Page 21 of This Witch Is Not Wicked

I supposed I didn’t have a choice. I couldn’t very well let the high prince’s brother die. I’d be exiled for certain.

I heaved a sigh and dove into the channel, cold water rushing around me as I searched for Nevan. Sun rays shone into the water, illuminating the murky depths. The water was clearer today, making it easier to locate the stupid man sinking toward the bottom, his arms and legs moving furiously.

I kicked my legs out behind me, swimming toward him and reaching for him. His eyes widened as he saw me, relief flooding his features. Bubbles escaped from his mouth, and I stopped, floating right in front of him, our eyes locked.

Fish darted around us, one grazing my cheek as it swam by. They reminded me of an overcast sky, my favorite kind of weather.

Nevan yelled something, more bubbles fleeing his mouth, and I jolted, remembering that I could stay underwater far longer than a mortal. I gripped his hands tighter, swimming and pulling him up with me while he kicked his legs frantically.

We broke the surface of the water, and I dragged Nevan onto the lily pad. We flopped onto our backs, chests heaving as we stared at the sky, Vine now gone. It had probably gone to catch some prey somewhere.

After I caught my breath, I turned my head to look at him. “You can’t swim?”

He coughed, chest still rising and falling with rapid breaths. “I never learned.”

“That seems like something one should learn,” I said, irritated by this entire situation. I was soaked, my boots waterlogged and possibly ruined, and the only cobbler in town happened to hate me, so my chances of getting new boots were slim.

Nevan’s lips twitched as he sat up and offered his hand to me. I grasped it, and he pulled me up to a seated position across from him.

“Why are you all the way out here?” he asked, grabbing his spectacles and putting them back on.

“I’m out here because there are humans rooting around my land.” I gestured out past the border, but the men were gone. Dammit. I’d wanted to confront them.

Nevan raised a brow. “Humans? You say that word like you’re not one.”

Shite. I needed to stop doing that. “Of course I am,” I snapped.

“So where are these ‘humans’?” I ignored his annoying use of quotations.

“They were here. Before you so rudely interrupted.”

He swiped his wet hair from his forehead. “You know Cillian wouldn’t like you being so close to our border. If anyone sees you . . .”

I waved away his words. “I know, I know. Then they could possibly discover the hidden city in the bog, and then the brotherhood might find you again⁠—”

“And we can’t move a second time.” The gentleness of his tone surprised me.

He was so different from Prince Cillian.

Every time the high prince spoke to me, it was with sarcasm and amusement, like I was some joke. But Nevan seemed so genuine.

His shirt was plastered to his body, see-through and revealing a toned chest covered with thick, dark curls.

He cleared his throat, and my cheeks heated, gaze snapping up. But his eyes were taking me in as well, which was when I realized I was still in my silk black robe from this morning. I’d never gotten dressed, and I was practically naked with the thin fabric molded to my skin.

My bare thighs and legs were splayed out in front of me, and the tie around my waist had come partly undone, revealing . . . a lot of cleavage.

I quickly closed the robe and cinched it tight, glaring at Nevan. “Is there a reason you’re here?”

He cleared his throat, the tips of his ears turning red as he reached for the bouquet of flowers behind him and shoved them toward me.

“These are for you.”

I stared at them, blinking. Nevan didn’t offer any further explanation, and I wasn’t sure I wanted one.

I tilted my head. Wait a minute. I wasn’t just looking at any random assortment of flowers. I was looking at my flowers. Various ones from my bog. Poisonous, deadly flowers that Nevan had collected.

For me.