I stand perfectly still, the breath freezing in my lungs, afraid I might lean just a little too far to the left and make contact with his chest. I want to.May the ancients forgive me, I need to make contact.
His head tilts down to mine, his voice soft, a bare whisper, his breath a caress against my neck.
“I never needed anyone’s permission to touch you but your own.”
The breath stops in my throat.
You may as well see it before my father burns it.
I’m burning right now.
The Storm Command presses inward and Jordan withdraws her sword, steel ringing in the quiet room, but they can’t have heard what he said. If they had, all hell would have broken loose already.
He steps away in the nick of time. I can breathe again.
He speaks to the room as much as to me as he says, “You shouldn’t need anyone’s permission to defend yourself.”
I don’t know how to answer.I have no choice. The rules are there so I don’t accidentally hurt anyone. The rules are there so I don’t bond with the wrong elf and give him access to the power of the storm before the Elven Command allows it.Although, after what Mai told me today, that isn’t true after all.
The weight of Baelen’s gaze lifts as he turns to Jordan. “The only reason you let me into the Storm Vault today is because I have the power to command you, isn’t it?”
She gives him a stiff nod, her lips compressed into an unhappy line. She seems to remember her sword and slides it back into its scabbard.
He continues to Jordan. “Even the Elven Command can’t give you orders—is that also correct?”
“Yes, Commander Rath. Only you and the Princess can command me.”
“And what’s the punishment for disobeying me?”
“That would be treason, Commander. Punishable by death.”
He pauses. “Then… I command you to train the Princess. Each day. In this room.”
He turns in a circle, speaking to the entire Storm Command. “Each one of you will train the Princess in the skills she needs. But not one of you will speak a word of it.”
Elise’s jaw hits the floor so hard I’m sure I hear it crack. “But…”
“You too, spellcaster. Not one word.”
Jordan’s sword is suddenly nowhere to be seen. A grin breaks across her face. She appraises Baelen with a rare expression of admiration. “It will be my pleasure, Commander Rath.”
I’m suddenly not sure what I’ve got myself into.
