Page 62 of Heartbreak Prince

“They’re still following us,” the prince warns.

“Fuck. We can’t land anywhere until they’ve given up.”

“They won’t give up,” says the carpet. “Not as long as they can see, smell, or hear you.”

“Can they climb?” I ask. “What about the top of a tree?”

“Suppose he drops us into the middle of a spidermaw web?” Vawn says.

“Do you have any better ideas?”

Severin lurches, and Vawn nearly flies off. I grab him, pulling his body against mine and renewing my grip on one of the carpet handles.

“Down,” groans Severin. “Need to land.”

“Not yet, please.” I cast a frantic look over the carpet’s edge. Between the patches of ivy, the ground is covered with furry, scampering bodies.

“Up there! The river,” Vawn exclaims. “There are some large rocks in the middle. Drop us on one of them.”

Severin is flying so low that several of the wimmets start jumping, trying to leap onto the carpet with us. Vawn is muttering something—a prayer to the fates, maybe.

I’ve never been one to follow the old faith. Magic and strength are my religion. But if there was any time to pray for good fortune, it’s right now.

The carpet crashes onto a large boulder in the center of the river. The water splits around the rock, white froth churning at the stony edges.

While Vawn rolls up the carpet and replaces him safely in his case, I watch the riverbank. The wimmets cluster there, chirping sadly, calling to us with their tiny voices. They sound so pitiful, like we’ve broken their tiny hearts by daring to survive. A couple of them leap into the water, but they sink instantly, too heavy to swim.

Exhausted in body and mind, I lie back on the slanted, sun-warm surface of the boulder. Vawn drapes himself beside me and pulls out his water flask. After taking a swig, he hands it to me, and I drink gratefully.

“We should have taken the trade road through Crowfang Pass,” I say.

“We would have been caught.”

“I know.”

Vawn caps the water flask and puts it away. “I’m sorry you have to go through all this for me. Maybe I should turn myself in.”

I prop myself on my elbows and glare at him. “After I’ve gone through all this trouble to keep you alive and free? If you ever attempt to give yourself up, I will kill you, I swear.”

He scoffs, smirking. “You’d defeat your own purpose.”

“To teach you a lesson, yes.”

“You’re insane, you know that?” His tone is indulgent, even affectionate. A delicious warmth spreads over my body, flickering more intensely between my thighs. I imagine him leaning over me as I lie on this rock, with the sun in his hair and his lips on mine.

So of course, I turn my face away and say something prosaic. “We should have some food and then keep going.”

“I could eat.” He makes the words sound deliciously suggestive. I can hear the smile in his voice.

Ignoring him, I sit up and poke through my satchel, selecting a packet of dried fruit. It got wet during our dip in the lake, but it hasn’t turned moldy yet, and it smells fine.

“You still despise me, don’t you?” Vawn murmurs. “You’re going to pretend you don’t understand what I just said.”

“I’m going to ignore your ridiculous flirting.” I dribble a few raisins onto my tongue and chew them. Not my favorite, but they’ll have to do. “I don’t understand the kind of man who thinks about eating a woman out right after nearly being devoured by wimmets.”

“I get this rush after we live through something.” He laughs breathlessly. “It’s like fire in my blood, and it makes me lustful, I suppose. Greedy for life, for pleasure… for everything.”

When he explains it like that, I understand him. Maybe a little too deeply.