Page 33 of Curse of Thorns
Rev
My whole body is stiffand aching as I wake. The sun is only just peeking in through the window, and something beside me shifts.
I blink rapidly and pull away as I realize Caelynn is in my bed.
Holy shit.
I playback the events from last night and run my fingers through my hair. God, I’m an idiot. I seriously lost my shit. And she was there, holding me up. Holding me together.
Caelynn lies beside me, face as serene as I’ve ever seen her, her chest falling and rising in a calm rhythm. I watch her for a moment. Then, I pull a strand of blond hair from over her angelic face and tuck it behind her ear gently. I allow myself that one moment of delusion.
I let myself feel that desperate hope for what should have been but will never be.
Then, I sit back against the headboard and rub my face rigorously.Back to reality, Rev.
Fuck.Reality sucks. What the hell do I do now? I tried to enter the Schorchedlands and failed—again.
I’m a failure. An absolute complete failure. Everything my father ever said about me was right.
I tried to convince the gates to let me through three times yesterday. And when it continued to refuse me, I lost it there, I scratched at the bright green vines. I tried to climb the outside of the wall, resulting in cuts and scrapes all over my body.
The wall wouldn’t let me in.
You don’t belong.
I don’t belong anywhere. I’m not a real prince, so that throne doesn’t belong to me. My mate is a banished criminal who killed my brother. And now, the one quest I’ve been given doesn’t want me either.
I’m as lost as I’ve ever been.
Caelynn stirs quietly, her body twisting and squirming as she wakes. Her eyes find mine and she smiles. “Morning,” she says, with a surprised blink.
I let out a bitter snort but find amusement in watching her realize where she is. I take a deep breath and let it out slowly, staring up at the stone ceiling.
“Breakfast?” she asks without meeting my eye, and I can’t help but smile. She’s not going to comment on last night at all, is she? Why does it make me care for her even more? I press my eyes closed for one moment and then open them and allow a smile.
I climb out of bed but notice out of the corner of my eye how Caelynn’s eyes linger on my chest. I resist the urge to point it out.
Nope. Our desire for one another is predictably intense, but it’s just the magic inside us trying to pull us together. Well, it’s mostly the magic.
“Breakfast,” I say, reminding myself what I’m supposed to be contemplating. “Yes. But not in the hall. Not today.”
Caelynn sits up and stretches, her shirt rides up enough to expose a sliver of skin. I avert my eyes quickly.
