She strode away into the woods. No path, no destination, just the need to be far away from me.
“Evie!” I called after her.
She lifted a hand and showed me her contempt with one middle finger.
I’d never imagined her angry. Now I knew what her anger looked like, and I never wanted to see it again.
My stomach churned, tight with something I couldn’t name. Shame, maybe. Or the ruin of it. I wanted to speak, to apologize, but the words wouldn’t come.
All I knew was that I didn’t want her to go.
So I ran after her.
I won't let her get away.
Chapter 18
Evie
Iwas so done with this. Tired of the constant push and pull with Kael, still aching that he’d do these things to me at the Academy Ball only to dip his cock into another woman.
Why not me?
The question whirled in my aching head as I fled through the trees. I didn’t even know where I was going. I only wanted to get away. I’d lost my satchel with all my research notes, and my head burned like the nine hells. And yet, some twisted part of me longed to see if Kael would chase me.
What would he do if he caught me? Would he make it better… or worse?
That thought alone aroused me and quickened my pace. My boots trampled the moss-covered soil, branches clawing at my sleeves, one snagging a thread of wool, another scratching my cheek. The forest thickened, shadows closing in, and breath burned in my lungs.
I ducked behind a great poplar tree, chest heaving, trying to recover quickly before running again.
But something felt wrong. All this time, I hadn’t heard Kael’s steps at all, only my own, thudding in the silence.
Nothing followed.
I dared a glance around the trunk, holding my breath.
Nothing. Only moss and trees.
Maybe he hadn’t chased me at all, and that, somehow, felt disappointing.
Silence reigned, heavy and watchful, until my eyes caught an unnatural blackness spreading across the distant trees. The blight. I must have found its path.
I stepped out of hiding to see it better when two strong arms seized me from behind.
I struggled against his grip, thrashing with all the strength I had. “Let me go!”
He pinned me hard against the tree, my arms forced above my head. Kael towered over me, his chest caging me in, his glare a blade that left me breathless. The scent of oil and smoke clung to his black leather armor as he pressed closer. Why in the gods’ name wastheCourt Wizard wearing armor?
I could feel the hard line of him, his sheer size pressed against my stomach. There was no escaping him. My heart raced with the fear of what he might do and the thrill of knowing he could do anything.
His blue eyes, darkened by something fierce and unspoken, fixed on me with an urgency that bordered on anger… or desperation. He was close. Too close. If I only tilted my head, our lips would meet.
Which of course, was the last thing I should ever want.
I didn’t want him this close. I didn’t want our eyes to meet again, because if they did, I would yield to them, to him, to the terrible beauty of it all.
“Let me go, Kael.” My voice aimed to be firm and low, though it trembled despite me. I twisted against the tree, bark scraping my tunic.
