Page 82 of Dynasty of the Wicked

“I will know where you are … anywhere. If you’re a hundred miles up north, I can find you. If you’re in your bathing chambers, I’ll know you’re there. If you’re sneaking out in the middle of the night?—”

“I understand what you mean.” A soft laugh bubbled at the thought of him thinking she would find that invasive. She had lived under Father’s thumb her entire life, having the eyes of his court on her at every waking moment. She was used to it. “I am sure you won’t abuse that power. And besides, isn’t it easier for you to know my whereabouts? You can’t see, so … this would make it easier, don’t you think?”

“I … am not sure you would want to be subjected to that.”

“Is it permanent? Can you remove it if I decide I don’t like it?”

“Yes. It’s my magic, so I can remove it whenever I wish for it.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

He looked lost for words. “Do you trust me that much? I could very well be a devil and take advantage of knowing your every move.”

“I think it’s a little too late for that,” she said with a short laugh.

She noticed the dragon staring at the both of them with an inquisitive expression. When he met her gaze, he took one of thechicken bones off the floor and began nibbling on it. His sharp teeth shattered the bone but he kept chewing. It caught her by surprise for a moment—that he was watching them so intently, and that he had shattered bones so easily—but her attention was whisked away when Feng Mian grasped her wrist lightly.

“Are you sure?” he asked again.

“I am.” She curled her fingers over his wrist and brought his knuckles to her lips, brushing a chaste kiss against his skin. “I have no reason to hide from you.”

A ghost of a smile lingered on his mouth. “You are too good for me, Princess.”

“Not so loud—” she began, eyes widening.

He cupped her face with both his hands. “No one is close by.”

“But still?—”

He kissed her softly, slowly, and brushed his thumbs over her cheeks. When he pulled back, her face was flushed while he grinned at her. He slowly dragged his fingers over her face, touching her nose, her lips, her eyebrows—every inch of her smiling expression.

“I don’t ever want to forget your face.” He peppered her with kisses—against her mouth, her closed eyes, her jaw, and forehead. He paused when he brushed his lips against the shell of her ear. “I don’t want to be separated from you.”

A flush spread over her cheeks. “I don’t either.”

He brought his mouth to kiss hers once more, but he hesitated when the sound of crunching bones filled the small tent. “The dragon is watching, isn’t he?”

“I—I think—” She was about to sayno, but when she glanced at him, he had his head canted to the side, gnashing the sharp ends of the bones. Curiosity gleamed in his red eyes. “Yes. Yes he is.”

He groaned softly, resting his forehead against hers. “Then it is probably not appropriate for me to do any more.”

“Probably?” Zhi Ruo laughed. “You mean most certainly.”

“Most certainly,” he corrected.

“Wait—what were you planning?” She could already feel the heat spreading over her face.

Feng Mian wove his fingers into her hair and forced her face up toward him, a wicked grin on his face. “You know what.”

She smacked his chest with an uncharacteristic giggle. “Not with a child around.”

“Never.” He kissed her again, gentle and quick. He played with her hair absentmindedly, pulling it out of the low bun style she had forced it into that morning. “But I wouldn’t mind taking you to one of these empty storage tents?—”

She clamped his mouth shut with her hand, glancing over at the dragon. He sat there, staring at them both, picking at the broken pieces of bones sticking in between his razored teeth. She could feel Feng Mian’s grin against her fingers.

“Be careful not to talk so …inappropriately,” Zhi Ruo said. “We don’t know how much he understands.”

“All right.” He took her hand and grazed a kiss along her knuckles. “He has never seemed to understand much, so I assumed …” He lifted his shoulders. “That he is unaware of the human world.”

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