“Get off me!”
I ignored him and fumbled with the clasp, but my fingers were too clumsy to undo it with one hand.
“Damn it,” I muttered, leaning closer to peer at the clasp.
I heard Lonan’s breath catch, his whole body stiffening beneath me.
“Get off me,” he repeated, but this time his voice was quieter—and far more ominous.
“Just let me get this—”
“Get—off—me!” Lonan bucked hard and strained his arms, the tendons in his neck bulging.
“Fuck!” I shoved his wrists back into the ground. “I nearly—”
He heaved his body up with a grunt, nearly dislodging me. If he kept this up, he’d topple me over. But I needed both hands to undo the clasp, and suddenly getting that damn feather wasveryimportant to me.
Finally uncurling my fingers from the chain, I reached up and grabbed a wrist in each hand, dragging his arms down a little as I shuffled on my knees higher up his body.
“What are you doing?” Lonan sounded horrified, and it took me a second to realise this could look very bad.
“Relax, I’m just—” I pinned his biceps to the ground with my knees—a dirty trick, but it freed up both my hands.
Lonan winced and I almost apologised. Instead, I quickly fumbled with the clasp on the chain. Lonan was breathing hard, his elegant features twisted into a mask of fury. After a second, he turned his face away and squeezed his eyes shut.
“Hurry up and get on with it, then.”
I glanced at his face for only a second before focusing back on the clasp. After a few moments, I felt it separate beneath my fingers.
“Yes!” Clutching the warm metal, I sprung to my feet. “Got it.”
Lonan sat up quickly, drawing his legs up to rest his forearms on his knees.
“Congratulations.”
His voice was flat, but a flush coloured his high cheekbones. I bet he’d never been bested in a fight before.
Pocketing the chain and feather, I looked down at him. I felt my own cheeks heat as I realised a few seconds ago I’d basically had my crotch in the unseelie prince’s face while I pinned him to the ground.
Clearing my throat, I reached up and nervously scrubbed a hand through my hair. “Um, good fight.”
When Lonan didn’t respond, looking down at his hands, I hesitated before reaching out to help him to his feet. At the movement, Lonan’s head jerked up. He looked at my outstretched hand before our eyes met.
Something flashed through his, too quickly for me to see, before he scowled and vanished in a tendril of inky smoke. A second later, a crow exploded from the ground and disappeared past the tree.
Exhaling a long breath, I wiped a hand down my face and turned to head back home alone, the tiny feather somehow a conspicuous weight in my pocket.