my waist with a slight pressure as he gave me a confident smile. My cheeks reddened in response.
I knew Xander didn’t care for me, but it seemed like he didn’t want anyone else to either, for the prince stormed through the dancers, like a ship cutting through a calm sea. His approach and the heat in his eyes worried me. He was angry, and I had a feeling I would be on the receiving end of his sharp tongue.
“Gaven,” I said calmly, trying to pull away, but his hand on my back was like an iron band imprisoning me. “Please, I need to leave,” I whispered urgently. I needed a place to retreat. To get away from those amber eyes that were hunting me down from across the room. “Take me somewhere else, anywhere but here.”
Gaven seemed surprised at my earnestness, but he quickly conceded. Not letting go of my wrist, he pulled me into the hall and out the double doors into the garden.
I shouldn’t have looked back, but I did, seeing Xander stop his pursuit and watch us leave warily.
The cool night air felt good on my overly warm skin, and I was glad to be away from Xander and the feelings he was stirring within me. From the steps leading down into the gardens, I could see various couples already walking hand in hand into the maze.
Gaven was eagerly leading me into the tall hedge maze, and I realized I may have given him the wrong impression. As soon as we were alone, he reached for me, his mouth pressing hard on mine, our teeth knocking together painfully.
“Mmmph,” I mumbled in surprise, pushing him away. “Stop, I insist!”
Gaven’s breath was ragged, his pupils were dilated, and his cheeks were flushed from the chill air. “But I thought this is what you wanted. You asked to leave, and I assumed—”
“I’m sorry,” I said, “but I’m promised to another.”
His face darkened, his grip on my arms tightened, and I winced. “Who?”
“I… I, uh….” Unsure how to answer him, I ultimately decided on the truth. “The prince.”
His nose crinkled in disgust and his hands dropped. “You would rather become the prince’s whore than be with me?”
“I don’t have a choice,” I retorted, angry he had called me a whore.
“You do. You can choose me!” His fist pounded his chest, and I could see the pain of rejection written across his face.
“You don’t understand.” I reached for him, but he shrugged me off.
“Yes, I do. It’s not the first time someone has chosen him over me. I just thought that once he was married, it would stop.” He shook his head and looked at me in disbelief. “I had hoped you were different, but you’re not. You’re just like all the others,” he sneered, then took off into the dark, leaving me alone in the maze.
Alone and confused.
My thoughts were so filled with questions and very few answers that I almost walked right past the beautiful deep red rosebush that had caught my attention the other day. A white stone bed surrounded the bush, with a golden dedication plaque on a column:
* * *
To my little flower
May you ever rest in peace.
* * *
It was a memorial, but for whom?
There was something comforting about the exotic flowers, though up close, I could see the roses were browning and dying while every plant around them was flourishing. Wondering if there was a disease or sickness, I reached closer to inspect the flower, hoping my knowledge of herbology would help me identify the threat.
Before I could lay a finger on the flower, a branch snaked out and wrapped around my wrist. The thorns, like teeth, sank painfully into my skin.
Chapter Seven
Hissing in pain, I tried to pull away from the thorns, but they only wrapped tighter around my wrist and dug in deeper. Just when I was about to burn the whole bush to ash with a spell, the thorny branch released me from its painful hold and slinked back into the bush. Seconds later, the bush shimmered and the flowers regained their color, turning deep red. The previously closed buds opened wide, and I swore the whole plant grew before my eyes.
“What magic is this?” I whispered, then reached out to stroke the rose. I could almost feel it stretch and reach for more of my blood, but I recoiled from the bloodthirsty plant. Never before in my studies had I come across a species like this; not even the Venus flytrap