Page 27 of The Princes of Stone and Steel

And that was when I saw them, peering out from the bough of a tree, through a tightly-packed gathering of leaves: two beady eyes. Small, rounded, black and shiny.

“There.” I used my chin instead of my finger to point out the eyes to Steele. I didn’t want the whatever-it-was to know I’d seen it.

No such luck. The eyes, only for a moment, widened in surprised that I’d not only picked him out from the trees, but I got the feeling at my choice of companion as well.

Then it flew at us.

A black crow with jagged claws flew at us. And though what I should’ve been thinking about was ducking from the trajectory of those sharp claws and beak, which looked able to rip through skin, all I could think was its angles looked wrong—in that it had them.

Birds should be smooth and streamlined. It hit me; this bird looked to be the crow equivalent of the Japanese origami cranes. Paper cranes folded with hard angles and sharp corners.

And it wasn’t headed for me, but for Steele. Straight for his face.

No.

No one would hurt my Steele.

I shot my hand out at the exact moment the bird should’ve made contact with the man behind me.

All I could continue to think was that no one wouldeverhurt my Steele, and the bird crumbled to ash through my fingers. Then it blew away on the wind.

“What the hell was that?” I screamed, and I began to shake violently. A delayed reaction. For whatever reason, the attack had left me shaken in a way I couldn’t explain because I’d never displayed those kinds of reflexes before. What had Steele said about the flesh having powers in this world? Did I display a power?

“We should get back.” He began to stand, never taking his arms from around me.

“No.” I held my ground.

The prince startled, as if he couldn’t believe I’d told him no.

“You dare saynoto me?” He actually had the audacity to use his His Royal Highness tone with me. Um, no. A scared prince didn’t give him a free pass to talk to me like a subject. Even if his scared happened to be on my behalf.

“Take it down a notch. You said out here I call the shots.”

The man poised himself to fight me, but then, out of left field, he let out a resigned breath. “I know, I was just hoping… Mils, I can’t tell you. You have to remember.”

“You can at least tell me about the crow and why he came after us.”

“Will you walk with me if I agree?”

I nodded.

Pulling me by the hand, Steele began to explain himself, and what a tale he told.

“Crows are the harbingers for the Papyrus. You killed it before it could report back to Shefdew, but we don’t know how many eyes are watching us.”

“And it’s not just your father who isn’t supposed to know we’re together, is it?”

“No, my love. I’m afraid not. I fear our relationship offends everyone.”

“But why? Don’t people fall in love here?” I asked, highly curious to know how he’d answer. I mean, I took for granted that people acted in typical people fashion no matter where you went, but I wasn’t in Michigan any longer. I’d crossed through a portal into an entirely different world. Maybe Steele was the odd man out around these parts for actually feeling what he felt for me.

“Of course, they do. But you aren’t from here, now are you?”

No. No, I certainly was not. Before I answered out loud, his mouth stretched out to that impish grin again and he tugged me closer so we stood flush against one another.

“Are you saying you’re in love with me, Millie?” he asked, and too late, I realized I’d walked right into that one. No one else needed to hang me when I was doing such a bang-up job hanging myself.

I felt my embarrassment light up my body with an uncomfortable heat as I stammered, “No… I, uh… well… We have a connection.” I finally managed to get out a continuous thought. What kind of loser girl professed her love on what equated to a second date? Maybe I loved him in the past. I’d give him that. But as all I remembered were feelings, i.e. nothing concrete, could I take that risk now?

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