Page 81 of Song of the Shadow Prince
“I’ve come to learn that a lot of the folk songs here in Elaria originate with them. It’s just a thought,” I said. “I can always ask Klau—my fae friend,” I said, recovering from almost saying Klaus. Garrick told me to keep his identity a secret, even from Damien.
He shook his head. “It’s fine. In all honesty, I don’t care where it comes from; the damage is done. All I can do now is shield myself from whatever is to come, and shield those who might get hurt as well.”
“Those? That sounds plural.” I knew about his uncle, but I couldn’t imagine anyone else getting involved in his shenanigans.
“There’syou.” He nudged me against the wall of the building, caging me in.
“Me?” I gasped. “What the hell doIhave to do with any of this?”
“Everything,” he whispered. “You haveeverythingto do with this.”
With a frown, I peered up at him and placed a palm on his chest, attempting to push him away, but he didn’t budge. “Look, I don’t know if your uncle informed you or not, but the emperor made it very clear to my so-called father that neither of his daughters was to have anything to do with you. You already know I’m not from here and I don’t want to do anything tojeopardize me getting back home. So that means I’m not going to rock the boat.”
He raised a brow, confusion etched on his handsome face. “Rock the boat?”
“I’m not going to stir up any trouble,” I clarified. “I’m just going to do as I’m told – within reason – until it’s time for me to go. Getting involved with you…” I trailed off.
His dark eyes glittered. “Getting involved with me,what?”
“It can’t go any further.” I waved between us. “Working together to figure out the vampire mess is all we can do. Whatever else you have going on, that’s your own personal problem. I’ll have no part in that. I just want to make myself perfectly clear.”
I sounded more serious than I had in my life, but I had to be because my life was on the line. It didn’t matter if I actually wanted more. This emperor was no joke. I mean, the first and only time I met him, he mentioned ripping out my tongue because I got a bit cheeky. And he said it with a smile on his face. It was obvious he was not one to be trifled with. Damien was cool and all, but not cool enough for me to risk my life.
I think.
Elaria wasn’t my home. I had to get back to where I belonged. He could solve his own issues.
Damien placed his hands against the wall on either side of my head. Leaning in, he whispered, “You’re already in it, Cat. Whether you like it or not. You’re in my mess and there’s no getting out unscathed. The minute that mark on your arm showed up, your fate was sealed.”
The mark on my arm? Does he mean the stupid tattoo I got the night before the accident? What the hell didthathave to do with anything?
I pulled up my sleeve and showed it to him. “Are you talking about this? Because this is just something I came up with atrandom. I remembered it from a dream and had my tattoo artist draw it for me.” I shrugged one shoulder. “It’s nothing special.”
“Tattoo artist?”
“Yeah…” I nodded like he was dumb. “The person who drew all these marks on my body.”
He frowned. “It didn’t just appear?”
I shook my head. “No, I had them made. It’s body art.”
“But this one,” he pointed to the tattoo he was obsessed with, “came to you in a dream?”
I shrugged. “Yeah. So what?”
“So why did you pick this spot to place the mark?” he asked, pushing for a specific answer.
“I don’t know,” I mumbled. “It was where I had the tattoo in my dream, so I got it done in the same spot.”
He smirked. “Exactly.”
“Exactly, what? Dude, I’m not following.” I tried to push him away from me, but he wouldn’t budge. “Move!”
“There are things you don’t know… things you wouldn’t understand,” he murmured. “I don’t have time to explain, and in all honesty, I don’t want to.”
I scoffed. “Are you serious right now?”
His expression switched from flirty to serious in a blink. “Just know that the mark on your arm needs to be hidden at all times. Don’t show it to anyone, much less anyone from the royal family.” He tipped my head up to look at him and tightly gripped my chin. He lowered his head and softly grazed my lips with his. I froze in place, unsure what the hell he planned on doing.
