Free Fairest 02 - The Frog Prince by Adrianne Brooks

after a few strong pats of his hand against her side, Rachel choked as the water she swallowed came back up in a rush. She turned over to vomit up the remaining contents of her stomach. Chris’s eyes went to the pouch she still clutched and his mouth tightened. Given their earlier conversation, he had a suspicion about what might be in the small bag. But he couldn’t think of how she could have possibly gotten her hands on fairy dust. Especially such a generous amount of the stuff.
    Unless she wasn’t the victim she’d made herself out to be. She could be an undercover Widow. Or even under contract with a demon, selling her soul in return for a handful of wishes. He couldn’t come up with another reason why she would have an item used primarily by black magic users. She didn’t seem evil, but Chris had been tricked before. When his stepmother, Danielle, had first come into his life he’d thought her a good woman. And what had he gotten in return for his blind faith?
    A dead father and a curse he couldn’t break.
    Common sense told him not to trust her.
    Experience told him not to trust her.
    But somehow…he did.
    It was strange, stupid even, but he couldn’t help himself. How could someone who smelled so sweet, who tasted so good, and fit so perfectly against him, be evil? It didn’t add up. He should be able to taste the rot in her soul on his tongue when he kissed her, but the only thing that came to mind when their lips were pressed together was how hungry he was for more. For all of her.
    Maybe evil had always felt that good. He’d just never had a chance to find that out until recently. Until he knew what sort of game she was playing, he’d have to be on guard. If she was a Widow, then chances were good that she was working with Danielle somehow in a bid to get him back. A convoluted plan, but not so much so that it was beyond the realm of possibility. He couldn’t think of a reason why another Widow would want to get their hands on him, but he couldn’t ignore the idea. Either way, he was stuck with her until they escaped the maze. The trip would allow him to keep an eye on her until he knew her motives. At least that way she wouldn’t be able to betray him when his back was turned.
    His hands were gentle as he helped her get to her feet. He found his fingers lingering when they shouldn’t have, his mind going back to the kiss that had pulled him from the mermaid’s thrall. It was enough to make him cup her chin in his hand, his eyes searching her face as his thumb passed over the line of her jaw. She looked bedraggled, pale from hacking back up all of that water. He thought she was lovely. His head lowered and his blood began to rush and her eyes widened in panic before she took a step back. Distancing herself from him in more ways than one as she dropped her gaze and folded her arms before her.
    “We should go,” she said abruptly.
    “But-” Chris shook his head. She was in no shape to travel, but if she wanted to be stubborn he’d let her. For now. “Fine.”
    He spotted their pack a few feet off and went to pick it up. They’d ended up in the center of the circular clearing. All around them were different corridors, and Chris picked one at random with a shrug of his shoulders. He could hear Rachel panting as she tried to keep up with him, and despite his irritation with her, he slowed his long legged stride to something she could match.
    “It’s really impressive,” she said after a moment.
    “What is?”
    “That you can remember the way back,” she chuckled softly. “I would have ended up lost long before now.”
    Oh. Shit.
    “Yeah,” he began. “About that…” His voice trailed off, but when he looked at her she didn’t look surprised. Simply smug.
    “I knew it.”
    “Well at least we’re getting somewhere,” he told her.
    “But where?” she stressed. “We could be heading deeper into the maze for all you know.”
    “Labyrinth.”
    “What?”
    “Technically, it’s a