“Of course I’m going to be civil with my lab partner and fake lover.”

“You cannot make me like you through sheer politeness.”

“Frankly, I don’t care if you like me,” I say.

“Frankly, I don’t believe that, considering you look at me in a way that suggests you care very much what I think.”

He’s teasing me. Rafe Vanguard is teasing me, and I don’t know how to handle it.

“Just because I find you aesthetically pleasing does not mean I care what you think,” I respond.

“You think I’m handsome?”

“Fishing for compliments is really not necessary when I’m clearly bestowing them freely. And you know what you look like.”

“Yes, it’s true. I’m much better looking than you.”

I don’t manage to hold back my wince, and I know he sees it because, just for a moment, he looks as if he might regret his words, but when I plaster a smile on my face, his own expression shifts into frustration.

“Why are you smiling when I’ve said something rude?” he asks, exasperated.

“It was rude but also true. And I—how can I make this clearer to you—Do. Not. Care. What. You. Think. So you can call me ugly all you want, and it doesn’t particularly bother me.” I’m proud of how confident my voice sounds.

“I didn’t say you were ugly.”

“Don’t worry. I’m not the one fishing for compliments. No need to retract your sentiment.”

He throws his hands up. “You are frightfully irritating.”

“Keep the insults coming, Your Highness.”

He shakes his head ruefully. “If it pleases you, m’lady.”

Other journeys have been meandering into the lab, their heads turning our way, clearly noticing that the bubble of frigid silence that generally surrounds our table has thawed. My neck warms at the attention.

Rafe discreetly tucks the boat away, and he spends the rest of the lab assisting Mbali in her attempt to make fingernails secrete viper venom. I test how different levels of Ha’i affect the thickness versus the length of a vine grown from a seed without sun or water. I keep my head down, ignoring the fact that everyone keeps looking between Rafe and me and whispering.

Nothing to see here.

28

“Tonight we’re going to focus on basics,” Rafe says when we meet to train later in the evening.

“Why? Haven’t I been getting better?” I ask as I kick off my shoes and twist my hair up out of my face.

“You need to learn control,” he replies. “You know how to conduct, but you need to be able to do it without thinking.”