Page 28 of To Charm a Dark Prince

She shook her head. It was still so hard to believe.

Reaching over the table, he picked up a candle and placed it down next to her. When she looked at him quizzically, he gestured at it. “You know it shall not burn you.”

“Yeah, I mean…” She reached out and put her finger into the flame. It was comfortably warm. “Sure, I understand what you’re saying. But I don’t know what it really means, or what this means for my life.”

“We will worry about all that in time. For now, you must adjust to this new state of being. I remember when I was chosen, I was beyond livid over the whole ordeal.” He huffed a laugh. “Believe you me, you are not the first person to react poorly to becoming an elemental.”

She sat back in the chair and stared down at her hand, remembering how it had looked when she had been made of fire. “Do I get to learn how to control it? Y’know, so I can walk around without burning everything down?”

He studied her for a long moment. “I suppose it would help ensure the safety of my home. Do you wish for me to teach you?”

Merlin had told her to figure out how to get the necklace back off. And if fighting this guy—which she didn’t even know if she wanted to do—was the only way to get home—which she didn’t even know if she wanted to do yet—then she’d have to be able to control the fire.

This was a chance at real adventure. At having the thing she had been wanting for so very long—to become something. Someone.

And…being around Mordred wasn’t as terrifying or miserable as she thought it might be. She smiled at him. “I think I’d like that. At least until you make the decision to snap my head around backwards.”

He huffed a laugh and joined her playful half-sarcasm. “Yes, I do suppose it will pass the time before your inevitable murder at my hands.”

Gwen laughed again. She didn’t mean to. It was just all ridiculous. She covered her eyes with her hand again.

“Are you quite all right?”

“Oh, I’m great. I’m fine. I’m just fuckin’ thrilled. I’m stuck in a magical world with a guy with murder hands and I can burst into flames randomly. Albert Einstein and Darth Vader could sit here debating the merits of blueberry muffins and it’d be all the same to me right now.”

“Blueberry muffins?”

He didn’t question the names, but he questioned the breakfast option? She looked at him curiously. “Have you never had muffins before?”

“No. I cannot say that I have. I fear they likely did not have them in my day. Perhaps I could talk you into making them for me.”

“If you ask nicely.”

“Or threaten you with torture.” He grinned teasingly. “Whichever comes first.”

She wanted to throw another grape at his head, but decided it was probably smart not to try her luck a second time. They sat there in silence again, simply watching each other once more. She had so many things she wanted to ask. So much she wanted to know.

As if once more reading her mind, he hummed. “Tomorrow, we shall trade stories. You will tell me how you came to Avalon, and I will tell you why all the others despise me. That sounds like a fair exchange, does it not?”

“Sure.” She paused. “Thank you for the clothes. And dinner.”

“You are very welcome.” He walked up to her, and she watched as his armor melded back onto his body, including his pointed claws. That was so fascinating. It was graceful, and more than a little sensual. She wanted to see him do it again but was distracted by his hand hovering in front of her, palm up, asking for hers. “Shall I show you to your chambers?”

“You’re not going to keep me locked up?”

“You are quite locked up, I assure you. Whether or not I keep you in chains”—he hooked his pointer finger into the front of the necklace she wore—“is another matter entirely.”

The sound of metal sliding on metal sent a shiver down her spine. Yeah. That was why she shivered. Totally why she shivered. Totally why she felt like her face was bursting into flames again.

Totally.

He smiled, faint but devious, and she knew he saw straight through her. But he took pity on her and lowered his hand. “You will be under guard and supervision. But no. I shall not keep you locked away. That was merely a precaution in case you…did not take to this situation gracefully.”

She took a step away from him and rubbed a hand up and down her arm. “I mean. I don’t really have a choice.”

“You would be surprised. Come, firefly. Will you let me walk with you?”

He was asking? Seriously? She blinked. “Um—y—yeah. Sure.”

---