I leveled him with my best event-coordinator glare. "This." I gestured between us, then at the lamp that had just flickered."The static cling. The sparks. The way my electronics keep trying to stage a mutiny. You told me it would fade. It hasn't. So what's your plan?"
For once, he didn't answer immediately. His gaze lingered on me, dark and unreadable, until I almost regretted asking. Almost.
"I told you it would fade," he said finally, voice lower, heavier. "I believed that to be true. Yet it persists. If it remains..." His eyes burned like coals. "Then I will teach you to command it, until I can reclaim what is mine."
A shiver danced across my skin. "You're saying I'm stuck like this."
"I'm saying you are not defenseless. Not while you carry even a fragment of my power."
I folded my arms. "This isn't just an inconvenience, Malrik. This is my life. My business. You'd better keep that promise."
"On my name," he said, ancient and absolute, like an oath carved into stone.
I bent to scoop up one of my binders from the floor, fingers brushing his as he held it out to me. A spark leapt between us. Sharp, quick, enough to make us both draw in a breath.
His gaze caught mine, heat blazing in the space that suddenly felt far too small. Neither of us moved for a beat too long.
I pulled the binder back to my chest, clearing my throat. "Fine. Then tomorrow we start. You teach me how to... command it."
His lips curved into something that wasn't quite a smile. "Tomorrow."
Sinnamon, sprawled by the fireplace, gave a soft, smug-sounding huff, as if he already knew this was going to be anything but simple.
8
MALRIK
Istood before the tall mirror in my private chambers, adjusting the cuffs of my white silk shirt. The fabric gleamed faintly in the light, tailored close to my frame, the open collar exposing a glimpse of chest I rarely revealed. Power was always my armor, but today, I wanted more than armor. I wanted her.
"Paz," I said.
He looked up from his pile of scrolls. "Sir?"
"How do I look?"
He blinked, clearly thrown. "You look… terrifying. As always."
"Terrifying," I repeated, voice flat.
"Yes. The shirt is very… revealing. Let's hope she doesn't see what you really look like."
I turned from the mirror, my gaze narrowing. "What I really look like."
Paz paled. "Imposing! I meant imposing. Naturally."
I tilted my head. "Did you just roll your eyes at me?"
His spectacles slid lower on his nose. "Of course not, sir."
I let the silence linger until he squirmed, then finally turned back to the mirror. "She's here."
Paz jolted. "Already?"
"Go," I ordered. "Continue your research. I want progress before nightfall."
He gathered his scrolls like a shield and hurried out, muttering something about lost causes.
I turned away from the mirror, adjusting the cuffs of my shirt. The wards at the edge of the estate shifted, just slightly, like a breath held between dimensions.
