Page 56 of The Mage and His Stolen Prince
I checked the first bedroom and saw the helmet on the nightstand, which meant this was Kit’s room.
The next one had a bed with sheets in a tangled lump and clothes tossed all over the place, including a shirt that was somehow hanging from the curtain rod. Delilah’s room.
The last one was neat and tidy, with a sleeping figure bundled under the covers. There was no other sign of habitation—no luggage, no personal items, not even boots at the end of the bed. For the first time, I realized that neither Wilde nor Delilah had brought any luggage with them. Kit had packed a trunk for Delilah, which was how my cousin had already made such a mess of her room, but had anyone done the same for Wilde?
Surely, he isn’t teleporting back home every time he needs to change his clothes. He wouldn’t waste energy like that—the image of him passing out during our first meeting popped into my head.Alright, so maybe he is that fucking reckless.
I sat on the edge of the bed and gazed down at his sleeping face. The circles under his eyes were somehow darker than they were yesterday, and his skin looked wan instead of just pale. His white hair spread out across the pillow in long, tempting strands. I stretched out a hand and stroked the closest section.Dammit, it’s as silky as it looks.
Wilde shifted slightly, his face turning more toward me.
I snatched my hand back.Had he felt that? Did I wake him?
His eyelashes fluttered open, and he stared at me, gaze foggy from sleep. Would he react the same way he had in the carriage? Panic and teleport away? I tensed, waiting to see what he would do.
When his eyes finally focused on me, his lips spread in a slow smile and he whispered one word, “Treasure.” Then his hand snaked out from under the covers and behind the back of my head. Thin fingers tangled in my hair and tugged me closer.
His grip was weak enough to resist but I allowed myself to be drawn closer, until our lips barely touched. The kiss was so shallow I couldn’t even taste him before it ended. His hand fell limp onto the pillow and his breath evened out as he fell back asleep.
I stared at him for a long time. If I memorized the lines of his face, maybe I could find answers to my questions.Who are you? Why are you here? Do you have anything to do with the curse?
I stood up and walked outside of the bedroom, closing the door. Then I took a deep breath and shouted, “Wilde! Breakfast!”
He teleported into the sittingroom.
I jumped away from him, slamming my back into the bedroom door. “What the fuck, Wilde? Can youstop doing that?”
“Sorry,” he mumbled, rubbing his eyes. Then his whole body froze. Slowly, he lowered his hand and stared at me like I was a hideous, stubborn weed that had sprouted up overnight in his prized garden. His shoulders tensed in preparation.
“If you teleport away in a panic, you’ll just wear yourself out,” I warned.
He forced his shoulders to relax. The shocked expression rearranged into a blank stare. “Thank you for waking me.” He searched the room for a moment, then spotted the plate on the counter. “And for bringing me breakfast.”
“You’re welcome.”
He sat down on one of the stools, his back to me, and quietly ate his food.
I scanned him from head to toe, noting that he was wearing the same dark gray trousers, white shirt, and light gray waistcoat as yesterday, now creased and rumpled. He was even wearing his boots, and since I didn’t think he had the time or thought to put them on before teleporting, he must have slept with them on. “Did you bring any other clothes with you?”
His shoulders tensed again. “I can get them.”
“Not if it means teleporting all over the place. You’re supposed to be helping us with this quest, which you can’t do if you’re exhausted.”
“I’m fine.”
“The fuck you are.”
He shot me a startled look, then ducked his head and determinedly focused on his food. Through the curtain of his white hair, I saw a faint blush coloring his cheeks.
I didn’t know whether Wilde was the source of the curse, or another victim of it. If he was the source, I needed to find outwhyhe had cursed us into repetition, and how to break it. If he was another victim, maybe his magic could help us. Either way, I needed to keep him close, which was difficult when he could disappear in a blink. “Delilah thinks we’ll go shopping soon, so we’ll get you some quest-appropriate clothing. Until then, I’ll loan you some of my clothes.”
I expected more protests. After all, I was half-a-foot taller than him and wider in the shoulders. Anything I owned would drown him in fabric.
Instead, he nodded, quietly accepting my offer.
Once he finished eating, I walked him over to our suite. “See how easy this is?” I said, pointing at one foot stepping forward, then the other. “You’ve got two legs, use them.”
“Plenty of people have two legs and can’t walk,” he said, deadpan.
