Chapter 24 The Perfect Pairing
The Perfect Pairing
Asterious
Asterious let out a quiet laugh, shaking his head. “I truly didn’t expect Frasya to take to you,” he admitted. “She’s… selective.”
Caramyn arched a brow.
“She’s always had a mind of her own,” he went on, clearly amused. “Doesn’t suffer fools. Won’t tolerate mediocrity. She certainly makes you earn her trust.” He glanced at the mare fondly. “She once nearly took my head off with a back hoof just to make a point.”
“A perfectly acceptable statement,” Caramyn snipped. “I’m sure you deserved it.”
“I probably did,” Asterious shrugged. “Which is why the more I think about it, the more perfect of a pairing it seems. A fiery mare who speaks her mind and refuses to settle for less…of course she’d choose you.”
He pretended not to see the tender smirk that slid across Caramyn’s face as she turned to stroke the horse’s forehead.
She looked so lovely here in the golden haze of morning, her loose braid coming undone so that her hair tumbled over her shoulders—where those faded scars from the claw marks that made his blood simmer if he focused on them too long.
So instead, he focused on her. He'd not been able to get the vision of her unclothed out of his head since that day, and it was enough to drive him to madness now seeing her in this dress that was almost ethereal against her smooth, flushed skin.
Her radiance would've drawn any living creature to her right then. For a moment he wondered what it might feel like to have her lips against his, to tangle his fingers in those beautiful brown tresses—but he knew better. This wasn’t supposed to be part of the plan. Just get her not to hate him.
He'd hoped Misthelm might have cracked open the part of her she kept so fiercely guarded, or at least forced her to see what was truly at stake. Instead, she only deepened the mystery, giving him no sense of whether it had changed her, or simply taught her to hide herself better.
“Let's make a deal,” Asterious began, still letting his gaze softly travel over her as he fought back more unholy thoughts about her. “Let’s get you some breakfast, and then we shall start your first riding lesson today. If you still can't stand me afterwards, then I promise to never speak to you again. You can have Terrin teach you all you want, and I’ll never interrupt your time here again.”
“Today?” Caramyn tried to maintain her indifference, but Asterious could plainly hear the excitement in her voice.
“Why wait?” Asterious shrugged. “You want to learn horsemanship? There’s no one better to learn from than a Blackwynd prince.”
Caramyn only responded with an eye roll, but he also saw the faint smirk she was trying to keep him from seeing. She crossed her arms, pretending to consider, until she finally offered an outstretched hand. “Deal.”
He placed his hand in hers for a firm shake, and he could’ve sworn she almost laughed. “I'll get the horse’s ready. That should give you plenty of time to change into something more suited for riding.”
“Perhaps there is hope for you yet, Prince.” She pulled her hand from his and stared at him with a gaze that could pierce a man’s heart through those amethyst eyes like veiled depths, guarding secrets she would not name.
She turned to go, a flicker of that half-smile still teasing him with its elusive ambiguity.
And as he watched her leave, that lovely dress flowing behind her as she crossed the meadow, he flexed his fingers, fighting the trace of warmth her touch had left behind.