This cold and perfect smile complemented his sharp jaw, a curse sheathed in charm. Candlelight caught in his eyes, making them glimmer like lightning trapped in blue glass.
A chuckle ran down his throat. He must have seen the look on my face.
“See? I do smile,” he said, the corner of his mouth still curved. “You just need to earn it.”
He let the words hang. The smile stayed, slight and merciless, as if he’d laid a blade flat against my throat and waited to see how I would breathe.
Heat crawled up my neck. I reached for my chalice to buy amoment, found it empty, and set it down too hard. The ring of silver on oak sounded like a bell for fools.
He watched every small flinch. It felt like being tracked.
“What do I earn it with?” I asked, softer than I meant. “Obedience or insolence?”
Again, defiant words slipping out of my mouth, unfiltered.
I regretted every syllable the moment I saw those dark clouds rise behind his eyes.
He didn’t answer. Not right away. The hall was quiet, the fire low, the candles dimmed to a soft amber glow that painted him in gold and shadow.
His gaze dipped, deliberate, almost to my mouth, almost to my throat, then returned to my eyes as if nothing had moved at all.
“Obedience will do,” he said at last, his voice low enough to feel, not hear.
My pulse stuttered. The air itself seemed to tighten between us.
I told myself it was the wine that made my hands tremble.
Certainly not the strange, burning coil of something I didn’t want to name, twisting low in my belly.
What is wrong with me?
Chapter 9
Evie
Iburst into laughter. Loud. Awkward. All signs that I had no idea how to behave after what he’d said.
His smile vanished. “You find this amusing?” His tone was sharp enough to cut through my nerves.
I tried to stop laughing. It was harder than I’d expected.
“Sorry,” I said, still half-chuckling. “It’s just… you… I don’t know…” Words fled me entirely, and I wasn’t proud about it.
He reclined in his chair, gaze turning elsewhere. “If I’d known I’d have that effect on you, Magister, I’d have spared you by not coming to this dinner.”
My laughter died. I just stared at him, lips parted, the breath gone from me. He’d stolen my voice, and somehow, I was glad for it. Silence was safer.
Then he did the unthinkable. He looked back at me and winked.
“Pfff…” That was all I managed to say while I hid my blush as best as I could.
“I just find it interesting, that’s all,” he said.
And suddenly, I felt like the jester summoned to amuse bored nobles on rainy nights.
“Interesting how?” I asked, more defiant than I felt.
His eyes flicked back to mine, flaring, the kind of look that made my pulse trip. “Everything you feel is written all over your face.”
