The Heir's Bargain (Of Fire and Lies)

Chapter 13

After three pints of ale,I had lost count of how many I drank. Enough that my tongue was now as loose as ever. And maybe that was how I ended up spinning Sylvia around the tavern while avoiding the tables and patrons as best as possible in the crowded tavern.

The ale twirled in my stomach, filling my veins with a warm buzz. While ale was still not my drink of choice, my feet were lighter, and the rush of thoughts was almost nonexistent. It was a nice change of pace from the usual establishments I frequented.

”She”s a good one, you know.”

”Hmm?” I mumbled, leaning closer to Sylvia to hear over the band.

”Ferrios—she”s one of the good ones.”

”Do you mean to imply that I am not, Larpos?”

Sylvia narrowed their eyes at me. ”That remains to be determined.”

I spun Sylvia around, the narrowed gaze disappearing just as a grin appeared.

When they faced me again, they said, ”If you ask me, she can be cold and closed off at times, but she”s got a big heart.”

”Does she?”

Sylvia nodded. ”And she”s clearly smitten with you.”

”Oh?” Laughter threatened to spill from my lips.

Dani was definitely not smitten with me. If anything, she was annoyed that she had to pretend to be in a fake relationship with me tonight when she hadn”t expected to.

At least Dani was doing a good job selling it if Sylvia thought she was smitten.

”Oh, come on, now,” Sylvia said, slapping me lightly in the chest. ”That royal education had to teach you a thing or two.”

”It sure did. Ask me anything about Pontia”s history or give me an equation to solve, and I”ll answer it. No problem,” I said with a wide smile.

Sylvia snorted. ”Perhaps you are dafter than you let on. I see the way you look at each other as if you have a secret you”re hiding.”

The back of my neck prickled, and I almost missed a step, nearly tripping over my feet. I reached for the thread to Sylvia”s mind, but it was as wobbly as my feet and slipped through my grasp.

I should have considered the possible repercussions when I asked for another pint. But at this point, if anyone was questioning mine and Dani”s ruse, they wouldn”t even remember it come morning.

”You two think you”re so slick, but I see through your little smirks and side-eye glances. This courtship of yours started a long time ago, didn”t it?”

I laughed nervously. ”No, Larpos, it”s still very new.”

”Oh, fine. Don”t tell me. But if that”s the truth, I”m surprised. You two have been friends for so long. It was only a matter of time before you got together.”

I hummed as we let the music lead us after that.

Once the song slowed, I released Sylvia”s hand and folded a hand behind my back, bowing. ”It was a pleasure dancing with you, Sylvia.”

”Oh, please. Call me Sylv,” Sylvia said with a wink.

The groupof patrons had dwindled, and the drinks had since slowed. Outside, the streets had cleared, and only a few wanderers strolled beneath the stars. The rest of the village was already in their houses, tucked under blankets as the midnight sky draped its shadow across the kingdom.

The water I had been nursing had diminished the drunken fervor, but I could still feel the buzz heating my veins. Despite the instruments still thrumming and the boisterous laughter from the drunken group at the bar, my mind was quiet.

Or at least almost quiet.

I cleared my throat and tapped the table. ”I think I”m going to head out.”

”Are you sure?” Sylvia asked, their words slurring slightly.

”Unfortunately, yes. I have an early meeting with the advisors tomorrow. If I”m late, my mother might have my head at long last.”

”Esmeray would never do that,” Dani said with a huff.

”Perhaps. I mean, I am her favorite,” I joked.

Dani laughed, and the sound was so pure and light-hearted I couldn”t help but smile. ”Ha! Terin”s her favorite, and we all know it.”

I gasped, rubbing my chest with my palm as if her words struck me in the heart. ”Ouch, Dani. That hurt.”

”It”s true,” she said with an amused grin as she drained the last few droplets of water in her glass.

I wrapped my arm around Dani’s shoulder and tugged her toward me. ”I”m your favorite, though, right?” I teased, nuzzling her hair with my chin, knowing it would get a kick out of the others and simultaneously annoy Dani to no end.

Dani scoffed and shoved me away. ”Yeah, right. Terin”s always been my favorite, too.”

I arched a brow, tilting my head.

Dani rolled her eyes. ”But you”re a close second.” Dani tapped her chin. ”After Graeson, that is.”

