What’s next was the library, it turned out. It was literally wall to wall, ceiling to floor books. When we walked in my mouth dropped open, and Cordy and Asher both looked pleased with themselves.
“You like it?” Cordy asked.
“Wow,” tipping my head back, I tried to take it all in, “it’s like…beauty and the beast style. Wow…this is fantastic.”
“Way less stuffy than beauty and the beast,” Asher said, “you can run around or yell in here, no one cares.”
It was less stuffy then the usual library. There were sagging brown arm chairs here and there, in clusters around tables. Several of the jotun sat reading by the fire, and some of them had coffee mugs with them, one was even drinking what looked like a glass of wine. Not worried about staining the carpets, I guess. No one really paid much attention to us as we wandered around, finally find a seat at one of the empty tables.
“Anyways,” Asher picked up the conversation where we’d left off, “safe to say, I’m not marrying the princess. I think I’d run away if someone tried to make me.”
“Princess? She’s a princess?” Again, the idea of Kloe in a puffy dress and tiara was utterly ridiculous. More like a leather jacket and brass knuckles.
“Not exactly,” Asher tipped his chair back and placed his boots on the table, “I just call her that, mainly because she hates it.”
“She’s some third cousin a billion times removed,” Cordy said, “and she’s still got royal blood in her. So technically she’d be engaged to Asher…” he gave her a black look and she added hastily, “…if it were the old days.”
We all jumped when someone shot out from behind a nearby bookcase, “you think the advisors will let you off so easy?”
It was Kloe, and we all fell silent, staring at her in dismay. How long had she been hiding behind the bookshelf? Had she heard our entire conversation?
“Where you spying on us?” Asher’s voice was incredulous, “you know that’s a bit mentally unstable, right?”
“You just don’t get it, do you?” Kloe looked smug, placing her hands on her hips, “you’re nothing without me. Do you seriously think the people are going to let themselves be ruled by a king with no power?” She laughed, and a few people nearby looked up from their books. When they saw it was Kloe most of them rolled their eyes and went back to reading.
“Don’t you have something else to do?” Asher’s voice was low and his entire body was tense. It was obvious that it took everything in him not to explode at her, “are you that bored, that you need to trail after me?”
Kloe crossed her arms, eyes coming to rest on me, glittering with malice, “you think they’re going to let you marry some half breed? You can have your fun with her, date her for a little bit even, but don’t think anything more will come of it. You’ll need a strong queen, one who actually has royal blood, and power,” she placed her palms on the table and leaned closer to him, voice dropping to a hiss, “You think your dad would have been allowed to marry a half breed if he’d been powerless?”
Asher slammed one fist onto the table top, making Kloe jump. This time everyone was looking at us, “GET. OUT.” He gritted the words through his teeth.
Kloe straightened up, obviously trying to pretend she hadn’t been startled by his outburst, “suit yourself. But you might want to start being nicer to your future wife,” she glanced over at me before turning to leave, “and you…keep your hands to yourself.”
My mouth dropped open, and I could only watch her leave in silence. Words seemed to have left me completely. What in the hell had that been about?
YOU ARE READING
Fire
Fantasy**Completed**Can smoldering resentment and attraction exist at the same time? Jess Parker has made a number of mistakes. The first was burning her school to the ground. The second, getting caught by the handsome, yet maddening boy who calls himself...
