Page 79 of Quest for her Knights
I look back at the lords, who still seem at a loss for words.
“How about choking?”
“Princess—” Evren begins, but I wave him off.
“It’s okay if you’re not into that, or if you don’t know yet. We could explore together.”
“I think the Princess needs a break,” Draven says, suddenly appearing in front of me. He reaches down, grabs my hand, and pulls me from the couch toward the door.
“Of course, you can use the guest suite,” one of the lords calls after us. “Follow the hall to the very end, the door on the right.”
An angry Ranger, Arrow, and Blaze follow close behind as Draven leads me away. I bite my lip nervously. As soon as we round the corner, Draven lets go of my hand and turns to face me.
“What—” I start to ask, but my words are cut off as he bends down and throws me over his shoulder. “Oomph!”
I don’t bother protesting as he storms down the hall. I crane my neck to glance back at the others. They still look furious, and none of them will look at me.
Did I take it too far? Well, I wanted a reaction. I just didn’t expect this one. I definitely didn’t think Draven would be the first to crack. He doesn’t even like me.
We enter a new room, and he sets me on my feet, steps back, crosses his arms, and frowns down at me.
“What?” I ask defensively, crossing my arms to match him.
“What the fuck was that?” He asks angrily.
“Did I do something wrong?” I ask as I feign ignorance. But it doesn’t fool him; his eyes narrow further as it all but growls at me.
“Are you kidding me right now, princess? Choking? Bondage? What on earth were you thinking?”
“I was just trying to flirt with them!” I yell, dropping my arms as my hands clench in anger.
“That was flirting?” Blaze asks as the other three join Draven in front of me. I take a step back, suddenly feeling too close to them.
“Yeah, so what?” I say in defence.
“You’ve never flirted like that before.”
“How would you know? When have you seen me flirt?” Except they see me flirt all the time, with them. But that’s different.That’s natural. When I’m actively trying to flirt, and have a few glasses of wine in me, I seem to be a little more direct.
Nobody says anything as they all stare at me, so I throw my arms up to the side in exasperation. “What? Am I in trouble or can I go back to my date?”
“That is not a date,” Arrow says.
“No?” I ask, half-seriously as I glance up at him.
He shakes his head. “No, a date is something special, not sitting in the parlor.”
“Your world is different from mine, I don’t know what constitutes a date here. Why are you all so upset, anyway? Are you jealous?” I ask, hoping to get an honest answer as I look at Ranger.
Please say yes.
“No,” Ranger says. “The point is, you can’t talk like that. The Princess of the North would never speak that way.”
“Well, I’m not her!” I yell, feeling hurt that not only does he not want me, but he’s comparing me to a murderer. “Nor do I want to be her. I hate this place, I wish I never came!” I yell, my emotions getting the best of me as I turn and run into the bedroom, slamming the door behind me before I dive onto the bed and bury my head under the pillows and let the tears fall.
Maybe I’m being a tad dramatic. Maybe it’s the wine. Either way, I feel angry, hurt and frustrated. They told me I have to pick lords to marry, and when I actually find some that might be tolerable, they get upset and drag me away.
The door creaks open, then closes again and a single pair of footsteps move closer before the bed dips behind me. A warm hand gently starts rubbing my back, but I refuse to move.
