Page 34 of Hunted

“It means no one can tell me what to do.”

“And nobody is there to help you when you are in trouble. No one is there to feed you when you are hungry. No one is there to comfort you when you are sad, alone, and scared. The woman I found lost in the woods that night was free. Is that what you really wanted?”

“Well, no, but—”

“—what you wanted was the freedom to make your own choices, while still having the support of your family, your palace, and your riches. Life doesn’t work that way, Amara. Every single action we take has a consequence, and in the real,freeworld, consequences mean something.”

“Why don’t you tell me how you really feel about royalty?”

“I just did. I had no interest being in that competition, being around those Lordlings, or in marrying you.”

Anger.Angerwas in my chest, now; burrowed in there like some vicious little animal. “Who said anything about marrying me?” I asked.

“I kept trying to lose the competition. I did not even once exert an ounce more effort than I needed to in order to avoid injury, but those other idiots were so weak, I would’ve inevitably won, and we would have been forced to marry each other.”

I took a step toward him. “I would never have married you,” I hissed.

Valerian took a step toward me. “I would have killed any Fae who dared make me marry you,” he snarled.

“I would like to have seen you try. I know of at least ten warriors who would have brought you to your knees without breaking a sweat.”

“I bet you would like to see me on my knees,” he growled.

Anger.

Heat.

A whirlwind of emotion bubbled up inside me. I grabbed his face with my hands and pulled him toward me. Valerian’s hands plunged into my hair as our mouths met, our lips locking instantly. I was furious with him. My hands moved around to the back of his neck, fingernails scraping along his skin. Valerian’s lips parted, his tongue coming in search of mine. I found it with my own, and our tongues danced.

More heat.

Desire rushed up inside of me.

I wanted him closer, I wanted to taste him, sink my teeth into his skin. I wasn’t sure what was happening to me. I had never felt anything like this before, these urges, this cocktail of emotions brought along by anger. Valerian pressed my body to his, and for a moment I found myself entirely lost in what was happening. Lost in the smell of his skin, of his hair, lost in the feel of our passionate, deep kiss.

It was the sudden urge to go way further than this that snapped me back into my own head.

I broke the kiss and stepped away from him, the back of my hand flying up to my mouth but stopping short of wiping away what had just happened. I stared at him, and he stared at me, breathless, lost in the moment, entirely confused.

“I have to go,” I said, and I turned around and—for the second time since we had been here—I fled Valerian’s small cupboard bedroom.

I couldn’t leave the house.

I couldn’t go too far away from him.

But I had to go somewhere. Whatever had just passed between us had been powerful, and terrifying. It had felt deep, and meaningful, like something that was much larger than I was, and maybe even he was. Part of me had wanted to dive entirely into it, but the other part of me had prevailed, and I had come away from the ledge.

I went as far away from him as I could, and this time, I was the one who locked myself away.

CHAPTERTWELVE

Afew days had passed, and I didn’t want to talk about it. I didn’t want to think about the kiss Valerian and I had shared. I didn’t want to consider the emotions I had felt afterwards, or during, or before. I hadn’t cared to consider the way I felt now, days later; let alone how Valerian was feeling about it.

In this small house my grandmothers owned, there was nowhere for me to run. I could hide in my bedroom, and I did for the most part. Luckily, Valerian also spent most of his time in his cupboard of a bedroom, meditating, sleeping, sometimes physically training.

I could hear him sometimes, grunting as he worked to make sure he wouldn’t lose any of his speed, any of his power. I had also heard him on occasion talking to my grandmothers. Sometimes, he would speak to Pepper while she was in the kitchen, or Evie while she watched television in the evenings.

He had never seen a television before. In fairness, I barely knew my way around them or even the idea of a television. But for him, watching a movie was like magic. He seemed to really enjoy them. I didn’t see the point, nor the appeal. The thought of having to sit down and watch other people act—no thanks.