Page 62 of Tricky Princess

She placed her sword under his chin, pressing it into his skin. They were blunt tools, only used for practice but solid enough to bruise.

“You don’t enjoy reading things like that,” he said, grabbing the sword and yanking so that she fell on his lap.

“And I didn’t know you were interested in tattoos,” she teased, kissing him swiftly. “Florence was easier to train with. She never flirted or tried getting me on top of her.”

“Florence is missing out, but she’s been training you well,” he said, nuzzling her neck. “And my father?”

Ellea leaned back, searching his face to see if he truly wanted the answer. Ros didn’t like to share outside of their group, even if it wasn’t romantic or sexual. But she hadn’t really had a choice, and she had learned so much; she was grateful for all of it. She didn’t want their relationship to be jeopardized any more than it had been; they were both too stubborn and too jealous.

Ellea dropped her sword. Instead of saying how tirelessly Azzy had been training her, she would show him. She shed the fear of Ros judging her as she shifted her hand in front of him, turning it slowly as she grew claws and scales. Her long black nails tapered into vicious points, and the blue and purple colors of her scales were mesmerizing. Turning it again, it shifted to a gnarled hand with age spots and wrinkles. Ros jumped and cursed as someone stepped behind him, caressing his face and stroking his hair. He leaned into the feeling after a moment, and Ellea looked up into her own eyes, feeling Ros’ beard and warmed skin as the echo of herself felt them.

That trick had possibilities outside of fighting, and she smirked as some ideas came to mind. The second Ellea disappeared with a wink at Ros, and he turned back to her with a face full of wonder.

He was breathless as he asked, “What else?”

“Everything,” she answered.

“It’s been less than two weeks.” His searching eyes held so much awe, and she hated herself for thinking he would ever judge her.

“You have a lot more time when you aren’t trying to undress a demon prince any chance you can get.”

“Are you saying I was holding you back?” He sounded a little hurt, and that wasn’t what Ellea wanted at all.

“Of course not. But I was determined, and I wanted you to be proud of what I’ve accomplished.”

“I’ve always known you could do anything.” He grasped her hips and pulled her closer. “I will always worry, I will always want to protect you, and I will forever be in awe of you. I’m sorry for how much of an ass I was when I got here. My fears aren’t yours, and I should have known better.”

He toyed with her braid. She could see the thoughts churning in his mind and wanted to give him the time to say what he needed to say.

“I see now that you were fine. I could say I shouldn’t have worried, but even if I had your seer abilities and saw what you were doing, I would have still worried.”

“I was worried too, and it hasn’t been easy. My parents…sleeping alone with the sounds of the castle—”

“It was warded against sounds,” Ros cut in, searching her face.

“I snuck out at night. I saw and heard a lot of things that kept me from sleeping, which pushed me to continue exploring…” She paused. “It’s a vicious cycle.”

“You’re horrible. Stop distracting me; I was trying to say something.”

Ellea kissed him quickly.

“No matter how much I worry about you, I can’t take my fears out on you. They aren’t yours.”

“But they are my fears,” she said, picking at his pants. “I wished you were here with me, training me—”

“We wouldn’t have been in Hel, first off—”

“Ros,” she scolded. “There is more at play here and you know it. We are fighting fate and history; we can’t be so blind anymore.”

“I’m sorry I wanted to stay hidden in the woods for a bit longer,” he grumbled.

“I wanted that too. I still want that,” she said, caressing his face and lifting it toward her. “But we have things to fix and bad people to catch. Maybe when we’re done.”

She didn’t think so, though. Something was telling her she was where she was meant to be.

“Your parents…”

“And others,” she added, and he cocked a brow at her.