The kiss between Kael and me was laughably short. His lips had barely grazed mine before his brothers pulled him away. It was almost as if it hadn’t happened at all. Kael had whined and complained, which only put a big grin on my face. He had to live with just that kiss, because I was biding my time trying to decide who would win the bet.

It probably made more sense to give it to Micah. I would like to see Kael try working for a month with Rylan, but would that be too evil?

I’d just finished dinner and was walking back to my room. I wanted to talk to Gaius after dinner and ask him how he felt. But he’d skipped it, avoiding us. I shouldn’t have been such a busybody, but recalling the way he’d left kept niggling and me.

I made a mental note to go look for him after I’d finished work. I hadn’t even had the chance to. When I opened my door, I saw him standing outside my room, leaning against the wall. My feet slowed down.

He heard me coming and lifted his head to look at me.

“I’ve been waiting for you,” he said.

“Why?”

“Come with me.” Without asking, he strode up to me and hooked a hand around my sleeved arm.

“Gaius, where are you taking me?”

He didn’t respond. He led me into my room and out onto the balcony. Abruptly, he cradled me in his arms, and I balked. “What in the world, Gaius? Wait!”

He summoned his wings and lifted himself off the ground. I bit my inner cheek, wondering what in Constanria was going on. Maybe Kael was right. Perhaps Gaius had hit his head really hard on something and lost it.

“Can I have an explanation? Please?” I asked, wrapping my arms around the back of his neck even though I didn’t want to. I was afraid I might fall. Gaius didn’t carry me with the same tenderness his brothers had. His grip was a bit too rough and hesitant, and I felt like I might slip and splatter on the ground.

“I’m taking you somewhere,” he replied.

“Where?”

“Someplace that means a lot to me.”

“I’m going to need more specifics.”

He looked at me with a tight-jawed expression. Then his expression slackened, and he actually smiled.

What in Aereala’s—

“You do feel nice to carry. My brothers weren’t lying.”

“Are you sick? Dying?” I asked. “You’re scaring me. Perhaps you need to get checked by the healers.”

He snorted a laugh, then batted his wings more quickly. The location he was bringing me to was far away, and ten minutes later, in this awkward position with Gaius, we still hadn’t reached it. He’d traveled out of the palace, to the mountains around the city, and wound his way past some rocky outcrops.

Cool air greeted us, completely unlike the stale heat of the city. I took off my gloves, resting them on my stomach, and reached out, letting the winds slip past my fingers. I could see the farmlands of the Mishram Plains in the far distance, and an intricate network of rivers and tributaries winding across the landscape.

The sun hadn’t set yet, and rays of it escaped through the evening’s orange clouds. The sights were breathtaking, and I was too awed to speak.

We landed on top a mountain. A pavilion stood out from its rocky ground, looming over the landscape.

“This is the place?” I asked Gaius.

He nodded. He hadn’t walked up to the pavilion, as I’d expected him to, but to the edge of the cliff. He sat next to it and swung his legs over the edge.

“Sit down,” he said, patting the grassy patch beside him.

“Are you going to push me off when I do?” I asked, arching a brow. “Is this your grand scheme?”

He smirked. “Maybe.”

“I’ll stand over here.”

“Suit yourself.”

“Where is this place?” I asked. I peered out into the distance, looking over Raynea. The large palace, a network of pristine white buildings and domes, stood tall, protruding from the smaller buildings of the city. I could see the network of streams running through it.

“It’s been decades since I’ve been here,” Gaius said. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.”

“Josephine thought so, too. This was her favorite place.”

“The girl who left you?”

“Us.” He leaned back, resting on his weight on his hands. “She left all of us.”

He’d confirmed my suspicions. “You—all of you—shared her?”

“We did. But I loved her most of all. Micah was charmed by her, and saw her more as a friend. Kael just wanted another plaything, and Rylan entertained the idea.”

“But you?”

