The feeling didn’t last. Lo returned, eyes wide and full of sparkles. He gasped as if I’d walked straight out of a painting.
I bought the gown for an abominable amount of gold. But I rarely treated myself, and with Court pay, I could afford it.
Now I had the rest of the day to prepare, and to brace myself for the next time I saw Kael Forloren. Which would be tonight.
Gods help me…
Chapter 13
Evie
“Is there something going on between you and Kael?” Lo asked as his brush caressed my right cheek.
The question made my breath catch in my throat. What had he seen? What did he know, and why was he asking?
Lo paused, brush poised midair, eyes narrowing as he studied my reflection. “Evie.” He said my name as severely as his silken voice allowed, which, surprisingly, was very severe. “What aren’t you telling me?”
He looked like he wouldn’t paint another stroke unless I confessed, and I was not about to walk out with half my face done.
He, of course, looked flawless. A dark blue satin shirt hugged his slender frame beneath a sleeveless black vest of fine weave. Soft leather breeches clung to his long legs, catching the glow of the setting sun like polished ink. Kohl rimmed his amber-hazel eyes, making them gleam sharper than a cat’s, and his black hair fell smooth as silk over his shoulders.
We sat before the mirror in my bedchamber, two wooden chairs angled toward the last light. His artistic touch—an elven gift, truly—was restoring my weary face with powder, rouge, and kohl. My ownskill extended only to smudges, so I had surrendered myself to his expertise.
I sighed, giving in. “Alright. Well, we’ve…” I trailed off, struggling to find words for something that was too confusing to name. “I… We had a moment. I think?”
The shock that crossed his face could have made troubadours compose epics. He spun my chair, so I faced him directly, hands smacking my knees with theatrical offense. “Tell. Me. Everything.”
So I did. A clumsy account of glances and glares, of the magisters’ dinner that had left me flushed and confused, and of today, when Kael had invaded my space in the changing booth like a storm breaking the sky.
“I don’t know whether he hates me or…” I hesitated. “Wants me.”
The words hung between us, absurd and heavy. As I spoke, I realized how strange this was to say aloud, how wrong, even. Yet confessing it to Lo steadied me. The more I spoke, the more I understood that whatever this was, it wasn’t normal Court behavior. Whatever it was needed to stop.
Because whether he hated or desired me, neither belonged here.
Lo thinned his lips, brush tapping against his chin as though weighing his next move. “Do you like him?”
What a question.“I don’t even know him,” I said, heart stuttering.
“That wasn’t the question, darling.” He smiled, slow, sly, and merciless. The kind of smile that promised he would extract the truth one way or another.
Thoughts whirled through my head, though I already knew the answer. I only wanted to make it look like it was a difficult one.
“Maybe I do,” I said at last, when enough time had passed that we’d soon be late to the Academy Ball. “There’s something about him that just… intrigues me. But I’m so confused. He looks at me as though I’m the worst thing in this world, and then today—gods—I thought he’d kiss me. Or something. It feels like I’m back at school all over again.” I almost pressed my palms to my face, nearly forgetting the paint upon it.
Lo arched a brow, his brush hovering midair. “Listen, darling, I’ll tell you this because you’re my dearest friend in all the realms.”
A pause. My heart skipped, for there was pity in his eyes, and that frightened me more than his tone.
“Kael doesn’t play games,” he said softly. “Everything he does has purpose. And he’s honest about it, brutally so. If he must break a heart to achieve what he wants, he won’t hesitate. The women he’s touched tend to forget that.”
Those women again. The ones who didn’tcome out quite right.
“Who are they?” The question escaped before I could catch it.
“Tavern girls, mostly. Those who linger too long after dinners. Those foolish enough to think they could catch the Court Wizard and keep him. It always takes them a while to realize they were the ones caught.” His tone darkened. “And when he’s done, when that hunger burns itself out, he leaves them in pieces. I had to call the guards once on a woman who’d lost her wits over him. She believed the story she’d invented in her head, that he’d love her back.”
He leaned in, voice low and sharp as a blade drawn in warning. “That’s what he does to women. He’s distant, detached, but he’s the best lover they’ll ever have, and somehow, that ruins them. So take my advice, darling. If you must face him, look him dead in the eye and ask what he wants now. He won’t lie.”
