Page 17 of The Last Guardian

Stars, I’d love that, but it wouldn’t be the kind of dancing we did at the Three Foxes, when we let the music carry us away all night, without worrying about what people thought—it had been ages since I’d danced like that. Dancing had always been my escape, letting my body get loose with the vibration and rhythms of music.

“If you want to waltz with me and make a few nobles swoon at the sight of two women dancing together, no problem!” I joked with a mischievous smile.

“That could be fun,” laughed Lyra. “Oh! I absolutely must show you the dress I’ll be wearing. It’s so ravishing!”

She gave me a wicked smile before bursting out laughing as she pulled me by the arm up the stairs.

TIME FLEW BY at Lyra’s. When I left her shop, the sun peeked through the gray clouds. Even though the rain had stopped, the sidewalk was still slippery. I had to hurry before the herbalist’s shop closed. I wouldn’t be able to get there until next week if I didn’t go now.

The herbalist shop wasn’t far from Lyra’s. A few minutes’ walk, but I nearly fell several times because my boot slipped on the wet cobblestones. I slowed my pace; it would have been embarrassing to go to the herbalist shop with a broken ankle simply because I’d been careless in going there. I turned onto another street when a hand grabbed my arm and pulled me into a narrow alley.

Instinctively, I curled my hand into a fist and punched the chest before me.

Hard.

“Ouch,” said a voice.

Oh. Nevan. I didn’t even look up before slapping him. When I glanced up at his russet eyes, a wide smile grew on his lips.

“Hey, gorgeous!” Nevan leaned closer.

“You startled me!” I punched him on the shoulder.

“If you had been a tad more accessible, I wouldn’t have had to resort to this,” Nevan clarified, “but I couldn’t approach you like this at the palace.”

I didn’t have time for this…

“It’s good to see you,” I said, trying to get out of his arms, “but I have to go n⁠—”

His thin lips crashed against mine in a hurry, shutting me up in the process. His hands grabbed my waist, pulling me closer; my body was trapped between a damp wall and him, pressing himself against my thighs, rubbing against me.

What was he doing? We were in the middle of the alley. I put my hand on his chest, trying to push him away, but Nevan didn’t move.

“I missed you so much,” he whispered against my lips before kissing them again.

After two years of silence, I didn’t understand why he thought he could kiss me like that. Had I misinterpreted his letter? He wanted to talk to me about something urgent. Perhaps something linked to his legion. I truly believed we had moved on from our relationship after all this time.

I pushed at him, but that wasn’t what made him stop.

No, it was the person behind him who had cleared his throat.

Nevan pulled himself away from me as my gaze fell on Arthur, his brown gaze filled with wrath as his hands curled into fists at his side. And of course, Arthur was not alone.

The man from the other night leaned against the wall in front of us, his green eyes twinkling, biting his lips in amusement.

“What the fuck?” Arthur groaned, his attention focused on Nevan.

Arthur shared Dorian’s feelings towards Nevan. I didn’t know why. I suspected they had a shared past, but they never gave any further explanation.

“Wild princess, isn’t she?” the nameless guy joked.

I glared at him, opening my mouth to say something, but Arthur talked first.

“Zaidkiel, don’t start!” my brother warned, giving him a dark look.

At least he had a name now.

“I think I should leave,” Nevan suggested.