Page 87 of The Mage and His Stolen Prince
A muscle in my jaw twitched.Why should I explain myself to you?I twisted my wrist, trying to break through the weak point in his fist, but his hand simply followed mine, holding me captive.
An arm slipped between us. “That’s enough,” Trey said, gently pressing his hand against Maximus’ chest. “He won’t explain if you’re bullying him.”
“I’m not bullying—” Maximus stopped and stared at my arm, where the pale skin had already turned red and agitated from his grip. Releasing me, he took several steps back and ran a hand over his head, as if he could use his short, bristly hair to scrub away the sensation of touching me. “He shouldn’t perform magic without telling us what he’s doing. So we can prepare for the consequences.”
Trey pressed his lips in a displeased line, looking between us, then said quietly to me, “I don’t agree with his reasons, but he’s right that you shouldn’t be performing magic right now. You’ll wear yourself out—”
“I’m fine,” I interrupted, rubbing my abused wrist. Trey’s eyes locked on the motion. “Do you plan to kiss it to make it better?”
Heat flared in his blue eyes, and he leaned closer to me. “Make up your mind, Wilde. Are you going to flirt, or push me away?”
I’m going to push youdownif you aren’t careful.I opened my mouth, but I had no idea how to answer him. How did I explain that I wanted him more than anything in the world, but I needed it to be forever? If he walked away from me again—if he chose his family, his friends, his kingdom over me—I didn’t know what I would do. Restart time again? Keep us trapped in an endless loop where he gave me just enough of himself to make it hurt worse each time he ripped it away?
Once this is over and he isn’t distracted by the Kingdom Defense Spell or the Desolated Lands or his family, I’ll tell him everything.
“It’s a protection spell,” I said, offering him one truth. “To keep us safe through the night.”
Trey watched me for a moment, and I couldn’t read his expression at all. Finally, he turned back to Maximus, who I’d forgotten about, and said, “See? He’s doing his job.”
Maximus glowered but said nothing else, returning to the pot of stew simmering over the campfire.
I continued drawing wards on the trees until I’d completed the perimeter, then sat on the side of the campfire furthest away from everyone else.
Fitz cleared his throat and said, “So, Wilde, what all does this protection spell do?”
I shrugged. “It will prevent anyone from seeing us through magical or mundane means. Any monsters on a midnight hunt will walk right past us without knowing we’re here.”
“So, will it keep out the Lord of Grimnight’s spies?”
I didn’t have any spies, but I soothed his worries anyway, “Yes.”
“Then this is an excellent time to discuss the manticore in the room.”
I frowned. “Did you see signs of a manticore?”
Fitz’s brow furrowed. “What? No. I’m talking about the large problem with claws and fangs everyone is ignoring.”
“You shouldn’t ignore manticores,” I replied solemnly. “They’re extremely dangerous and I don’t have any antivenom with me.”
“There isn’t a manticore,” Fitz assured me.
“Didn’t the mayor mention one?” Angelica asked. “Perhaps we should keep an eye out—”
Fitz threw his hands in the air. “It’s an expression! A segue into a necessary conversation about your argument with Trey!”
I tensed. Whether or not a manticore still prowled through the forest now seemed like the least of my problems. “That was a private conversation.”
Maximus snorted. “Didn’t seem private.”
“Maximus is right,” Fitz said. “Your argument was loud enough to attract imps, so of course the rest of us heard it. The part I’m stuck on is you accusing Trey of forgetting you. I also feel like we’ve met before, but I can’t remember where.”
I raised my fingers to snap, but a small hand clutched mine.Everyone needs to stop grabbing me, I thought as I glared at Delilah.
She leaned in close and hissed in my ear, “I do not want to start this damn quest over again.”
I lowered my hand. She was right, we’d already put too much effort into this timeline. I needed to find another way to defuse the situation. I looked Fitz straight in the eye as I lied through my teeth. “The first time we met was at your residence a few days ago.”
“Are you sure?” he asked, clearly unconvinced. “Perhaps we met somewhere by chance before. What’s your family name—”