”So, third?”

”Mhm.” Dani raised her mug to her lips, even though she had already emptied it of its contents.

”Will you two go somewhere else with those love-bird eyes already?”

I surveyed Dani. The nerves that had run through her leg, causing it to bounce earlier in the night, had since disappeared. She was relaxed, happy even. It was nice to see.

”Walk me out?” I asked after a moment passed. When Dani”s brows knitted together at my question, I added, ”Please?”

Dani chuckled. ”If the little prince needs someone to hold his elbow, very well. It would be my honor.”

She might have switched to water recently, but her cheeks were still rosy, the bottom of her ears red.

I stood and held out a hand. Dani, of course, ignored it and stumbled to her feet. She wobbled on her feet, the careful facade of the obedient soldier slipping as she leaned against me.

I wrapped an arm around Dani”s waist, tugging her closer and stabilizing her. Dani”s fingers dug into my arm, but I smiled harder and placed my chin on her head. The faint notes of cinnamon surrounded me, quickly becoming intoxicating.

”It was a pleasure getting to know you both,” I said, tipping my head to Sylvia and Moris.

”I mean, how could it not be?” Moris asked, still slurring his words despite drinking water instead of ale for the past half hour. ”We”re an absolute joy to be around.”

Sylvia snorted. ”What he said.”

”I”ll be right back,” Dani said as I led her away from the table.

”Or not!” Sylvia said to our backs.

I chuckled, and Dani”s nails bit into my arm even harder.

With Dani tucked against me, we weaved through the last of the drunken crowd. When we reached the door, I guided her in front of me and reached over her, pushing the door open. The crisp night air swept through Dani”s hair, sending a spiral of cinnamon my way as the air kissed my cheek. Dani walked outside.

However, once the doors closed behind us, she spun toward me, glaring, the moon”s rays slicing across her hazel eyes. She stumbled and pointed a finger at me. ”Cut the crap, Fynn.”

”Huh?”

Dani lifted her other hand—the hand I was still holding tightly within mine. ”It”s just you and me now.”

She tried to snatch it back, but I leaned toward her instead.

Her back hit the wall, her boots slipping slightly on the pavement as she caught herself. I pressed a hand on the spot above her head, the red brick coarse against my palm.

Her brown curls flatted against the brick. ”Fynn, what are you doing?”

”They”re still watching,” I mumbled, shifting to shield her from their view.

With the alcohol having worn off slightly, I could hear Sylvia and Moris” thoughts buzzing at the back of my mind. Dani might have done a decent job pretending inside the tavern, but the second we were outside, she had let go of the act. If our courtship were to work, we not only needed to convince our parents and friends that we were together, but we had to convince the entire kingdom as well. If one person thought we were faking—if one person didn”t believe this was real—the charade was over.

And I was beginning to enjoy it.

So, even though I knew invading her space would annoy her, I stepped closer. The temptation to push her buttons was too enticing to ignore.

Dani”s brows knitted together in the center of her forehead, deep creases marking her otherwise smooth, russet brown skin. Her hazel eyes bounced across my face, confusion sparkling within the gold flecks that swam among the forest of green. ”But they can”t?—”

”The window,” I interrupted with a small tip of my head.

She peered beyond my shoulder, and her shoulders sagged, the only sign that she saw what I already knew.

I leaned down, my lips almost brushing her ear. To everyone else, it would seem like I was whispering sweet nothings into her ear. But this was not some woman I was courting. This was Dani, and I needed to make up for her inability to read the room.

”So, Ferrios, whatever you”re about to yell at me about,” I whispered, ”you”re going to need to put on your best smitten smile while you do it.”

I pulled away as Dani cocked her head to the side, hip popped out. She tried to grimace, to push forth the annoyance brewing beneath her skin, but she failed to restrain the small, amused grin.

”My best smitten smile, huh?”

Chuckling, I shook my head. ”Something Sylvia said.”

”Ah, that explains it. Sylvia is always talking nonsense.” The smile faded from Dani”s lips too quickly, though. ”Fynn, why”d you need me to walk you out?”

”I wanted to talk to you.”

”About?”

She blinked at me, her brows still drawn together. I suddenly had the urge to smooth the wrinkles from her face, but I didn”t.

