Page 79 of This Prince Is Not Charming

CHAPTER 35

Ceri

“Oh my godwitches.” We were trapped. It had finally happened.

I was going to be part of one of those horror stories about Castle disappearing people, told at community gatherings as a warning to others to always be cautious inside the Fairwitch castle.

Cillian grabbed hold of me, hands on my hips as he drew me into his chest. “It’s okay. I’ve got you.”

“Is Castle punishing us? Maybe it doesn’t want us together.”

“I don’t give a fuck what Castle wants,” he said.

I’d never heard him sound so fierce and resolute before, and the situation felt a little less dire hearing those words, the reminder that we were together now. “Someone is feisty,” I teased.

“Well, I just had my head between your thighs and was interrupted. So forgive me if I’m feeling a bit feisty.”

“Do you really think we’re being punished?”

Sconces came to life around us, fire blazing from them and setting our surroundings in a dim glow.

Cillian crouched, tracing something with his finger. “I don’t think so. Look.” He pointed to another arrowhead.

“I knew it!” I said. “I knew this was something. Not just a piece of history, but a clue.”

He stood. “Do you always have to be so insufferable when you’re right?”

I bopped him on the nose. “Yes, now come along.”

“Now that I truly have you alone. I’d rather continue what we started.”

I pressed a finger into his chest, keeping him at arm’s length. “If someone else wins the trial, you’ll be spending tonight with them. So your choices are a cat who hates you, a betrothed woman who hates you, and Marsten, who doesn’t hate you but will probably talk your ear off all night.” I hooked my finger into his waistband, amazed at how natural this all felt. I’d always wondered if crossing this line with Cillian would ruin everything, but it turned out it just made sense. “Or I could win the trial, and you could have the entire night with me. To do whatever you’d like.”

“That,” he said. “I want that.”

I let him go and spun on my heel. “Then let’s follow these little arrows and find out what we’re trying to accomplish.”

The arrows led deeper into this hidden corridor, the sounds of the ball completely blocked out. If we got trapped in here, no one would hear us. But I couldn’t let myself believe that was what was happening. It was all too coincidental. We were meant to find something here. I just didn’t know what or why Castle wanted us to.

“Will you slow down, Cerriwen?” Cillian asked.

“Why?” I asked, feeling impatient, wanting to unravel this mystery.

“So I can do this.” He caught up to me and laced his fingers through mine, which was a convincing enough argument.

I slowed, reveling in the feel of his strong, warm hand curled over mine. “Does any of this feel weird to you?” I asked. “It happened so fast.”

“No,” he said honestly. “I’ve always felt like we were meant to be together. I just never was able to tell you. I thought our story was going to be a tragic one, where I’d loved you from afar but never get to tell you or show you in the way I wanted to.”

My eyes welled with tears for the second time that night. “Stop saying those things.”

He burst out laughing as the corridor curved, and we followed its path. “What would you like me to say?”

“Nothing, everything,” I said. “I don’t know. What you’re saying is perfect. Too perfect.”

He brought my hand up and pressed a kiss to it. “No such thing. What about you? Have you always known?”

“Yes,” I said slowly. “Well, no. You were always my best friend, and I knew I loved you. I guess I started thinking maybe I was in love with you as we started getting older and I noticed all our classmates pairing off and becoming couples. I couldn’t imagine kissing anyone, holding hands with anyone . . . except you.”