The Heir's Bargain (Of Fire and Lies)

Prologue

”You”re a real sadist,Ferrios, you know that?”

I slowed down and peered over my shoulder, my eyes locking on the boys trailing behind me as we sprinted through the fields of lavender.

Fynn smirked as he and Graeson matched pace, Terin trailing only a few steps behind. As Fynn ran into the wind, his chestnut brown hair was pushed back, revealing a sun-kissed forehead speckled with sweat. Golden brown eyes sparkled in the sun, lit with mischief and delight.

Amusement twisted the right corner of my mouth as I looked from the prince to his twin to Graeson. Their faces were flushed pink with annoyance and exhaustion. Yet, all the same, they bore wide, unfettered smiles that mirrored mine.

Behind my three best friends, the lilacs crawling up the castle walls were a purple stain upon the gray stone, and the guards were mere specks. In our wake, patches of lavender were flattened from our careless footsteps as we traipsed through the fields.

”If you boys can”t keep up, that”s your fault!” Before I turned around, I added with a wide grin, ”And that”s Sergeant Ferrios to you!”

Then I was off, my arms pumping faster. The cool spring breeze swept across the lavender and brushed across my cheeks as I bounded forward. My head tipped back as laughter poured from my throat, the sun spilling onto my face and warming my skin.

Sergeant might not have been as prestigious a title as major or general, but it was my first real promotion. Unlike my previous position as team leader, which didn”t require a rank change, the rank of sergeant gave me my first sparkling metal to pin on my uniform.

When my battalion’s major pinned the new insignia on my lapel, I ignored the pointed stares and skittering murmurs. Unlike Fynn, I didn”t need to read my comrades” minds to know what they thought of my promotion. It should have taken two years to reach sergeant, but I had achieved it in one, and I was damn proud of that.

Even if my ears rang as the whispers swam through the crowd.

Perhaps that was why I had opted to celebrate with my best friends rather than my squad. And perhaps it was because the four of us—Terin, Graeson, Fynn, and myself—had seen each other less and less these days. With our growing responsibilities, there was less time to run through the castle halls or the fields like we used to as children. But right now, for one moment, we could all ignore the responsibilities of our kingdom, our positions within it, and the whispers that spread like wildfire.

”Ha! If we”re suddenly using titles,” Fynn called after me, stirring me from my thoughts, ”please address me as Your Highness.”

”In your dreams, Fynneares!” I shouted.

”Terin can arrange for that, can”t you, Ter?”

Heat flushed my cheeks. If only Fynn knew what consumed my dreams these days.

”Don”t bring me into this!” Terin coughed out.

”Only a couple of hours as sergeant, yet it”s already gotten to her head,” Graeson said, his eye roll almost audible in his tone.

I looked back over my shoulder and imagined throwing daggers at him.

Graeson—as if he knew what I was thinking—cocked a brow as if daring me to try. His ragged black hair shifted as he ran, revealing the jagged scar that ran across the left side of his face.

Scoffing, I rolled my eyes and ran faster.

The top of the hill was quickly approaching, and I could taste the freedom waiting on the other side. My fingers flew over the polished silver buttons of my freshly pressed cotton blouse.

”Can you imagine how she”ll act when she gets promoted to captain?” Fynn asked, his voice cutting through the wind. ”She”ll be absolutely vexing.”

I huffed, spinning around on my heel as I jogged backward and up the hill. My shirt hung open, flapping in the air and revealing the black training bodice beneath it. ”Captain? Try general.”

Before they could respond, I turned around and flew down the hill, their boots pounding the ground behind me. I tugged at the silk ribbon holding my hair and let the wind run through the tight curls.

This was what I had needed, what I had been missing for the past few months after being knee-deep in training.

Freedom, carelessness, reprieve.

