“Right. It was good to see you again.” She left in a hurry, and he stared after her, wanting to call her back inside.
Glancing through the window, she looked at him, and he winked. Her eyes widened before she walked away, and laughing lightly to himself, he wondered where she was going. Her shift at the palace would have already started by now, and he assumed she was off tonight.
“Sir?” the clerk said loudly, drawing his attention.
Sam paid, grabbed his bag from the man, and left with nothing but Anastasia on his mind.
39
VINCULA
Lookingat his reflection in the mirror, Caius stared at his scar, tracing the raised skin with his finger for the millionth time. He had an idea, but everything had to be perfect.
Climbing into bed, he lay back and waited for sleep to drag him under.
The wildflowers were soft beneath Caius’feet, and he frowned at the ostentatious golden hues of the room. Why were they here?
“Did you paint your throne room?” Rory’s voice echoed off the high ceilings.
Twisting around, he drank in the sight of her as she walked toward him.Fuck, she was gorgeous.
“I would never,” he assured her. “We’re in the Lux Palace.”
She froze in place. “Why?”
“I don’t know,” he replied, wanting their time together to be anywherebut here.
Turning in a slow circle, she surveyed the room once more. “It’s identical to yours.”
He nodded and closed the gap separating them. The wonder in her eyes was intoxicating. “The palaces have identical layouts.”
Her eyes sparkled with something. Excitement maybe? “Then I know my way around the Lux Palace,” she noted.
Protectiveness surged to the surface, and his voice hardened. “Do not go there.”
“I’m not an idiot,” she clipped. “It was just an observation.”
If she killed him in the soulscape, would he die in real life?It was best he didn’t find out. “What did you do today?” The need to know everything about her, even her day-to-day, was overwhelming.
Her face split into the biggest smile he’d ever seen. “My friends and I went to an amusement park.”
The happiness radiating from her soaked into him, and he pulled her to the ground to sit. “There’s more,” he said, noting the mischief in her words. “What did you do, Miss Raven? Terrorize the workers?”
She shot him a tiny glare, and he tried not to smile. “Sam went too,” she revealed dramatically.
Caius chuckled. “Did he hate it?” TheAngelwas allergic to anything fun.
Her laughter died down, and she lifted a shoulder. “He pretended to, but I saw him smile.”
“I never thought I’d see the day when the commander enjoyed anything,” he commented.
“What’d you do today?” She lifted a brow. “Brood in your office? Destroy it and make an innocent bystander clean it up?”
“Mmm, I reserve that job for you and only you, Miss Raven.”
She leaned over and pushed his shoulder. “Next time, I’ll rip the pages out of your precious books.”
“As long as you’re bending over to do it, I don’t care,” he crooned, dragging his eyes up and down her body. She squirmed, and the action made him hungry to spread her thighs. He pushed the thought aside. “I went to the bar with your mother and friends.”
