to the cliff's edge."
Sooner than I can finish my words, he interupts, “And did she see the travesty? Has she finally agreed to help?”
“Tomorrow, she's going to use her power whether she wants to or not. So, I need your help.”
He stares at me over his shoulder, and I see the judgment in his eyes, but I ignore him. “Don't look so gravely at me. She's pushed me to this point.”
“And when you’re finished with her?” His question is straightforward, but I don’t know the answer. My father the king once told me that everyone plays a role in this world, some are small, some are huge, but each part is just as important. The hard component is getting everyone to accept their role. Like this beautiful, stubborn woman who refuses to be truthful about her ability. And there’s only so much protection I can offer once the hobgoblins attack if she won’t accept my help.
“Right now, it’s fortunate she’s here, but what the future holds, we’ll let fate decide,” I answer truthfully.
He studies me, just as he has all my life when he needed to give me advice. “You care what she thinks of you, it’s obvious. And I’ve never seen you take so much interest in a woman before as though you care for her. Why have you let this girl get into your head?”
“I didn’t have a choice.” The sight of the fierceness in her eyes when I first spoke to her in my office, her desire when I pinned to the tree, her rebellious determination to never give in refuses to leave my thoughts. Beneath it all, she’s vulnerable and fights for a simple life she fears I’ll take from her. The other princesses who’ve come to the Midnight Court are all the same… needy of attention and a position of power for show. Everything comes with pretense, and I fucking hate the games they play. That’s not who I want to be or represent to our kingdom.
Maybe that’s why I find myself intrigued by Licia, so eager to spend more time with her. She is what I can’t be. Free.
“Just be careful, Eryk. Distraction can lead to the demise of your father’s kingdom,” he says with no emotion.
I snort and shake my head at Kade. “You’re starting to sound just like him. But I’m no fool. She might be the key to helping us win this war if she’s as powerful as we think. And I’ll make this work, even if she ends up hating me for eternity.”
He just nods, and we saunter ahead as he begins telling me his idea on how best to bring her power out.
Nothing is going to keep me from finding a way to protect the kingdom and everyone in it. Not even one stubborn girl with ice power.
Licia
He's so irresistibly sexy, I want to scream, I want to make him hurt for daring to even make me feel such attraction for him when it should be only pure hatred.
For too long I've hidden who I really am. I've told lies and pretended to be normal. I covered how broken I am on the inside because I don’t want to be the outcast, the freak, the black sheep. I've craved normality and freedom because no one wants to be ridiculed.
But now, Prince Eryk wants to rip away my mask and reveal the real me, to change my life forever. Nothing would be the same again if I let him do that... yet I can't get the hobgoblin camp out of my thoughts. I can't stop picturing that woman being dragged out of the corral. I can't help but imagine Rin and Meg in that situation if those creatures succeed in capturing our kingdom.
No matter how much I loathe the prince, at the heart of it, he is fighting evil. He may not be perfect, but who the hell is? And as much as it scares me to give away my freedom, he's gone and shown me something that will haunt me for eternity if I do nothing.
Instinctively, I check the door to find it locked, then drift toward the windows and find them bolted shut. But unlike the other room, these are sealed with what looks like glue. I push my finger against the hard, transparent substance sitting around the frame of the window. I guess as a prince, anyone might try to sneak in here to assassinate him... but what if he needs to escape quickly? He'd break the