Playing with Fire ( Redemption Saga Story)

Chapter 5

I didn't know when I'd see Prince Raoul next, but I didn't expect to meet him in the Sanctuary in Hyland.

Yet, there he stands, in his human form, talking to a priest on the stone steps.

I blush without meaning to.

I can't do this.

I'm a proud woman, and it's stupid to give what little honor I have left to a monster like Prince Raoul.

Besides, to him I'm a peasant woman dressed in rags like the rest of them. He probably won't even remember me nor desire my company.

The Prince's head turns toward me as if the gods were guiding his way and he grins upon seeing me. He's a good-looking monster I suppose, his earrings glint in the candlelight of the Sanctuary and his black hair falls carelessly over his brow. The way he stands, so carefree and unashamed of what he is makes me almost jealous.

Despite his handsome appearance, I know what his true form is, and I shudder. How unnatural the Cursed are to look so human and yet fall far from humanity?

"Yana," the Prince says my name and I practically jump out of my skin.

He remembers me.

"What are you doing in the city? Are you here to find me?" the Prince asks, cocking his head, as if summing up his prey.

I almost forget to bow in his presence. "Your highness, I am only here for news on the wars."

"Ah," the Prince says with a nod, his grin vanishing. "And what did you expect to learn?"

"My father and brother are involved in the war, I only seek to learn if I shall see them again," I say, trying not to sound bitter.

"You are on a fool's errand. My father will see to it that this war shall not end soon," the Prince scoffs, he nods at the priest who bows to him and leaves us alone in the Sanctuary.

"Now you know my purpose, but what are you doing at the Sanctuary?" I ask him.

"You have the heart of a warrior, don't you?" the Prince says with a laugh. "First you take on a full-grown Stog who was probably triple your size, and now you accuse me of what I'm doing in a holy place of worship as if I haven't a right to be here just as much as you."

"That's not what I meant!" I blurt out quickly.

"So, you don't think that then?" He shakes his head at me with a knowing smile.

It's clear that the Prince is toying with me, seeing how interesting I am and whether I'm worth his time. I get the feeling that he likes my boldness and honest hatred of what the Cursed are doing here.

"What if I do? Maybe I believe since you're Cursed, you defile this holy Sanctuary with your presence. So, what are you going to do if that is what I believe, kill me for saying so?" I ask, tilting my chin up a little. "Or I could you give the kiss I promised and pay my debt."

"Is it possible it was more than a kiss you promised?" Prince Raoul asks, his voice dropping low, and his gaze takes over me licentiously.

The heat rushes to my face again. I can't let him disarm me with his vulgarity. "The Stog was the one who said it would be more. I only promised a kiss." I'm standing my ground.

Prince Raoul grins. "Pity. I think you would be fun to play with back at the castle in my room."

"And how many poor peasant girls' bodies do you have hidden in there?" I challenge him.

Prince Raoul chuckles and winks at me. "Too many to count."

Arlite, I'm so scared. I can't do this. I shouldn't consider giving myself to this monster in human form. What was I even thinking? I'm not a seductress. I'm more of the raise an axe first and ask questions later type of female.

"Yana," the Prince says, causing me to look up at him. "Are you afraid of me?"

"No," I say, "I'm annoyed."

"Good." Prince Raoul crooks a finger at me. "Come over here." 

I swallow back a knot in my throat, and I hold my breath as I walk to stand in front of him. He is in fact taller than me, but I'm short so it's not a surprise. I'm staring at his throat.

"Look at me," he says, his voice commanding my gaze.

My eyes meet his, his eyes are a dark blue-grey in color. Cold and deadly like a Hyland winter, although I expected them to be blood red like the eyes, I'd seen in his monster form.

"What's your story, Yana?" the Prince asks. "Do you have family besides those off to war?"

He wants to know if I'm alone. If I'm vulnerable.

"I have an uncle, he's a cripple so he cannot fight. I take care of him. He is a kind, righteous man," I add the last bit because I want the Prince to know I am from good people, even in this cruel world the Cursed have created.

"You have a kind uncle?" Prince Raoul raises an eyebrow and his eyes twinkle with mockery. "And now you take care of a little Stog sister you rescued?"

"That about sums it up," I tell him, my hands go behind my back and I cause my shawl to slip down my shoulders. I let myself be exposed to his view so he can decide whether or not I'm worthy of pursuit.

Despite my scandalous intentions, I know giving him everything at once will be the death of my plan, I must tease this cruel Prince to catch his attention.

What am I doing? Am I actually flirting with him now?

"Are you ready to give me that kiss then?" Prince Raoul asks, his head tilting downward at me. He notices my breasts and my narrow waist; he studies my white-blonde hair and round face and then his eyes rest on my lips.

I stop myself from trembling. I'm not prepared for this intensity, it's one thing to think about something, another to go through with it.

I lick my lips and tilt my head up. "You will consider my debt paid?" I ask him, my lips inches from his.

"I suppose," he answers, narrowing his eyes momentarily.

His hand rests at the back of my neck and I reach up so mine encircle his neck. His body is warm under my skin. Warmer than my own. I wonder if it has to do with the fire in his blood. His eyes ignite to a bright red and I'm perversely drawn in by them. When his lips touch mine, they are soft and move over mine gently. I kiss him lightly back.

There we stand in the Sanctuary, much to my shock, locked in a kiss that makes my pulse quicken. Raoul is a good kisser.

Better than Dorian had been.

Dorian, my love, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to think of you like that! How could I think about that? Your kisses were sacred to me as they are all we had.

This kiss is black-hearted like the world has become and it only feels good because there is nothing left to feel, but the bad. Like a cave leopard, I've adapted to this darkness as I will not let it swallow me up in death.

Prince Raoul is the one who withdraws from our kiss and his face is unreadable, yet his pupils in his red irises are dilated. "Such a pretty little mouth you have." He brushes his thumb over my bottom lip. "So soft. Is everything else about you as soft, Yana?"

My breath is returning to me. "Maybe," I murmur, and I smile at him impishly.

Prince Raoul regards me silently for a moment as if pondering something about me.

"I have a business proposal for you," the Prince finally says.

"And what would that be?" I ask him, I smooth a hand over my hair, not sure what he's going to say. It's as if I'm playing with a snake, a snake that has the power to strike and flood my body with noxious venom.

"I want you and I'll pay you to be my companion," the Prince says bluntly.

"What do you have to give me that would make me consider something as lurid as that?" I ask him, crossing my arms over my chest, and my gut twists, the arousal I'd felt over the kiss subsides to cold, unromantic reality.

"I'll bring your father and brother back from the war," he answers. "And if we're both agreeable to the arrangement after you spend the week with me, I'll pay you with coin."

Oh gods. This is actually happening.