Prince of Misery by Crews Heather

Author:Crews, Heather
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Unknown
Published: 2015-11-01T00:00:00+00:00

XVII

Why, Iris wondered, did it feel right being so near Seth again? You’d think she’d formed an attachment to him. You’d think she’d actually missed him.

This wasn’t something she wanted him to know, of course. She felt startled and ashamed at the little light of gladness that warmed her.

Something had obviously gone wrong with her brain. Or maybe it was just too much beer.

He was so aloof she couldn’t tell what he was thinking, whether of her or anything else. She hoped she was just as unreadable to him.

“Well,” she said as Seth pulled the car to a stop, tires skidding lightly against the curb, “your driving still sucks.” They’d run into road construction after leaving the bank, and he’d knocked into a few orange cones.

He followed her up the walk to the house, hovering behind her as she unlocked the door. She pushed inside, moving fast to put some distance between them. Her heart pounded. The house was dark, her parents asleep. Casey wouldn’t be home for hours, if he came at all.

At the hall juncture, Iris spun on her heels to face him. Slightly dizzy, she sought the wall for balance.

“Do you ever think about going back,” she said, “and—I don’t know. Burning the whole place down?”

Seth shut the door quietly and looked at her. He knew what she meant; she didn’t have to spell it out. “No.”

“I do. I think about rescuing all those others. Sometimes I think I couldn’t live with the guilt if I didn’t at least try.”

“Why should you feel guilt?” he asked, stepping around the pile of shoes by the door.

“Because I got to leave and they didn’t. And I’m the only one who knows where they are and what happens to them there. So I’m the one who has to help them.”

“How,” he asked, “do you plan to rescue hundreds of humans from a magic castle thousands of miles away?”

“With you,” she said simply. “That’s the only way I could do it—with your help.”

“I don’t think that’s going to happen. Do you?”

She grimaced, rolling her eyes. He’d never been easy to talk to. “Come on.” Lazily pushing herself off the wall, she led him down the hall to her room.

“This is it,” she announced with manic cheer, kicking aside piles of clothes as she walked. She swept out an arm to present the ragged music posters, the stacks of manga, the computer desk, the beaded fringe lamp, the floral comforter that wouldn’t have looked out of place on a grandmother’s bed.

His cloak was draped over the back of her desk chair. Her cheeks got hot. Suddenly she felt weird about having invited him in here. She didn’t like having guys over at her house.

“Interesting,” he said.

“Well. I’ll just give you that money now.”

She could have given him the money after they’d stopped at the bank and then and been rid of him already, but she’d needed him to drive her home. And then he’d followed her inside. Nothing tonight was happening the way she’d imagined.

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