Quinn’s tether filled with guilt, and I suddenly wondered what happened to the bag of gold she’d gotten for her clothing. The number of unknowns surrounding this woman was piling up, and it was past time I made sure none of them hurt her.
I stepped forward again and took her hand; it was so small in mine. I brought it to my lips. “Dinner tonight. Let me show you I can be more than the enforcer who let you down.”
The rain ceased, and the sun peeked out, making little rainbows fracture off the remaining drips around us. For one suspended breath, the whole world held still—rain halos, heartbeat, her. Quinn’s flushed face looked up at me, and I swear crystal-clear magic sparkled in her eyes. The power constantly circulating the world pulled us together. Not my will or hers. Magic hadn’t asked for permission. It simply tied us together, and I couldn’t ignore the binding any longer.
My TB buzzed with an urgent notification, and the moment vanished. I wanted to bring it back, but the good soldier in me would never be able to. I dropped Quinn’s hand and picked up my TB. Movement out of the corner of my eye caught my gaze, and I turned. A too-familiar woman pushed Quinn. The waif of a girl went flying and skidded through the mud on her ass. Instantly, I dropped my magic and caught a single thin wrist of Quinn’s attacker, glinting with gold bracelets.
Angela’s heated gaze bore into me. Old reflexes tugged, but Quinn’s magic still hummed in my palm, a reminder of who I was now.
“I’m your suitress. You pursued me for months.” She turned to Quinn, still dazed in a pile of mud. “Who do you think you are, bitch? Moving in on what’s mine.”
My TB buzzed again.
This was madness. All of this.
TB first, which was a message from Winston. I needed to escort and accompany Quinn to Chancellor Morgen’s garden. Immediately.
Angela screeched and wiggled in my grip. I brought her close. “If I let you go, you don’t lay a finger on her. Ever.” I wanted to add more. No more rumors or petty attempts to undermine my girl, but I was on thin ice, and we both knew it.
“I wouldn’t touch something so filthy.” Angela sneered at Quinn, now sitting with a glob of mud forming a ball between her hands.
If Quinn got the chance to lob that at Angela, all hell would break loose. For a moment, I wanted to let it. When was the last time Angela had mud on anything? I literally hardened the ground she walked on so she wouldn’t get dirty.
“And now you.” Angela turned her attention back to me. “I can give you everything. Money, a child, status, everything. All you had to do was heel at my feet.”
Anger simmered my blood, but not rage. A few days ago, maybe even a few minutes ago, if I was being honest, what she offered was exactly what I wanted. But even if Quinn didn’t pick me in the end, I was worth more than heeling at a woman’s feet for whatever scraps she’d throw.
“I’m not your dog, Angela. Never was.” The words burned out of me like truth finally given air. A feeling of rightness settled on my shoulder. “I’m going to let go of you. Quinn has a meeting we are now late to.”
Angela’s face turned red. “You’re picking her over me?”
“I’m picking duty over your bullshit.” I let go of Angela. “Our contract’s done. No discussion.” The statement should have destroyed me, instead, a sense of freedom made everything brighter. I stepped between her and Quinn to keep mud from flying.
Angela’s gaze cooled. “We were promised Tate blood, an old and powerful new infusion into the family.”
I grimaced. “Talk to my contract negotiator. I’m done.”
Angela turned her nose up, spun on the balls of her feet, and walked in the other direction. My gaze didn’t leave her pristine, velvet red dress until she exited the coliseum. Once I was sure it was safe, I turned back to Quinn.
She’d crafted her mud ball into a little ‘snowman,’ as if that would hide her intent to start a fight. Laughter threatened under the surface;I swallowed it down before it turned into something else. With her uniform still a size too big, she looked like a little kid playing in the rain. Why was everything she did so adorable?
“So, I guess you’re single now?” She gave me a lopsided grin.
I couldn’t help it; I barked out an ugly laugh. “Not officially, but yeah…”
My heart kicked hard, fear and hope slamming through me in the same breath. There was no turning back now.
For most of my life, I’d viewed women as a means to an end. But Quinn didn’t have any means, and she wasn’t here looking for a contract. Actually, now that I thought about it, I’d never asked her what brought her to the castle. I rarely asked her anything about herself. I’d monopolized our time together bitching about my life and fighting the tether. That ended now. I wanted to know everything about Quinn. I held out my hand to help her up, and she took it.
“I’m so sorry.” Guilt twisted in my chest. “I should have seen you then, been there for you from day one. It was painfully clear you had no idea what was going on, and I left you to the wolves.”
“I met a few nice wolves.” Quinn’s gaze twinkled.
The Lawson and the Salvers’ daughter, Everly Grierson. My fucking commander. What a mixed bag.
Quinn picked at her mud-covered uniform. “Do I really have a meeting right now?”
“With Chancellor Morgen. I’ll get as much mud off you as I can.” I called on my Majekah and sent it into her clothing, pulling off dirt and moisture. The clouds rolled over the sun again, and rain spat on us.
