Gaius eyed the plate of meat. “I’m not—”
I kicked his shin, then took the plate of inca on his behalf. “Gaius told me he was impressed by your patience with him,” I told the cook.
“Was he?” the cook said, beaming.
“Yes, he was raving about you, in fact.”
Gaius shot me a beady glare, but didn’t correct me.
“Actually,” I continued, “he was about to say ‘thank you.’”
The cook looked up at the short-haired brute, his eyes shining with eagerness.
When Gaius didn’t respond, I added, “He’s shy. He says thank you.”
Gaius groaned. “I’ve had enough.” He made his way toward the exit.
“He really means to say that he’s had enough of your great service,” I explained to the cook. “Don’t let appearances fool you.”
“Well, you’re welcome, Your Highness,” the cook said. “I’ll get the ingor to you as soon as I can. I hope you enjoy your meal.”
Gaius left the kitchen, not regarding the cook and me. He left me behind with his abandoned food. Juggling with the extra dish was making it hard for me to pick at mine. Since he wasn’t going to have it anyway, I set down the inca meat. “Have this ready for him when he comes back,” I said to the cook. “He might be hungry later. He’s got an upset stomach now. You shouldn’t take it personally.”
“No problem at all, my lady.”
I chased after Gaius, balancing my dinner in my hand. I spotted him down the corridor and picked up speed. I kicked into a light jog to keep up with his strides. I really shouldn’t be running and chewing at the same time.
“See how that cook brightened up?” I asked Gaius. “Now he’ll do whatever he can to make sure you get your food in time.”
Gaius growled. “Are you always this annoying? I could have gotten my food on time anyway, and I didn’t have to fake being nice.” I probably should have been more afraid of a growling hidrae prince, but it surprised me to notice I wasn’t.
“You should learn how to be nice. That’s how you get people to like you.”
“Obvious much? I’m not a child. You don’t have to spell out the entire alphabet to me.”
“We all need some reminders now and then. Friends are important.” It had taken me a long time to learn that. When I first arrived at the council, I was trying to adjust to the notion of having to open up, and that nobody saw me as the latrine girl anymore. And then I met Frederick, and the bubbly man changed my world for the better. I hadn’t realized how terribly cold my world had been in Aere Grove until I got close to someone else, and I never wanted to go back to that darkness.
Gaius was walking so quickly that I was struggling to catch up, and I almost spilled my food on the ground.
And then Gaius tripped. Again. He caught himself before he fell. He shot me a glance, then continued, as if what just happened didn’t. “I have Rylan and Kael.”
“And Micah,” I added, stifling a laugh. Weren’t hidraes supposed to be graceful? He hadn’t shown any of his clumsiness in the arena, but in here, within a domestic space, his clumsiness was all over the place, and it was hilarious.
Gaius flicked his gaze to the ground. “Micah and I aren’t close.”
“Why not?”
“It’s none of your concern.”
“Let me guess. Because you walled him off, due to his heritage?”
“Mind your own business.” He sneered. “How many times must I repeat that?”
“You make it really difficult to, with your strutting around like you own the place.” Wait. He actually did. “Just because some girl who was of lower status broke your heart, doesn’t mean the rest of us—”
Gaius took my free hand and pressed me against the wall. Suddenly his body was on mine and he tightened his jaw. “Who told you?” My plate clattered onto the ground, and my dinner spilled.
“Gaius, it hurts.” His grip over my wrist was too strong. My hands were gloved, so I didn’t feel the warmth the strange bond between us gave, but he was so close I could feel his heat and smell the earthy scent from his skin.
“Who told you?” he asked again.
“One of your brothers,” I said. I needed him to let go. My stomach tightened, both with trepidation and wanting. Gaius was just as handsome as his brothers, and if looks could kill, I probably would have already dropped dead. Twice over.
He loosened his grip on my wrist. “Which one?”
“I won’t say.” I didn’t want to worsen the relationship between him and Micah.
