His fists were clenched as a storm gathered about him, and the claws of something gripped his heart.
Was it remorse? Was it shame?
No. It was more haunting than that.
The echoes left me as swiftly as they had seized me, and at last I could breathe again.
Chapter 10
Kael
Ihad done exactly what I wanted, which wasn’t always the right thing to do.
I’d touched her. Cold and trembling beneath my fingers.
After all these years watching her, keeping my distance, I’dtouchedher.
Because I couldn’t resist her being that close, close enough that I could hear the moment her breath stopped.
She had dared me. Those sparkling doe eyes and tentative smiles… She had no idea how good she was at making the whole world stop when her lips curved just so.
The urge took me. My hand twitched, squeezing her fragile skin, and the sound that slipped from her lips stole the last of my restraint.
My hand stayed there. On her.
Like she already belonged to me.
The thought sent lightning through my veins.
I kept her still, mine, quiet and obedient, while I carried on conversation with the other magisters. The act of holding her captive with nothing but a touch made my body tighten withneed. And my cock twitched against the fabric of my breeches, hungry.
She was so beautiful when I owned her.
But as the evening dragged on, reason began to seep back in. Barely enough to remind me that nothing good could come of this. So I fought the urge, braced against the storm rising inside, and let her go.
I hadn’t realized she’d been holding her breath until I saw her chest rise again. And all I could think about was how long I could have pushed it.
I had to leave.
I could never do this again.
I left the great hall without looking back. Outside a page in the Court’s beige tunic with blue linings came to fetch me. His red hair and ugly baby face made me, for a few seconds, forget Evie’s beauty.
“Magister Forloren,” he said, timid, his lips trembling. I was sure he and the other pages had drawn straws to see who would speak to me. “The king requests your presence in the Crown’s chamber.”
And with that, the stirring in my breeches faded.
“Very well,” I grunted. I pushed out a deep breath and relaxed my shoulders to brace for an evening of council.
I was fortunate that drink did little to me. I could speak with the king without smiling like an adorable fool. Unlike Evie.
Get out of my head, doe.
I made for the grand staircase that led to the council wing on the first floor, where I knew the king awaited. The page lagged a step or two, then sighed in relief as he rounded the corner and vanished.
I entered the Council of the Crown’s chamber and found Lionel and Alaric von Brecht, from the Council of War, Thalen’s chancellor, deep in conversation. Alaric was General of the Vanhauian Armies, gruff and uncompromising. His armor gleamed as if always polished for council. His gray hair had thinned these past five years, and tonight he had trimmed his beard, as had Lionel. He was the king’s childhood friend andconfidant.
He did not like me. Never had. Perhaps he never understood why the king had chosen me as his magister.