At the bottom of the hill, I ripped off the laces and tossed the worn leather shoes that had finally stopped giving me blisters. I unbuttoned my trousers, a smile spreading across my face as I took in the sight before me. Brilliant marigolds and rich violet geraniums surrounded half of the lake. On the closest side, a small dock extended from the shore, its boards worn and bleached by the sun. Small ripples broke up the otherwise smooth surface.

As I stepped out of my trousers, Fynn slid down the hill. He dragged his heels in the wet grass, spraying mud across my bare feet as he stopped in front of me.

My hands froze as his gaze met mine and then dipped down to my legs while I stood in nothing but my undergarments and the unbuttoned shirt.

Indifference soaked Fynn”s face as he quickly returned his gaze to mine. Chuckling, he wiped his forehead with the back of his hand.

”Aren”t we too old for this?” Terin asked as he joined the rest of us. ”The spring equinox only just passed. The water is going to be freezing.”

Fynn and Graeson looked out toward the water and then back at each other as if they, too, were questioning this choice.

I propped a hand on my hip and turned my attention to Fynn. ”What say you, Fynn? Is the water too cold for the prestigious prince of Pontia?”

Fynn scoffed. ”Don”t get too cocky just yet, Sergeant Ferrios.”

My gaze scanned over him, assessing him. ”Is that a challenge?”

”Your Highness,” Fynn corrected.

I waved a hand in the air. ”No need for such formalities. Sergeant is perfectly fine,” I said with a wink.

His lips parted. But before he could respond, I ran straight for the water, sparing only a single glance back.

With quick precision, Fynn unbuttoned his white cotton shirt.

I snapped my attention forward, my breathing quickening.

With each step, I reinforced the mental shields I had spent the past decade perfecting. Fynn might have been one of my closest friends, but even friends kept secrets from each other. And some things were better left unsaid.

The thin layer of ice from the winter had melted a few weeks ago, yet the cold water nipped at my toes as I bounded into the lake. Water splashed up my calves, sending shivers up my body and cooling the unwelcome heat that seared my cheeks as Fynn”s shirt fell to the ground with a soft thud behind me.

Feet pounded against the wet sand, but I didn”t look back. I didn”t give him the chance to catch up to me.

I was faster than him. I always had been.

When the water hit my waist, I inhaled, then dove. The frigid tendrils of water rolled over my body as I swam beneath the waves. The deeper I swam, the warmer the water became, enveloping me as I tried to wash the flush from the silly childhood crush coloring my cheeks.

But before the cool kiss of the water could wipe it away completely, a hand wrapped around my ankle and tugged. I tried to shake it off, but as if I was a fish caught in a net, I was forced to succumb to its pull.

I tried to swim away, but instead of swimming, I flailed. I was dragged up and out of the water.

But not for long.

Before I could escape from his grasp, Fynn threw me further into the lake. When I hit the bottom, I pushed off with my feet and swam up to the surface. I spun around to face him, daggers flashing in my gaze.

Fynn simply smiled, the gold flecks in his chocolate brown irises dancing in the sunlight.

The invisible daggers dulled as my heart thundered in my chest. Because, by the gods, Fynn was beautiful beneath the spring sun. Strands of hair stuck to his sun-kissed forehead, now soaked and dripping. He pushed them back, his fingers digging into his hair, his biceps flexing. Water droplets ran from his cheek, down his neck, and over his bare, bronzed chest. Down, down?—

A rush of water smacked me in my face. I screeched, rubbing the water and the previous daze from my eyes.

”You”re going to pay for that!” I shouted before jumping and grabbing onto his shoulders. Using my weight, I tried to force Fynn under the water, but he resisted with that godsforsaken smirk nudging at the left corner of his mouth.

The bottom of my core hummed, and my brows twisted together.

For years, I begged for this crush to go away. For years, I reminded myself that we would only be best friends—two people who cared deeply about each other and would do anything for the other. But we would never be more than friends.

For years, I kept the truth buried within the safety of my mind, tucked away so far back even he would not be able to reach it.

Would it have been so wild if I had told him the truth, though?