“She’d said so many sweet things to me. She was like… like the air I breathed. I was willing to give up the world for her. Then I found out she was trying to get close to us under her father’s instruction, for the power and fame. But she wasn’t that kind of person, and she chose her heart in the end. I didn’t belong in there. Maybe that’s why I liked her in the first place, because deep down, she’s a genuine person. Like you.”

I thought about the lies and manipulations I used to try and get to where I was today. “Not really. I’m nothing close to genuine.”

“If you’d been deceitful, you wouldn’t have said that. You wouldn’t have tried to convince me to change my ways. It was probably a lot of trouble.”

“I just wanted to tell you that you were an asshole.”

He laughed. “Guess so.” He pulled himself to his feet, nearing me. “I’ve been thinking about what you said. About my closing myself up.” He’d let his bangs grow a tad bit too long, and a strand fell between his eyes onto the bridge of his nose, between his blue eyes, which were now digging into me.

“And?”

“You’re right. It’s time I let Josephine, and the prejudices that came along with her, go. I’ve been making myself lonely for too long.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re starting to see the truth of the matter. Now, you didn’t have to bring me all the way here to tell me that. Let’s get back, because—”

He grabbed both my hands and brought them to his chest. “Because you have a lot of work to do.”

“Yes.”

“Forgive me, Sera? For saying the things I did?”

I really shouldn’t. He’d been trying to stir drama, giving me a thousand and one reasons to yell at him. But he was looking at me with his handsome face and strong-jawed features with a sincerity that could make most girls, and maybe guys like Frederick, disintegrate into a puddle.

So I got mad. As an attempt at self-defense. It was the only way my heart could protect itself from my silly female hormones.

“You think you could fix this all with pretty scenery?” It truly was gorgeous. “That I could let go of all the things you said just because you’re smiling at me with that… that face… and those dimples… and your—” I stopped myself before I listed too many good traits. “And I shouldn’t be the one you’re apologizing to. If you want to say sorry, do it to Micah. You’ve been punishing him for what Josephine did all these years. He’s your brother.”

“I know.”

Once I started, I couldn’t stop. “Do you? Because I can’t see why you had to throw those insults at him in the first place. I got so mad at you at dinner the other day. We were just having fun, and you had to go and kill—”

He stopped my rant with a kiss. On the cheek. It wasn’t as intense as the ones Kael or Micah had given me, but it was enough to send my insides pulsing out of control, and the warmth slammed the words out of me.

He picked up a strand of my hair and brought it to his lips. “I’m sorry. For all those things. Forgive me?”

When he looked at me like that, my body stilled. I was about to say yes, because who could say no to that face? Then Gaius continued, “I know it shouldn’t be this easy. But I brought you here because it means something to me. It was the place we spent the most time with Josephine, and also where she left us. And I want to start anew. With you.”

“What are you trying to get at, Gaius?”

“I’ve liked you since I first laid eyes on you.”

“So you made me torture that poor maid.” I did inquire about her. She’d recovered well, and was back to her duties. Rylan had given her a year’s bonus for the trouble.

He scowled, and for a second, the old Gaius came back. “I’m apologizing, okay?”

“Okay.” I shrugged.

He pulled his expression together. “What I’m trying to say, Sera, is be mine.”

“Your brothers are all ahead of you.”

He laughed. “That’s true.” He stepped forward, then pulled me back up into his arms. “I probably shouldn’t have been that stubborn, then.”

The sun was almost done setting, and was now just a red dot in the horizon. A purple gradient stretched across the sky, painting it.

“We should get back,” he said, taking off with me in his arms. “It’s getting late.”

“Yep,” I said, trying to show a hard exterior. I attempted to act as if what Gaius had just said didn’t get to me, and that he stood no chance. But he did, because when a man broke down his barriers, and confessed like that, against the most romantic backdrop of a grand city and the setting sun, who could resist?

I would never admit it, but at this moment, Gaius had a leg up on his brothers.

I still thought he was a huge asshole, however.

He flew me back to the princes’ quarters in silence and let me down. I quickly pried myself away from him, unable to take the heat.

