They helpfully took the heavy books from her hands. Maxi told Melric not to work for too long before leaving the room. Since it was difficult for an old man with bad knees to manage a steep flight of stairs every day, the mage was currently using a small room prepared for him next to the infirmary. Maxi had even furnished it with a cabinet and sizable bookshelf. She intended to pay special attention to him to make sure the new addition to their family could settle into his new life at Calypse Castle.
As soon as she arrived at the great hall, she asked a maidservant to bring Melric a hearty meal and to make sure he went to bed early. Though the old mage was hardworking and eager, it would be a stretch to say that he was healthy. Maxi was always worried that he might collapse after overexerting himself.
“Is that mage really doing his job properly?” Riftan asked when he returned to their chambers late that evening.
Maxi had taken his cloak, and she grew wide-eyed as she hung the garment on a rack. “Of c-course. In fact, he worries me…b-by working too hard.”
“Then why are you spending more time there? I asked Rodrigo, and he informed me that you were in the infirmary from noon till nightfall….”
“I have been asking Melric to t-teach me about herbs and magic. He does m-most of the work. There is nothing h-he does not know when it comes to…herbs or healing magic.”
Riftan looked pensive. “How is his health? Do you thinkhe will be able to travel?”
“T-Travel?”
Maxi looked at him quizzically. Did he perhaps want to send Melric back to the earl? Her heart felt heavy as she thought of the old man who had been working so earnestly with her. From what he had told her, she had gathered that the Earl of Loverne had not been a good master. The earl had sent him to Anatol only because he had wanted to rid himself of the mage who had become weak in his old age.
Maxi’s face hardened as she shook her head. “Melric’s…knees are bad. So much so…that it is difficult for him to use the stairs. Yet he still works tirelessly! He may not be young…but the breadth of his knowledge is extensive. Y-You must not send him back.”
“Calm down, I was merely asking. I have no intention of sending him back.”
Riftan sighed and waved a hand. Puzzled, Maxi studied his somber face. It seemed as though he was grappling with something.
“Is…something troubling you?”
“It’s nothing for you to worry about,” Riftan said, cutting the conversation short.
Maxi pressed her lips shut. She was well aware that whenever he drew a line between them like this, it was impossible for her to cross it. Feeling hurt and angry, she looked away. Riftan, wiping his sweat-slicked torso with a wet towel, cocked an eyebrow when he saw her petulant expression.
“What has my lady sulking now?”
“I am not s-sulking.”
“Then why are you pouting like that?”
With a mischievous smile, he held her face in his handsand playfully rubbed his lips on hers. Maxi looked up at him with flushed cheeks.
Riftan left a trail of kisses from her ear down to her collarbone before cupping her breast. The sweet sensation as he stroked her melted away the hurt, and it frightened her a little that he could so easily sway her emotions.
“Y-You should get dressed, or…you might catch a cold,” Maxi murmured, pushing his face away.
Riftan furrowed his brow. “It’s not me who should be getting dressed. It is you who should be gettingundressed.”
His long fingers deftly unlaced her gown, and his hand slid in through the gap of her thin bodice. After teasing the taut peak of her breast, he swiftly undressed her and laid her on the bed. His bronze torso perfectly covered her naked body. Maxi felt her pulse quickening as blood coursed through her veins, and her breath became ragged.
Caressing her smooth thigh, Riftan murmured, “Nothinggood happened today, so let me at least end the day on a high.”
There were dark shadows in his eyes. Had he received bad news today?
Her chest felt heavy.
She wanted to know what was going on inside his head, but she could not resent him for withholding some things. After all, she herself was unable to confide her innermost thoughts to him.
“Enough. Focus on me.”
Riftan’s voice penetrated her tangled thoughts. He stared down at her with a predatory gleam in his eyes before lowering his lips to hers. Their damp, heated breaths mingled, andall her worries scattered away like sand in the wind.
Clutching his chiseled shoulders, Maxi let out a feverish sigh.
