Page 58 of Fake Fae-Ancée

Yuri had just caught me, one massive arm snaked around my waist. Gasping, I hung in his grip, bent halfway backwards, teetering on the tip of my toes, clawing onto his bicep for support.

"You alright?" he breathed.

Damn, he was too close again, his eyes only inches from mine, pupils filled with syrupy darkness. My treacherous heart galloped off, faster than the field at the royal derby. Heat bled through his large hand in the small of my back, the scent of his cologne and soap seeping under my skin.

"Yeah…" I muttered, managing to get solid ground under my feet and writhing out of his hold. Heart thundering, I took a few quick steps back.

"It’s supposed to be a twirl, not a judo roll," I snapped.

Kalinin’s expression darkened.

"Well, I’m sorry."

"Yeah, you better be."

"Children, please." Yli-Pekkala’s sigh grated in my ears as she appeared next to us. "The ball is only a few weeks away. And you two look as happily engaged as two psychotic skunks in a fistfight."

I straightened my skirt — another hideous dress that would sink me like a stone should Nox get hold of me and throw me into another lake — and marched out.

I’ve had enough. I was a P.A.S.H.-agent, for fuck’s sake! I should be out there saving people, fighting back Breachers from Otherland and busting criminals. Not playing debutant ball with a conceited former prince and an old hag who knew everything better. I had really tried to play along — but how could I pull through with this and stay calm when all Kalinin did was breathe and I thought of strangling him?

Yeah, that was totally the only reason why I slammed the door behind me, a loud bang echoing through the penthouse. Not my pulse roaring in my ears or my heart kicking in my chest. And not that telltale heat coiling in my belly, sweat and treacherous and wrong.

* * *

Taggart’s peoplehad sealed off the sundeck. They feared Nox would just swoop down and pluck me from the roof like a ripe apple. Apparently, my boss didn’t have too much confidence in the snipers he had posted on the surrounding buildings.

But I needed to see the sky, or something else that wasn’t inside. So I went to the spa, which was really just another wide room with the outside walls entirely made of glass. An infuriating luxurious swimming pool filled the entire space. Seriously, even in exile a prince lived like a prince. Who did this douchebag think he was? Bruce fucking Wayne?

A path of artificial stones that looked like granite lily pads led across the pool and to the west front of the windows. I hopped across the pads as best as I could manage in the flared dress and sat down on the last one right in front of the window, curling into a ball. The turquoise water of the pool surrounded me, gurgling softly.

The twilight was bathing the evening sky over New Hamburg in flaming red colors. Planes rose from the distant airport like blinking pearls on a string. The city sprawled at my feet with the mirroring skyscrapers of banks and offices, all concrete muscle and as homely as a root canal.

God, I missed home! I missed Gabe and his cleaning frenzies. I missed watching Mexican soap operas with Charly and gasping indignantly at every plot twist. I missed Pasta Night. And Lily and Claudio must have returned from their honeymoon by now…

Groaning, I rested my chin on my knees, looking at my reflection wobbling in the water. If I had to keep away to protect them from Nox, it was worth it, wasn’t it? I supposed it would soon start feeling this way.

Any day now.

"I am not convinced."

"Aaaaaah!!"

My scream echoed across the pool and I almost fell into the lukewarm water. On the stone pad next to me sat the Witch Yli-Pekkala. She sat crosslegged, smoking her pipe. She looked like she’d been there for some time already.

"Never do that again," I brought out.

The Witch chuckled. "You didn’t strike me as someone who runs from a challenge."

"I’m not," I said, staring straight ahead to the skyscrapers glistening in the evening sun. "Not usually, anyway…"

She frowned. "This is serious,devushka. I am not convinced by your performance. And neither will the Bears at the ball be."

I snorted. The entire plan sounded more and more like a crackpot idea. Prophecies... What a bunch of crap.

"I’m trying."

The Witch puffed out smoke.

---