want to be king?”
He stared at the fire in the grate, his brows furrowed. When he finally answered, he spoke slowly, as though considering every word. “There are things I like about being a prince,” he said, “and I assume I’d like them about being king as well.”
“Such as?”
“I like the power,” he said. “I like that people like Iris have to be polite to me, even though they loathe me. I like all the resources I have, all the influence. But I’m not sure I’d want to be responsible for the well-being of everyone in this kingdom. I like making decisions for me. I’m not sure I want to make decisions for everybody.”
“And that’s the truth?” she said.
“And that’s the truth.”
She ran her fingers along the ground, leaving swirling patterns in the soot. She could see Finnegan out of the corner of her eye, watching her.
He leaned closer. She imagined she could feel every millimeter of space between them, the air vibrating. “Care to tell me a secret in return?”
“I thought I didn’t have secrets from you,” she said. “I thought you knew everything about me.”
“Prove me wrong.”
She turned to face him. Even sitting, she had to tilt her head back to look him in the eye. She wanted to be honest, she realized. She wanted to share some part of herself with him, whatever that might mean. “I don’t understand you,” she said. “That’s my secret.”
“That’s not much of a secret.”
“But it’s the truth. I can’t make my mind up about you. About what you’re doing.”
“Because I’m so charming?”
“Something like that.”
He still smelled of heat and ashes. And he was so close again, close enough to touch her with just the slightest shift.
When he’d said that he was waiting for her to kiss him, she should have done it before he finished speaking, if only to see the look on his face. She could have stopped any knowing remark that followed by kissing him again. He would have laughed, and she would have felt the chuckle rumble through his throat. But then . . . then he wouldn’t have been laughing. Then he would have put his hands on her waist, or maybe one at the back of her head, tangling in her hair. He would have to bend down to kiss her . . . or maybe he would hoist her up, pulling her onto her tiptoes, onto the table. Making bold moves to put himself back in control.
She glanced at his lips. She could do it now. Take the rush of the dragon, the rush of her magic, and finally act for once in her life. Take something that she wanted.
The corners of his lips ticked upward. Lips that had kissed her before, in the dust of her tower, although she could not remember it. Because his attempt to build an alliance had failed. Because he was not her love, if the curse was true.
She could not kiss him. She needed to leave, before she did something she regretted. “I should rest,” she said. “It’s been a long day.”
Finnegan’s laugh told her everything she needed to know. He knew what she had thinking. He knew why she was leaving.
She stood up and strode away without another word.
“I want to kiss Finnegan.”
Nettle raised her eyebrows at her. The singer stood in the doorway of her room, dressed to attend a ball. Her red silk gown clung to her skin, and her light makeup made her eyes seem brighter, deeper. A small dragon pin kept her hair away from her face. The dragon’s scales glittered with rubies.
“This is a surprise to you?” Nettle said.
“No,” Aurora said. “I don’t know. Can I come in?”
“Of course.” Nettle stepped aside. “What has happened?”
“Nothing has happened,” Aurora said. “That’s half of the problem. We were talking, and I—I wanted to kiss him. It was all I could think about.”
“Then you should have kissed him, should you not? I find that helps satisfy that particular impulse, at least for a while.”
Aurora laughed. “You know I can’t do that.”
“And why not? You want to. He wants to. I do not see the issue.”
Aurora sank onto the bed. “I’m not certain if I should trust him,” she said.
Nettle turned back to her mirror, adding a few more touches to her lips. “And you have to trust him to kiss him?”
“No,” Aurora said. “I don’t know. But I am starting to. Trust him.”
“Sounds like all the more reason to kiss him.”
“But I can’t.” How could she