Page 32 of Wild Flame

“It was necessary.” His tone took on a more serious edge. “Even during the Rites, the streets of Taveran are not safe for a woman out alone at night.” Those eyes—a mix of swirling chocolate and amber framed by thick, dark brows—were like two lures pulling me in with their intensity as he leaned close and added, “Especially one as beautiful as you.”

A jolt of pleasure ran through me at the compliment, but then it was ruined by his next words.

“Promise me you will not go out into the city again without someone to accompany you.”

“I have been exploring the city on my own since I got here and haven’t had a problem.” I wanted to add that I was perfectly capable of defending myself. But he knew that. He knew I had training—just not to what extent—and he was still concerned.

His gaze traveled to my hair and then my eyes. “Promise me, isholet,” he insisted, his slight accent more pronounced as the foreign word rolled gently off his tongue, almost as if he did not mean to say it.

We were standing close again—very close—close enough to kiss.Now, where had that thought come from?I had no business thinking something like that. No matter how tempting the man before me was. I was also very aware that Leif wassleeping in the room across the hall, only a few feet from where we now stood. Shaking off my runaway thoughts, and trying to ignore the thrum of awareness in my body, I whispered, “I can’t promise that.”

His jaw hardened in frustration. “Siren.”

I shook my head. I refused to give up my newfound freedom. I was willing to take the risk if it meant I could enjoy my time here fully before I had to return to Halmar and that cold, unfeeling existence that awaited me. “Who are you to demand such a thing? I am a Princess of Halmar. You aren’t my king, my father, or my husband. You are my host, and nothing more.”

Something flared in his eyes at that. His scorching gaze caressed my skin, and I could tell he wanted to protest further, but he didn’t. His jaw flexed again, and he simply nodded.

Regaining my composure and softening my voice, I murmured, “Goodnight, Malik.”

“Goodnight, Princess,” he replied.

Stepping away from him, I reached back and opened my door, intending to go inside, but my name on his lips stopped me.

“Leida?”

I met his gaze once more and found a softness there I wasn’t expecting.

“You have a flame . . . a spirit inside you . . . I noticed it that day in the throne room. And its beauty and power are too great to ever go unnoticed or be forgotten.”

I was so stunned by his words that I could think of nothing at all to say in response as he nodded once and strode back down the hall.

“I heard you had a late evening last night,” Leif said the next morning as I was eating my breakfast. We were in my rooms, and I had invited Leif to join me. He sat across from me, his dragon curled at his feet.

I glanced up after taking a sip of the delicious fruit juice I had come to love here. “Did you?” I kept my tone light. Two guesses who he had heard that from. One of my useless guards had talked.

He stared at me, that stoic face giving nothing away. He had always had the patience of a saint, even when we were children. “Leida, what happened?”

I shrugged, again keeping my tone nonchalant. “I couldn’t sleep, so I went for a stroll in the gardens.” It was not acompletelie. And the guards had only seen me returning with Malik. They didn’t know I had been out in the city.

“And if you were only taking a stroll in the gardens . . . why not just take your guards with you?”

“Is it a crime to want some time to myself?” I tried deflecting.

“It is when your safety is at risk.” He placed his callused hand on the table before him and Wormoth shifted agitatedly at his feet. “Princess Zara was nearly assassinated not two days ago, and you decide it is a good time to be going out at night alone?”

He was starting to sound like Malik. “I was the one who stopped the assassin,” I reminded him.

“That is beside the point.” When I said nothing, he stroked a hand over his beard, then stared at me. “And Prince Malik?”

Realms!“What about him?”

“He just happened to be in the garden as well?”

Leif might be surprised to know how often I actuallyhadrun into Malik in the gardens. “We ran into each other, and he felt obligated to escort me back to my room.” Again, not atotallie.

Leif regarded me for a moment, and I could have sworn I saw his eyes darken. In frustration? Annoyance? For the life of me,I couldn’t put a name to the emotion. “You have to be careful, Leida. He is a man—a Zehvitian man— and they . . . you can’t allow yourself to be taken in.”

“Taken in?”

---