“I have my past, you have yours—”
“And you’ve already dug mine out, haven’t you? You’ve been shoving it in my face.”
He let out a guttural sound and backed off. “Get out of my way. I’ve wanted you gone since Rylan took an interest in you.”
“I didn’t want to be hanging out with you guys, either.”
He spun around and strode off. A cool breeze replaced his heat, and I let my body slacken.
I didn’t chase after Gaius after he left this time. I didn’t want to stir any more trouble. I looked down on the ground, glancing at my spilled dinner, and bit my inner cheek.
Bending down, I gathered the wasted food onto the plate, which, luckily, hadn’t smashed. I had to explain to the cook about myself being clumsy and request another meal. The few bites of potatoes I ate hadn’t calmed my appetite.
I watched Gaius as he strode away. Those eyes… they were filled with hurt. Even fear. Gaius didn’t want to open himself up to the world, and others rejected him for it. In a way, I felt sorry for him, but not enough to care more. He’d been nothing but mean to me.
Eleven
I didn’t have the time to juggle all my work. I often worked overtime, and frequently, late into the night. With the nursery visit and the incident with Gaius, on top of the work I’d piled up yesterday from helping Rylan, it didn’t seem like I’d be able to finish.
I sat on my bed—it really was better to work on a desk, but I had my bad habits, too. It was nice to think the crown prince shared the same bad habits I did. I was flipping to the next page when someone knocked on my door. It was a sharp sound that jolted me out of my flow.
I strode toward the door and pulled it open. Rylan waited for me in the doorway. “Am I bothering you?” He looked behind me, catching the pile of papers I had on my bedsheets. “It’s late. You’re still working?”
“I’m trying to catch up,” I said.
He stepped into the room, walking past me. I hadn’t even given him permission, but didn’t raise the fact that he’d barged in. He ambled up to my desk and picked up a quill. “Let’s get to it, then.” He grabbed one of my sheets of paper and read through it. “You’re working on a report on soul magic that quickly?”
“What are you doing?” I asked, hoping I didn’t sound too insolent.
“I promised I’d help, didn’t I?”
“I didn’t think you actually would.”
He slumped onto my bed, leaning on the headboard, and tucked a hand behind his head. He looked absolutely regal and casual at the same time, which made me unable to reel my mind back to my work. Perhaps it was better if the prince weren’t around, because his presence did more harm to my state of concentration than good.
“I think I spotted an error,” Rylan said, adjusting himself so he was comfortable on my bed. “Here, you say that soul magic is harvested by the spells ‘es lea misreagou’ and ‘kisla misreagou.’ It’s actually ‘es rea,’ which means to bring forth. It’s a rather basic error. It’s ancient dragon tongue. Things would make more sense to you if you knew the language.”
“And you do?”
“Us princes are trained to know our roots.”
“Apologies for my mistake, then. The magical arts are completely foreign to me.”
“You’re tired, too.” He glanced up at me. “Why are you standing over there? Come here.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. Still having second thoughts
, I did as Rylan ordered. Rylan commanded himself with a confidence that made it difficult to defy him. Even his brothers, who were all strong-headed, listened to his words.
I climbed onto my bed, making sure I kept a proper distance from him. Rylan was treating me as if I were family, which jarred me. Even Mother and Bianca hadn’t treated me this closely. Being this close to someone didn’t come easily to me. It took a long while for me to open up to Frederick, and even though I was all smiles and nice words with many of my colleagues, I would never allow them into my private life.
I wouldn’t have allowed the princes either, but they were forcing themselves in without much warning.
Rylan pulled me closer. I wasn’t wearing my gloves, so the spark of warmth occurred between us. I let it hum through me, embracing it. Rylan didn’t say anything, instead taking another sheet of paper from the bed and helping me through my reports, as if the two of us being this close was perfectly natural.
“About last night,” he said, after a bout of silence. “I fell asleep.”
I dared not look at him, because the proximity and his scent of ash and smoke made me too giddy. “That’s all right.”
