Page 27 of The Stolen Throne

He hums, refusing to look me in the eyes. Not liking the turn in his mood, I place my hands on his cheeks, forcing him to meet my gaze. His eyes look haunted when they meet mine. “I didn’t say no.”

His eyes close on a sigh as my thumbs caress his cheeks. “I didn’t give you much of a choice.”

“Hey, look at me.” His eyes slowly open to peer down at me, and I give him a smirk. “I didn’t say no. Do you think for a moment that if I had said no, REALLY said no and meant it, you would have continued?”

His eyes shift away from me before he shakes his head. “No.”

Pulling my hands from his face, I give his nose a boop. “Then give me a smile.”

He rolls his eyes but smiles anyways. I grab for a washcloth, soaping it up. “Now, let’s get all this blood off of you.”

He groans, then shakes his head and chuckles. “I can’t believe I fucked you with another man’s blood on me.”

I begin washing his body as I say, “Yeah… let’s not do that again.”

He arches a brow with a smirk. “What if it’s my blood?”

I smack him with the washcloth. “Ash!”

He laughs and shrugs. “Just trying to feel out the boundaries.”

Shaking my head, I sigh. “We will see.”

16

I’m reading on my bed when I hear a knock on the door. Looking up from my book, I see Alair poke his head in. He’s my guard for the day, but I didn’t want to be a bother, so I decided to stay in my room. An odd thing, me worrying about being a bother. Arching a brow, I ask, “Yes, Alair?”

He looks around the room before stepping inside. “Why are you hiding out in here?”

I hold up my book. “I’m not hiding; I’m reading.”

He gives me a cheeky grin before rushing across the room and jumping onto the bed beside me. I let out a squeal as I bounce. He jumps a few more times before finally landing on his butt.

I laugh and set my book down. “Is there a reason you’ve disturbed my reading time?”

He gives me pitiful puppy-dog eyes as he whines, “I'm bored, Eira!”

Shaking my head, I say, “I thought you all had training today. That's why I stayed in my room, so no one had to guard me.”

He lets out a dramatic sigh. “I don’t want to go to training. I want to have some fun!”

Knowing I’m about to get sucked into whatever scheme he has planned; I hop off the bed. Slipping on my house shoes, I turn to him with my hands resting on my hips. “Alright, Alair, what did you have in mind?”

His eyes widen with excitement. “Really?”

I nod. “You are my guard for the day, so you’ll need an alibi for whatever ill-thought-out plan you have concocted.”

He gasps as if offended. “It is a very well thought out plan, I’ll have you know.”

Arching a brow, I ask, “Who are you pranking?”

He gives me a skeptical glance. “I’m not sure if I want to tell you yet. You will try to talk me out of it.”

I roll my eyes. “If I can talk you out of it, then you aren’t confident enough in your plan to begin with.”

He hums. “True.”

“So who are we pranking?”

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