Page 170 of The Prince of Broken Crowns

Slowly, he angles his leg toward mine until our knees touch. I should pull away. I need boundaries and rules. We’re not in a place where putting up the façade that we’re dating is necessary. And yet, I don’t budge.

The contact with him makes it complicated to concentrate, but I manage. Eventually, I move on from the book I’m reading and pick up a new one. This one is thin and old, the cover is worn, and the golden engraving in the center is peeling. It looks like a rose, with wilting leaves and thorns.

I trace my finger along it, and images dance in my mind.

“You see this?” My aunt points at a drawing she did in her sketchbook. “This is an important symbol, Maddy. If you ever see this anywhere, don’t go near it.”

I’m sitting in my bed, and I’m so lost as I glance up at her. “Why?”

“Because it’s dangerous,” she explains as she stares at the page and traces her fingers along the charcoal lines and shades on the page. “Remember that thorns are always dangerous.”

I remember, when she told me this, I’d thought she meant thorns on rose bushes were dangerous. I was only like six or seven, and I’d once fallen into a rosebush, so it made sense to me then. Now, though …

“River,” I whisper under my breath. “Does this symbol mean anything to you?”

He leans over, his face close to mine as he examines the symbol on the cover. “I don’t think so.” His gaze welds with mine. “Why?”

“My aunt drew it once.” I skim my fingers along the cover. “She told me if I saw it, to stay away from it because it was dangerous. I thought she meant thorns and roses in the literal sense because I was like seven.” Pressing my lips together, I move to open it?—

River places his hand on top of mine, stopping me. “If it’s dangerous, maybe you shouldn’t look at it. At least not in the open. We can check it out and take it home.”

I hesitate. “Say we check it out, and someone finds out I have it?”

The corners of his lips tip downward. “Shit, that’s probably not a good idea then.” He blows out an exhale as he slumps back in the chair. He glances around at the few people sitting at the tables. More have been wandering in the later it gets. “I still don’t feel comfortable looking at it in the open.”

I briefly dither before pushing my chair away from the table and rising to my feet. With the book tucked under my arm, I nod for River to follow me as I hurry toward the bookshelves. He snatches a hold of my hand before I make it far but doesn’t pull me to a stop. He walks with me, both of us moving briskly as we rush out of the public eye and into the shadows of the bookshelves located at the far back, where the sounds of chatter fade into stillness.

“Okay, what are we doing back here?” River asks as I release his hand.

“This place might not have a secret passage that we know of, but there’s a lot of places to keep a lowkey status.” I gesture at the emptiness of the row in front of us. “Let’s look at the book back here. No one’s around.”

Reluctance masks his features. “I don’t know, Mads. There are cameras everywhere.”

“Stand in front of me then.” I move closer to the shelf behind me. “And pretend we’re making out or something.”

He blinks at me in a comical way. “What?”

“I said pretend,” I clarify. “Come on; you’ve kissed me before, so you know I don’t have cooties.” I smirk.

He stuffs his hands into his pockets and warily glances around. “I don’t know … Maybe you do, and I just haven’t caught them yet.” He looks back at me, a smile playing on his lips.

Rolling my eyes, I open the book. “Get closer to me.”

He does, inching nearer until the tips of our shoes touch. Then he slants forward and places his hands on the bookshelf behind me so I’m trapped between his arms.

Okay, I so did not think this through properly. I do my best, though, to focus past my thundering heartbeat and open the book. I turn a few pages that are introductions and indexes before finally reaching an interesting page. I quickly read a few articles.

“Jesus, this Everford family went through so much. Not only were they hunted, but they were targeted by a specific family who wanted them all dead because I guess there was some treaty made back in the day where if their family bloodline ceased to exist, this particular family would get all of their wealth and land.”

“What was the family name?” River murmurs, his face close to my head.

I think he might be smelling my hair. I can’t judge him since I always take a deep breath when I get into his car because it smells like him.

“Hold on.” I turn to the next page, but before I can read the words, I spot a person out of my peripheral vision heading down the row in front of us. “Shit, someone’s coming.”

River stiffens, pushing back. “Who is it?”

I peek over River’s shoulder. “He looks around our age. He has black hair, and he’s definitely staring at us … Wait, I think I’ve seen him walking around the academy with Eli.”

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