My scowl intensifies. “Fine. I’ll be home shortly. I just need to wrap things up here.”
“Wait!” He steps in front of the door, blocking my way. “You can’t seriously be thinking of going back inside.”
“Don’t tell me what to do,Your Majesty.”
His eyebrows twitch, betraying a hint of annoyance. “Don’t call me that.”
“You’re lucky I didn’t shout it for the entire street to hear. Now,move.”
Kastian crosses his muscled arms, refusing to move an inch. “What happened in the shop to make you bewitch the owner?”
“He refused to sell me what I wanted,” I say irritably, attempting to sidestep him.
“What was it?”
“Nothing you’d care about. Now move before the compulsion wears off and I never get what I came for.”
Kastian ignores my agitation and my attempts to push past him, a smile spreading across his ridiculously handsome face. “I didn’t know you had magic,” he says, his tone shifting from irritation to curiosity in the blink of an eye. “What else can you do?”
“None of your business,” I snap, even as my chest gives a painful squeeze. It feels something like anguish, and I wish I could pretend I didn’t know why.
There was a time when Kastian knew all about my magic because I told him.
There was a time when I would have told him anything.
That dark thought morphs my frustration into rage. I’m so over this little game of keep-away. I’m so over him. “Fine,” I snap, turning on my heel and stomping away down the cobblestone street. “Fine! Block the door all night for all I care, I’ll just come back tomorrow.”
I’m displeased but not surprised to hear Kastian’s footsteps following me down the road. I shoot him a glare over my shoulder, which he apparently interprets as a cue to quicken his pace and walk beside me. My frown deepens even further.
“I know you can walk faster than this,” I grumble after a long seething silence. “Don’t walk slowly on my account.”
“I can’t let you walk back alone.”
“You can. In fact, please do.”
He grins, as if trying to counteract my scowl. “But how would I explain it to everyone if you got lost? You have to admitit’s possible, you get distracted walking from the kitchen to the garden.”
“Don’t act as if you have the right to pretend you know anything about me.”