“No, I mean, I fell asleep. I’m supposed to be plagued with insomnia. And your presence… it solved that.”
“Coincidence, perhaps?” I said, trying to deflect. I glued my eyes to the words on my page, even though whatever I read flew past my mind.
“I don’t think that’s it. There’s something special about you, Sera. I haven’t seen Micah open up to anyone in a long while. You’ve got us brothers chasing our tails.”
“Gaius hates me.”
“He doesn’t.” Micah had mentioned something about Gaius liking me, but with the way he was acting, I simply couldn’t wrap my thoughts around that.
We’d spent another ten minutes in silence, accompanied by only the scratching of quills on paper, when Kael said from the doorway, “Rylan, have you been trying to get an edge on us?” He strode into the room the same way his brother had, without an invitation. He plonked himself on the bed, which was starting to feel too small, even though it was larger than all the other beds I’d ever had.
“What are you two looking at?” Kael asked. He had messed up my sheets of paper.
“Hey,” I said. “If you’re not going to help, don’t try and make trouble.”
Kael chuckled. He leaned on my lap and hovered a report over his face. Did these princes know nothing about personal space? “This one’s about dirt? You’re reading about dirt?”
“Soil conditions are key to plant growth,” I said, snatching the report from his hands. “Kael, you’re lying on my work. Don’t crumple anything up.”
I thought this situation would bother me more, but I was beginning to take their presence in my stride. I liked having them so close.
It was then that Micah came in. “What’s going on here?” he asked, barging in without my welcome, just as Rylan and Kael had.
“Rylan decided to get a leg up on us again,” Kael said. “The sneaky ass.”
“Is he?” Micah said, bemusement lighting his eyes.
I replied, “I’m trying to study, and these two—Kael especially—aren’t helping.”
“Let me see,” Micah said, walking over. He, too, climbed onto my bed and, surprisingly, managed to find some space for himself. “I could solve some of these equations you have here.” He took my quill from me. “There. Done.” He handed me my work.
Everything was getting disorganized. These three were too much for me to handle. I needed to re-sort everything by putting all the documents back on my desk.
“Here’s another one,” Rylan said, passing the problem to Micah. “With Micah around, you won’t need an abacus.”
“Thanks,” Micah said. “As if that’s all I’m useful for.”
The two brothers took over seamlessly. I was left dumbfounded. Then, after more silence, Kael interrupted, probably because he was bored out of his mind, “What if Sera’s really our mate?”
“Instead of nonsensical hypotheses,” Rylan said, “you could help.”
“I’m only good with things relating to combat.” Kael sat up, which was a relief to me because my lap was going numb. “I’d love to try, really, but looking at these things literally hurts my brain.” He kissed me on my cheek. “Sorry, Sera.” My breath hitched in my throat.
Micah growled. “Hey, no cheating.”
“I’m not cheating.”
“That’s it, now I need a kiss too.” Micah leaned in.
I jolted from my bed and to my floor. I did not need to start getting touchy-feely with three men on a bed. My thoughts ran wild. Things could easily turn for the worse… or better.
I still couldn’t decide how I’d take it, but things were moving too quickly.
That was when Gaius stepped in. He leaned on the doorframe. “Fools. What are you guys doing?”
“Helping,” Kael said.
“I think you guys have done enough help for today,” I replied, meaning it. Rylan and Micah worked fast, and they’d gone through at least twenty pages during the short time they were here. Kael, however, not so much.
“I don’t understand why you three are pining over her,” Gaius said. His eyes raked over me. “She’s nothing special.”
“She’s a gem,” Kael said.
“You’re the one who’s reacting the most to her,” Micah added.
Gaius narrowed his eyes. “Shut it, Micah. I don’t need a bastard telling me what I feel.”
The room stilled. I could almost hear crickets chirping from outside. Guilt flickered over Gaius’s face, and if I hadn’t stared at him, I would have missed it.
