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“A few months.” Seven, to be exact.

He nodded like he was thinking my answer over in his mind.

“So, you are the reason why Cerithia’s guard has improved significantly in their strategy over the past six months?”

It was a compliment, even if he didn’t intend for it to be one. I wasn’t going to answer him, though. He just stared at me for a long moment before saying anything.

“The real question is, princess, why did your father enlist you in his guard?”

My heart began to beat wildly in my chest. He knew who I was. My eyes narrowed at him. How did he know that when my father and the queen did their best to hide it from other kingdoms? I was under the impression that they did not know of my existence. After all, my father did not accept me as his daughter; therefore, I was not important.

“I’m no princess,” I spat, seething at the title.

“You are unlike any princess I have ever met,” he smirked when I huffed at the title. “Did you volunteer?”

His eyes looked over me like he was truly confused, as if he wanted to know about me.

“It was a punishment.”

He gave me a knowing smile, like he knew I must be a troublemaker.

“It must have been pretty bad,” he muttered as he looked over his shoulder. His men were gathering their dead. My eyes followed his, and I watched them gently move my men to the side. Respectful. It was an odd gesture. “You can come to Crimson and fight for me.”

“I would stab you the first chance you gave me. I’m no traitor.”

“I have no doubt about you stabbing me.” A glint in his eye told me he found my answer to be exactly what he expected. “Something tells me that you would be happier fighting with me rather than against me.”

He had stepped forward, so we were only inches apart. I would not find this man attractive. A strong scent of rain and forest filled the space around me.

“I would treat you so well, Thea.” My name flicked off his tongue like a wicked promise. Urgency filled me; I needed to be away from this man before I forgot he was my enemy. My chest swarmed with something, like a restless itch that only this man could scratch.

As soon as he turned to look at his men again, I let my fire mist surround me and rip apart his shadows. The captain turned as soon as I freed myself and just stared at me as my tendrils of fire wrapped around him and made him hit the ground on his back. I straddled him as he struggled. His eyes blackened as he stared at me.

I grabbed my viper-handled dagger and held it to his throat. He wasn’t trying to escape. I could practically feel his eyes tracing over every inch of me. Why didn’t he fear me?

“Fire magic, I forgot,” he breathed. He growled when I pushed my dagger harder against his neck.

“Impressive, isn’t it?” I smiled wickedly at him. “Any last words, Captain?”

He looked me in the eyes as his own eyes swirled with black and gold. He gave me a lazy smile, as if he thought I wouldn’t slice his throat. I’m sure that smile had gotten him out of plenty of situations, but I wouldn’t hesitate to kill him.

“I don’t think you want to hurt me, little viper.”

I pulled my dagger back slightly as he stared at me oddly. No, this couldn’t be him. I put my dagger against his throat again. That tugging in my chest only became more intense as I looked down at him.

“How do you know that name?”

“Because I gave it to you.” He tried shifting. “You stabbed me in the stomach with this same dagger,” he said, chuckling like this was funny. “A dagger that I gifted you, by the way.”

My eyes looked over his face, and somehow I knew he was telling the truth. I found this dagger in the woods one day when I was much younger. I thought it had been good luck, but this made more sense. He gave it to me. The hooded man from my past was now my enemy. Why had he saved me that night? My hand reached up and ran across his stubble without me thinking about it.

His eyes stared at me for a long moment, distracting me from my mission. I shook my head, trying to clear it. After all, it was my duty to kill any of the Crimson guards, but even as I thought about it, my dagger fell from his throat.

“You never came back,” I frowned.

“Did you miss me, little viper?” he frowned back as I stood up and looked down at him. I turned away and ran into the forest, confusion filling me. When I was far enough away, I released my fire magic from him. Gods, when I fucked up, I fucked up big. Oddly enough, I felt the stirring in my chest get worse the farther I ran from the man with haunting golden eyes.

Chapter 9