Free Treason: Book Two of the Grimoire Saga (a Young Adult Fantasy series) by S.M. Boyce

which pushed the boundaries of his self-restraint.
    “You look beautiful,” he finally said.
    “Well, thanks. You look quite dashing yourself.”
    He didn’t have an answer, so they stood in silence. Braeden couldn’t quite put together words. Kara’s cheeks burned red. She looked out over the trees.
    “You’re staring, Braeden.”
    “Sorry.”
    He cleared his throat and stared out at the trees with her. He cheated, though, and looked back at her out of the corner of his eye. He couldn’t help himself. Twin had been right—stunning was the perfect word.
    “So, I repeat—why didn’t you use the stairs?” she asked, nodding back to an open door at the opposite end of the small garden.
    “Oh. I didn’t know about a stairwell.”
    “It’s a bit easier than—is that a ladder?”
    “I had to be secretive, but maybe I overdid it,” he said with a laugh.
    “Secretive? Why?”
    He sighed. “Gavin issued a blood order for me to not be alone with you. I can’t let anyone see us together.”
    “Wow. How did that happen?”
    Braeden shook his head. “I don’t want to talk about it. You need to stay away from him as much as you can. He’s up to something.”
    “Yeah, I figured that one out.”
    “What did he do?”
    “Don’t worry about it, Braeden. Let’s just try to enjoy ourselves tonight.”
    “Kara, if he hurt you—”
    “He didn’t.”
    Braeden sighed and leaned against the wall again. She could be so frustrating.
    “So have you seen the program yet? I just skimmed over it,” Kara finally admitted, apparently trying to break the silence.
    “You didn’t miss much. It’ll be hours of listening to people talk before we can eat.”
    “And dance.” Kara wrung her hands.
    “You’ve fought shadow demons and survived two run-ins with Carden, but you’re scared to dance?”
    “I didn’t do those other things in front of people. No one noticed when I messed up.”
    “Well, I’m not really looking forward to it, either. We can stumble through the steps together, though, if you save me a dance.”
    It was a lie—he’d been taught to dance at fourteen, as was tradition for all members of the royal family—but he didn’t want Kara to be alone in this.
    She laughed. “That sounds good to me if you don’t mind me stepping on you.”
    “Not in the least.”
    He inched as close to her as he could without being painfully obvious about it. The sun worked its way across the sky as they both simply watched. Braeden was happy to just stand there. In the peace, he spoke without thinking.
    “You know, you sort of ruined my surprise,” he said.
    “What do you mean?”
    “I was going to invite you up here during the Gala. I even have a little slip of paper ready with directions to the garden on it and everything. It was going to be quite romantic.”
    He laughed, but Kara watched him with a strange blur of emotions he couldn’t read. Her smile lit up her eyes, but her eyebrows twisted as if she was sad or maybe disappointed. Panic spread through his chest.
    “Braeden—”
    “Hear me out.”
    She leaned against the wall, slouching her shoulders as she leaned closer. “The Vagabond told me I can’t get that close to anyone. I’m sorry. He’s wrong about some things, but I think he’s right about this. I couldn’t live with myself if I got you killed, too. Not after all you’ve done for me.”
    “But you want this. There’s something more than friendship here.”
    “Shouldn’t that have been a question?”
    “No, Kara. I see it, but I don’t understand why you think my life isn’t already dangerous.”
    “Of course I understand that. It’s not that at all. It’s—”
    “Kara? Braeden? Are either of you up there?” Twin’s voice echoed up the stairwell.
    Braeden turned in time to catch a shadow moving against the stairway’s wall. He tensed—no one could see him with Kara.
    “I’ll keep her out of the garden. Hide,” Kara whispered. She nodded to a ledge over the