Micah shrank back. His face stiffened, and the smile he’d been wearing when interacting with me, Kael, and Rylan had disappeared.
Gaius pushed himself from his leaning position. “I’m going to bed.”
“I think you should apologize,” I said.
He’d already turned away and was walking off. He wasn’t showing a hint of remorse. Hitting on Micah’s past was a low blow, and it made me want to punch Gaius right back. I probably should have minded my own business, as Gaius had asked me to countless times, but I just couldn’t let it slip past me.
How could someone be this mean? I went after him.
“Sera,” Rylan said. “Leave him.”
I ignored Rylan and padded down the corridor, going after the short-haired prince. “Gaius? Gaius, wait.”
“I’m running out of patience with you,” Gaius said, spinning around.
“What have I done, exactly?”
“Strutted in here, tearing things apart. My brothers and I shared a close bond, and I didn’t need an extra someone coming in and ripping it away.”
“Okay, first of all, I wasn’t the one who started all of this. Your brothers were the ones who decided on this silly challenge, and second, you’re the one shutting yourself off from everything and everyone. Was it me who decided to throw insults at Micah? No. It was you.”
Gaius stiffened, his jaw tight. “You don’t know anything.”
“It’s plainly obvious to me.” I gestured in exasperation. “I understand. You were hurt in your younger years. You probably were a pretty nice guy back then, but then that woman betrayed your trust, and you’ve decided to shield yourself. But it doesn’t have to be this way. People will warm up to you if you give them the same treatment you want to receive. If you apologize to Micah now, it’s not too late to patch things up.”
“I’m not going to do that.”
“Well, suit yourself. But don’t blame me for the consequences of you treating everyone as if they’re worth nothing.” My parents used to do that all the time. They weren’t perfect. Far from it. And they’d shift the blame on everyone else—me, especially, although I guessed I deserved it. I didn’t expect one of the royal princes to be just as childish.
“I hope you trip on something and die,” Gaius said.
“Seems more likely you�
�d do that.” I rested my hands on my hips and spun around.
He grunted. He had asked for that retort. Should have thought about his words more before spitting the first terrible insult he could manage.
“Good night, Gaius.” I waved, walking away. “Sweet dreams.”
“And none to you.”
I heard the thumping of his feet on the carpeted ground as he left. I was hoping to hear him tripping again, and this time I wished he fell on his face and broke his teeth or something, but nothing of the sort came.
I re-entered my room, still seeing the three brothers there. My cheeks heated. “You guys aren’t leaving?”
Rylan was already on his feet. “I was afraid Gaius might have done something.”
“Other than shooting more death glares?” I smiled. “I’m fine.”
I glanced at the inkwell that was almost spilling over on my bed. One wrong move by Kael and we would need to call the maids in. I gathered my documents and shifted them to the desk. “I appreciate your help, but maybe it’s better to do it somewhere more conducive?”
Kael seemed to understand where my suggestion was coming from. He wore a sly smirk. “I think I prefer it here.”
But his brothers obliged with my request, and they dragged seats toward my desk—one from the balcony, and a couch from the side of the room.
“Are you all right?” I asked Micah.
He shrugged. “Yeah.” He was hiding his pain behind his eyes. I didn’t pry.
“You both really don’t have to do this,” I said.
Rylan grinned. He tucked my hair behind my ear—did he know that he kept doing that unconsciously? “I’m just returning the favor.”
“And we’re here to make sure Rylan doesn’t win,” Kael said from the bed.
Rylan rolled his eyes. “I’m not part of the stupid game.”
We worked for a couple more hours, but without Kael’s help. He soon fell asleep on my bed.
My encounters with Gaius had made me unable to catch any sleep. The bed tried to lull me into it with its comfortable mattress, but my eyes refused to respond. The prick simply infuriated me so much. Gaius, with his handsome, punchable face and horrendous personality, wouldn’t stop plaguing my mind.
Bane of Dragons (Sera's Curse Book 1) Page 12