Alori led Taelan through the corridor, calling a wisp of mageflame onto her palm while he flashed hesitant glances back and forth, as if a servant might manifest in the hall and signal the entire palace to their tryst.
"Don't worry," she whispered, falling back to him, her robe brushing against his coat. She smiled at him past the flame held aloft between their faces. "Even if my father found us, he wouldn't care."
"I don't know about that. I think he might."
Alori shook her head. "You weren't privy to the conversation I had with him earlier. Trust me, he wouldn't stop us."
"Stop us from what?" Taelan's tone was strangled, but a shy, playful hunger burned in his eyes.
She didn't answer. What might happen next was up in the air, and she didn't want to make jokes about it. But if the last time they were alone in her room was any indication, neither of them was content with taking things quite so slowly anymore.
They spilled out of the Amethyst wing, skidding on the waxed floor of the grand foyer. She grabbed Taelan's hand before they both fell, dragging him toward the stairs. "You know," he said, as they scrambled up the steps, "your white robe reminds me of the dress you were wearing the night I first saw you."
Alori stopped on the second to last stair, letting him catch up to her. "When I was made of starlight?"
"Yes." He was so close, she could taste the cinnamon on his breath. "You're not teasing me, are you?"
"No. I think it's sweet." She pulled his arm around her waist, her gaze heavy on his mouth.
"In that case." He kissed her slowly, indulgently, like she was the one who tasted of candied spice.
She didn't want to stop, but they were standing in the brightest lit area of the palace. "Come on, before I make a bad decision."
She tugged on his fingers, racing toward her apartments.
♪♫♪
The halls were silent. Taelan stood at Alori's back as she opened the door to her antechamber, an aura of nervous energy lingering about him. He hadn't stopped keeping a lookout, repetitively raking his hands through his hair.
When he stood speechless in the open doorway, she pulled him into her room by his coat sleeve.
The place was a mess. When she'd left her bed in shambles, she hadn't expected to be bringing anyone back for the night. She grimaced at the unkempt scene, then remembered that Taelan's room hadn't been tidy either.
Another sign they were made for each other?
"Did you have a pillow fight in here?" He hung back in the shadowy antechamber, his hands in his pockets.
"I couldn't sleep." Alori bent down to pick up a couple of the shams, tossing them onto the rocking chair, then padded across the rug to the fireplace.
The flames blazed to life with a flick of her wrist. The room was warm and didn't need a roaring fire, but she liked the effect.
Taelan sucked in a breath. "Impressive."
It wasn't really. Sealing the breach in Ville-Tokki had taken a thousand times more skill and precision, but she hadn't used a visibility spell then, so he hadn't seen the magnitude of her work. The only tangible magic she'd used around Taelan was mageflame, which explained his surprise. A five year old could create a single flame.
"Hang around me awhile, and I might impress you even more."
She laughed at herself, at the hackneyed sentiment that was so unlike her. If Taelan brought out her corny side, well, there were worse things.
YOU ARE READING
The Princess and the Bard (Royals of the Realms #1)
Romance*Beta version -- still editing* Crown Princess Alori must choose her consort before her coronation. As the Ville-Realms' most powerful mage, she alone possesses the ability to protect her people from the looming threat of demonkind... with the help...
