Page 82 of Deadwood
Auria followed suit, taking a seat next to me.
“You’ve just found out your only way home is destroyed, and you’re more concerned about the dragon in the cave,” I stated. I wanted to give her answers but…I also wanted to distract her. See how far I could push her until that perfect mask snapped.
She gave no response. I had her figured out.
I moved my gaze to hers. “You don’t truly care about returning home.”
Her chest rose as she inhaled deeply. “Of course I do.”
The corner of my mouth pulled up in a smirk, and I set a hand on the cushion behind her, leaning into her space. “You secretly have a little rebellious side, don’t you, Princess?”
Her eyes bounced between mine, her lips parting slightly. “I’m only curious about the world.”
My gaze fell to her neck, drifting down from her collarbone to the swell of her breasts. The dress left little to the imagination. It reminded me of how soft her skin had felt under my hands in the cave, how despite the danger we had been faced with, something inside me had awakened, perking its head up in attention while my heart rate skyrocketed with our touch.
“What else are you curious about?”
Her eyes narrowed the slightest bit, her breath quickening. “What areyoucurious about?” she snapped back.
Fuck, what was I doing? She was a Tenere, the precious, protected daughter of Amosite, and I was…me.
“Oh, Princess,” I murmured, unknowingly shifting closer. “There are so many things I want to discover, but none of it has to do with the continent, and all of it has to do with you.”
This. This was my distraction from her peppering of questions. The less she knew here, the better. Our plan had to be kept secret, and I didn’t need her poking around.
I didn’t admit that distracting her made me feel things I shouldn’t ever dream of feeling for a woman like her. From our first interaction in Amosite to now, I couldn’t help the intrigue that lit me like a match every time she was around… The same flame that touched both meandmy magic.
Our lips were inches apart now. I could smell the lilac soap wafting off her skin, and my tongue betrayed me by craving a taste of its own.
In a flash, she stood, backing away from the couch and me. “I know what you’re doing.”
Casually, I leaned back with an arm over the armrest, letting my knees fall open as I looked up at her. “What’s that?”
“You’re distracting me, just like everyone else does when I want to know more.” Her voice was thick with emotion, betrayal clinging to the end of her sentence, almost like she expected something else from me. A part of me hated myself for it. She deserved her freedom, the knowledge that everyone else was privy to, and here I was, hiding it from her just like the rest.
I sat forward, setting my elbows on my knees. “You’re right.”
She paused, taken back by my admittance. I got the feeling she wasn’t told that very often in the castle.
“You’re admitting to veering the conversation off course?”
I nodded. “Ask me one question, and I’ll answer.”
“Why did the dragon want to kill us?” she asked.
I was surprised she again brought the discussion back to that.
“Dragons that live longer than they should sometimes lose their mercy.” There was no easy way to explain it.
A crease formed between her brows. “Longer than they should?”
“That’s more than one question, Princess,” I warned.
Her lips pressed into a thin line, determination clear in her gaze.
I sighed, giving in all too easily. “They don’t die naturally,” I answered. “They have to be killed in some way. That one we saw is called a bones dragon. He seems to be stuck down there, likely awaiting his death.”
Auria’s eyes fell to the ground as she mumbled, “Death would be its freedom.”