Micah spotted us from the entrance. He was chewing on something—gum? Gum was a new phenomenon. And he had his head stuck in a book while walking forward. I supposed he didn’t have to care about hurting his eyesight because he was a hidrae.

He peered up. “What did I miss?” His eyes flashed yellow.

“Gaius had—”

Gaius threw his arms around Micah and pulled him into a tight hug. “I love you, baby brother.”

Micah was stunned. He shot me a wide-eyed look and slowly lifted both hands, patting Gaius on the back. “Uh… all… right?”

Gaius let go of Micah, grinning. “Have a good night’s rest.” He walked away, his steps a light skip.

Micah stilled and drew his brows together. “Okay, now really, explain to me what happened.”

“He hit himself hard on the head,” I said, stealing Kael’s excuse. It was probably easier than trying to explain the whole thing.

* * *

“None of them are diseased,” I said. “Fisslire nuts originated in desert regions. They’re supposed to be resistant to the droughts.”

We were back in the palace’s nursery, but this time without the company of the princes.

“And yet they’re still dying,” Frederick said. “Maybe it’s not about the high summers.”

“Nonsense. We just lack knowledge.”

I scribbled the last notes of our findings into my notebook and peered at my teammates. “I want reports on all these tomorrow morning. Please don’t be late. We’ll need all the information we can get to get to the bottom of this. You may go.”

“Yes, Sera,” they said in unison. Their eyes lit up at their dismissal, showing their eagerness to end the workday.

I strolled out of the palace’s nursery and said my goodbyes with Frederick. Apparently his parents were visiting today, with all his favorite desserts, and he couldn’t wait to get home. I wasn’t sure whether he was more excited about visiting family or getting more food. I gave him the benefit of the doubt and decided on his family.

My feet scraped on the dirt ground. Gaius was sitting on a bench outside the nursery, weaving magic from his soul beads. A reddish glow from the magic lit his face with a light tinge. He flicked the magic with his index finger, and it sizzled onto the ground when he spotted me. My mouth was slightly agape from the spectacle.

“Why are you here?” I asked.

“To pick you up.”

“Rylan usually does that.”

“I’m ahead of him.”

“I’d prefer him.” Because I could be certain I liked Rylan. I wasn’t sure at all about Gaius. His face was starting to seem less punchable and more kissable by the minute, but that wasn’t supposed to happen, and the change in my emotions were making me second-guess my sanity.

“Too bad, then, because I’m stealing you away.” He took my gloved hand in his and dragged me along. But, in typical Gaius fashion, he didn’t watch where was going, and bumped into a maid. She let out a yelp and stumbled backward, before landing on her bum. He glanced at her, quirking a brow.

Yep, he was still an ass. Normal people would have apologized immediately.

“Sorry!” I said on his behalf.

He offered his hand. The maid peered up, her lower lip quivering. It was the same maid he’d made me torture the first time we met. She looked wary as she picked herself to her feet, not caring to accept Gaius’s offer for help. She rubbed her bum, which probably hurt from falling so abruptly. “Your Highness,” she greeted him.

“Uh… I can’t remember your name,” Gaius said.

“Tiana,” I replied on her behalf.

“Sorry about that, Tiana. I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

She circled her hands around the same spot I had touched her. “My apologies… about getting in your way, my prince,” she responded, not daring to look up. “If you would excuse me, I must be going.” She curtsied, then quickly scampered in the other direction.

“Wait,” Gaius said. “There’s something else.” He scratched the back of his neck.

She whipped her head around. “I really do have to be going…” Her gaze dropped down to my gloves then back to my face.

Gaius started, “I wanted to apo—” What was his sudden change of attitude?

“If you intend to hurt me again, Your Highness, be warned that I have contacts, and that you should think twice.”

He tilted his head back. “Is that a threat?”

“Yes, yes it is. Lady Cadriel here shouldn’t even be in this palace, and should my mouth slip…”

Gaius narrowed his eyes. “You dare have the audacity—”

“I must be going, Your Highness. If you would excuse me.” She picked up the hem of her dress and scuttled off.