I shrugged. ”Nothing.”

Dani blinked. ”You wanted to talk to me about. . .nothing?”

I brushed my hair back, my other hand still resting on the wall. ”All right, not nothing exactly. I wanted to let you know that it seems to be working so far. Moris and Sylvia seem to be buying the act. Most of the villagers, too. But. . .” I hesitated.

Eyes squeezing shut, she rubbed her right temple with two fingers. ”Just say it.”

”Say what?”

”We”re going to have to kiss at some point, aren”t we?”

I cocked my head to the side and stared down at Dani. Nervous amusement rose in my throat, and without thinking, I chuckled.

Dani shoved me in the chest. ”Don”t laugh!”

”What?” I asked. ”I know it”s only logical, but we don”t have to if you don”t want to. Rule number three: only necessary touches.”

Dani shook her head. ”No. Like you said, we need to take this seriously. If there is even a sliver of doubt in my mother”s mind when we inevitably see her, she will dismantle this entire scheme in the blink of an eye.”

”I”ve always said that the Ferrios women are too smart for their own good.”

Dani rolled her eyes, and I grinned. But then my smile faltered when worry creased her forehead once again.

”It”s just kissing, Dani.”

”Right.” She nodded. ”We”re friends. It doesn”t mean anything.”

”Exactly.”

”You”re like a brother, after all.”

I nodded. ”And you”re like a sister to me.”

Dani continued, rambling on. ”There”s nothing to it, really. It”s the logical thing to do. It doesn”t?—”

Enough.

I grabbed Dani”s chin and tilted it up. Without thinking about it or debating the logic of it, I kissed her.

It wasn”t long.

It wasn”t explorative.

It was quick and straight to the point.

When I leaned away, Dani”s eyes were wide. ”Wh-what was that?”

”Might as well get it over with,” I said with a shrug.

Dani nodded. ”Right. Good idea.” She raised her hand to her lips, but I snatched her wrist, stopping her. ”What are you?—”

I peered down at her, arching a brow. ”They”re still watching, remember? Would you wipe your mouth if you had just kissed the man you were truly courting?”

”I mean, no, but?—”

”But nothing,” I said, weaving my fingers between hers and guiding her hand back down.

Silence thickened the air, awkward and unyielding, as her hand remained in my grip.

Perhaps kissing her had been a mistake.

After a long, quiet moment, Dani leaned forward, her voice barely above a whisper as she asked, ”Did they believe it?”

I reached out, finding the strands connecting to Moris and Sylvia”s minds. I chuckled as Sylvia”s thoughts filtered into my mind.

How cute.

Meanwhile, Moris” thoughts were less sweet and more set on some woman in the bar.

I quickly released that thread.

I nodded. ”However, let me tell you. Moris’ mind? It’s not a place I want to spend much time in.”

Dani chuckled, the previous tension breaking. ”Not surprising. Moris is a buffoon. A good soldier, but clueless at times,” Dani said, shifting on her feet. She glanced over my shoulder. ”Well, now that that”s over. . .”

I pushed myself off the wall and stepped back, brushing my fingers through my hair. ”Right. Well. . .same time next week?” I asked.

”Huh?”

”You come here every week after training, don”t you? At least that”s what Sylvia said.”

”Oh, right,” she said, nodding. ”Yeah, sure. Same time next week.”

”Great.”

”Great.”

For a moment, we stood there like that. Gazes locking and unlocking. Until Dani offered a quick nod before pushing herself off the wall and heading toward the door. A utility belt hung off her hip, and as I watched it dip as her hips swayed, I wondered how close I had been to being stabbed with one of the throwing knives strapped to it.

The door swung behind her, the bell atop the door ringing. I tracked her through the windows as she returned to the table. Sylvia smiled at Dani, slapping her playfully on the arm. When I tried to slip into Dani”s thoughts, her shields were still up and reinforced with steel.

Shaking my head, I stuffed my hands in my pockets and turned away, heading down the street toward the castle. Before I had entered the tavern that night, I had told the guards not to wait up. Now, I was thankful for the foresight because the light breeze was a blessing on my heated skin.

When I licked my lips, the taste of ale and something sweet lingered there.

The kiss had lasted barely more than a second, and yet my chest tightened as I recalled the warmth of my best friend”s lips on mine.