That’s when he did the last thing I expected him to do and moved a strand of hair that had fallen in front of my face, and tucked it behind my ear. Every bit of moisture that had been left in my mouth instantly dried up.
Stop it, Runa. He’s only interested because he thinks you’re a man.
I shook my head, effectively breaking the trance between us. I looked to my left, only to find Collum still arranging those who were still arriving. I was on my own. “So . . .” I searched for something to ask, finally settling on what sounded the least stupid. “How long have you worked here?”
“Just over a year.” The smile dimmed a bit. “How about you?”
I tried to count the days, but some blurred together. “I think two weeks?”
He arched one of his sandy brown eyebrows. “That would explain why I haven’t seen someone as handsome as yourself around before.”
The small drop of confidence I had grown was instantly gone. I searched for something to say as my heart beat at a speed that was certain to cause it to explode. “Yeah . . . I guess it does.”
He nodded, opening his mouth to say something else, but just then, Collum cleared her throat from where she stood at the front of the kitchen, opened the red book, and spoke. “Thank you for coming, everyone. For those who don’t know me, I am Collum Potson, a new employee here and a member of the Seid Westwoods coven. We”—she tilted her chin to where I stood along the back wall—“will be reading you magic powers. Be aware, once we finish this book”—she held up the book as an example—“you need to keep your head down at all costs, otherwise the viscount will know.”
The room buzzed with whispered conversations, but Collum quieted them and continued. “If you have any questions or need any help, let me know.” She paused, her eyes skimming the crowd. “Now, let’s begin.”
Then the book was open on her lap and the Seid words were weaving through the kitchen.
I had never heard my cousin read the Seid before, and her cadence was truly beautiful as she traversed word after word without stumbling. I wondered briefly if that’s what I sounded like when I read.
“Do you know her?” Leif leaned over to whisper in my ear. I jumped at first, wondering if him speaking would disturb the magic, but Collum just continued her reading without sparing a glance in our direction.
“She’s my cousin.” I felt a small prick at the lie, but I didn’t want to try to explain our relationship any other way. “I think we need to listen.”
He let out a chuckle and shook his head. “This magic doesn’t need silence to work. Just her reading it aloud will give it to anyone who can hear the words—whether they listen or not.”
I felt my eyes grow wide.
“I assume you already have it anyway.” He motioned toward my eyes. “And I don’t think I really care if I have this power.”
I scrunched my nose and tilted my head to the side.
My confusion amused him. “I take it you are new to all of this. I’m not.” The chuckle that followed was full of confidence, something the empathetic gift relayed to me.
Now that piqued my interest. “You’re not?”
“No. I’m from a coven nearby.”
Again, with the covens. I hadn’t heard that word my entire childhood, and now I’d heard it several times in the same fortnight. “The one Collum is part of?” I inquired.
He glanced back toward the front, a frown finally gracing his lips. “I don’t think so. At least, I’ve never seen her before. There was originally only one coven in the area, but it split into two about fifty years ago. She might be part of the other portion of the split.”
“So, you’re a reader then?” I asked, still perplexed by the way he appraised me each time before he spoke.
“Something like that.” Then he winked again.
The feeling in my stomach was replaced with something else, but there was no time to investigate what that feeling was, because Collum was in front of us, a frown on her lips.
“Milo, it’s your turn to read. My voice is tired.” Her words dripped with venom but she wasn’t looking at me.
My mouth dropped open, but my arms automatically lifted to take the book from her.
A tan arm reached between us. “Milo’s voice is exhausted. I don’t think he’s the best choice to read right now.”
My heart fluttered.
“And just who do you think you are?” Collum crossed her arms over her chest. It was a move I had seen before when shesaw a man she was interested in. The move was supposed to make her breasts appear larger, but in the soldier’s uniform, it did next to nothing. Also, I was pretty sure Leif wasn’t interested in females at all at this point. Not even ones who looked like Collum. With pale blue eyes and dark features, she was often courting, though she rarely brought anyone home due to our . . . situation.