I wasn’t sure what to think of the exchange, but I knew that fear had trickled into my thoughts. Would she really do that? Expose me? Should I be worried? She could have had made an empty threat, but I already sensed danger flashing through my mind.

“You’re paling,” Gaius said, turning to me. He dragged a hand over my forehead. “Are you sick?”

“It’s the heat,” I replied. “That maid… you were going to apologize to her.”

“I wanted to. Until she dared speak so brazenly. I guess lowborn are”—he caught my glare—“are wonderful people, just like nobles can be. Hardworking and smart and every bit as deserving of respect as people like me.”

I lifted a brow before walking forward. “People like you? And what are you, exactly?”

“Handsome, intelligent, adept at most things that people find impressive, and—”

“Cocky.”

He smiled. “That too. Why are you walking away?”

“I’m going back to the council, so Rylan can pick me up.”

“It’s a long way.”

“I can manage. It’s good to be on your feet every so often.”

“Why be on your feet when you can ride with wings?”

I pointed at my back. “In case you haven’t noticed, I don’t have any.”

“My wings, I mean.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m still not sure how to feel about you, Gaius.” But he was so handsome. And I was starting to find him sweet. Gods blast me. Why couldn’t he go back to being the ass he had been just a couple days ago? That would make things so much easier.

“Absolutely enraptured? Entranced? Mind blown?”

How about confused? “Turned off, maybe.”

He grabbed my hand and spun me around. In a split second, I found my behind against the wall of the corridor we were strolling down.

“You can’t mean that,” he said. His face was only an inch away from mine, and his earthy scent was all over me, making my head spin.

My mouth watered. My mind fogged. His body was pressing on me. I blinked hard. “I completely do.”

“Turned off? Even when I do this?” The tip of his thumb ran down from my earlobe, across my jaw, then to my lips. His heat prickled through my skin as he tipped my chin up. Until his lips were so close to mine that I could feel his breath.

Then he smirked, crinkling up the corners of his eyes. Gaius was mocking me, and that made me redden. “You want me, Sera love. I can sense it from the way you’re reacting. You just won’t admit it.”

“Yeah, maybe I do.” Wait, what? I had to take that back, but he had heard my admission.

He leaned in for a kiss, so I did the most sensible thing I could think of: I stomped on his foot. That only make him draw back slightly and cock his head in amusement. “You’re lying to yourself.”

“So what?”

“It’s only a matter of time until you cave in.”

“There’s Rylan, Kael, and Micah.”

His eyes flickered yellow. “We can tolerate sharing. It wouldn’t be the first time.”

I licked my lower lip out of nervousness. That only seemed to stir something in Gaius. “You can get off me now. Rylan’s probably waiting—”

As if on cue, Rylan’s voice came from my peripheral. “Sera? Gaius, what are you doing here? You’re making a scene.”

Gaius pried himself away from me. I looked around and saw that some scholars were staring, but not many. Drats. I quickly took a few steps away from the prince, rubbing my gloves as I did.

“I was looking for you at the council,” Rylan said. “Tindyll told me you’d be here. Gaius, I thought you hated Sera?”

Gaius shrugged. “Changed my mind. And you know I didn’t.”

“More competition?”

“All’s fair in love.”

I padded over to Rylan. He quirked a wicked grin and took me into his arms. “You’ve gotta catch up. You can’t expect to get to the same level with Sera, not with you being a stubborn ass for so long.”

Gaius sighed, though only in jest. “You have us all beat. Is he your favorite, Sera? Is that why he gets so much time?”

“Maybe.” I couldn’t decide. They were all equal levels of amazing, and I couldn’t decide who I adored more.

Rylan’s smile grew wider. “I’ll take that as a yes.” He pressed his lips on my temple, seemingly not caring that he was causing a scene.

Gaius muttered something as Rylan flew me away, and I felt my heart dance a little.