I blinked, my eyelashes brushing the tops of my cheeks. My lips parted?—

”Fynnie!” a bright, feminine voice shouted somewhere behind me.

His smile faltered, and then I was flying through the air.

My vision blurred as I was submerged underwater.

When I resurfaced a few seconds later, Fynn was already heading back to the shore.

His latest girlfriend waited at the edge of the lake, her features twisting in disgust as she looked at the pile of wrinkled clothes on the ground. Rosalina Florentine was the daughter of one of the most prominent and wealthiest families in Pontia. Her mother was close friends with the queen—or at least Rosalina liked to say she was.

Rosalina tugged her shawl tighter around her shoulders as Fynn reached the shore. She wore a silky yellow dress that made her warm brown skin appear golden in the sunlight. Her mousy brown hair was brushed back into a tight bun, and her lips were stained red.

After surveying the four of us, Rosalina scoffed, her eyes rolling back before she returned her attention to Fynn.

”What are you all doing?” Rosalina asked, her sharp brows drawing together.

”Just having some fun, Rosie,” Fynn said.

”Fun?” Rosalina asked, her delicate fingers digging into her hip.

Unlike the four of us, the blood of the gods did not run through Rosalina’s veins, rendering her giftless. But who needed an ability—or any worthwhile talent or personality—when one had money and beguiling charm? She was wealthy, daft, and gorgeous.

And I absolutely despised her.

”Yeah, Rosie, fun,” Graeson said as he and Terin swam over to me. ”You should try it sometime.”

I tried and failed to swallow my laugh, the noise coming out as a muffled snort.

Rosalina”s attention snapped to me, and I arched a brow.

While Rosalina might have been the picturesque choice for a prince, she was also a snob who never toed the line.It didn”t matter if she was wealthy. It didn’t even matter that she had no ability remotely on par with Fynn”s.She was completely and utterly wrong for Fynn.

Yet, when Fynn got out of the water, he reached for her.

I glanced away, but my attention returned to the couple when a shriek sounded.

Rosalina shoved Fynn. ”Fynn! You”re wet!”

I snickered and mumbled, ”Only way to be if you ask me.”

Beside me, Terin and Graeson burst into laughter as Rosalina turned into a ripe tomato, her jaw dropping.

Shaking his head, Fynn picked up his clothes from the floor. But as the wind blew his hair away from his face, his lips twitched. He quickly erased the amusement from his countenance as he straightened and looked at Rosalina. ”Don”t listen to the guys. They”re only messing around.”

Like a stone in water, my heart sank straight to the bottom of the lake.

Had I honestly expected anything different from Fynn, though?

Fynn shook his head. Water droplets flew from his hair, causing Rosalina to shriek yet again.

”Could you be more careless?” Rosalina asked, stumbling back several steps as she patted her dress with a look of horror splayed across her face. ”This is silk!”

Fynn scratched the back of his neck. ”Oh, sorry.”

Rosalina groaned as she wiped a hand down the length of her dress. ”Can we please go now? We”re meeting my parents for dinner, remember?”

Without another word, Rosalina turned and strutted away.

Fynn pushed the fallen strands of hair away from his eyes and nodded. Turning to us, he offered a quick wave and an apologetic smile before jogging to catch up with Rosalina.

When he reached her, Fynn tried to put his hand on her back, but she swatted it away, mumbling something unintelligible.

Unwelcome regret rose in my stomach and up my throat. I swallowed it as Fynn”s wet handprint faded from Rosalina”s silk dress.

It didn”t matter if I had liked Fynn since we were little kids who chased after one another through the castle halls. The two of us were never meant to be anything more than what we already were. It didn”t matter that my breathing quickened in his presence or that my heart quaked in my chest or that my fingers buzzed with a nervous energy every time he looked at me.

None of that mattered when our fates were clearly misaligned.

So, I dove and swam to the bottom of the lake, letting the cold kiss of the water freeze the thoughts and drown them.