Page 109 of Of Blood and Banes
“Are you coming or not? I wouldn’t keep a man like Sethan waiting for long,” he calls.
Sethan’s a bit wary of crossing the river twice to get from the eastern side of Silkwood to Pinepoint. The Bayrock soldiers who’ve traveled in to escort us the rest of the way to Vitalis noted a surge in water dragons and suggest we avoid the waters where we can. No one knows why they’re breaching so late into winter. Water dragons are seasonal, with more activity during the warmer months. So, the plan is to skirt the eastern part of the Forbidden Forest to avoid the rivers. Sethan mentions earth dragons are easier to deal with since our entire thunder is fire dragons. And given the fact the Forbidden Forest is teeming with earth dragons, it’s imperative we don’t fly overhead and disturb them. We have to walk.
Melaina pulls me to the side and out of earshot of the rest of the group.
I begin, tripping over my words, “Look, I’m sorry about this morning I swear I didn’t?—”
“Don’t bullshit me. I could see it all over your face.”
I blink. “See what all over my face?”
“The look of someone who just got laid or got damn near close to it. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so embarrassed and flustered. And I’ve seen the way Darian watches you. Anyone can see his eyes follow you as a starved man would. How he has the audacity not to care that anyone notices is beyond me.”
I suck in a quick breath, unable and unsure how to respond as I shake my head.
Her brown eyes meet mine as she crosses her arms over her chest. “Tell me I’m wrong.”
My mouth parts, but the lie won’t come.
Luckily, she doesn’t let me suffer long. “Exactly. Don’t lie to me. You don’t have to be ashamed?—”
“I’m not ashamed…”
“Yes, you are. I’ve seen the way your cheeks redden when he’s near you. And the way you always cross your arms when he comes within your vicinity. You constantly dart your gaze away, but it always goes back to him.”
“Fine. He’s not bad to look at. Is that what you want me to admit, Melaina?” I grumble.
She smiles mischievously, and I roll my eyes, beginning to cross my arms before I stick them down. I can’t admit more than she might already think she knows.
She bites her lip. “If…I can give you one piece of advice, though. Don’t let that secret out. If someone finds out, they might use the information as a weapon.”
I blow out a breath, imagining all the potential scenarios if the Vitalan rebels discovered I was fraternizing with the heir to the Arterian throne. While wearing a ring which could single-handedly take down the King if they killed me. Yeah, she has a point. “Then that means you’ll keep it between us?”
“Archie—”
I shake my head. “No. No, I’ll be the one to tell him. But…can you do me a favor in the meantime?” My cheeks heat, preparing for my next ask. “Is…there any way you can get me pennyroyal?”
She coughs, pounding her chest before looking up at me. “If my father finds out and thinks it’s for me…”
I grimace, realizing at the same time she does. “If he finds out…tell him it’s not for you. Tell him it’s for me and Cole.”
She shakes her head like she’s been slapped. “I’m sorry,whatdid you just say?”
Swallowing back the creeping fear, I answer, “He’ll understand. Cole’s not my brother. We’ve been lying to you all.”
Her jaw drops open, and I squeeze her arm gently as I eye our surroundings. Signaling her to hide her shock.
“Who else knows?” she whispers.
“Your father and Marge. That’s it.”
“Archie…?”
I sigh. “No. He doesn’t know. But I’ll have to let him in on that, too…it’s just…”
“How could you have gone on this long lying to all of us?”
“Because we didn’t want the truth to shake our group’s trust and confidence in us. There’s too much at stake and?—”
