A surge of heat ran through her stomach as his eyes locked on hers, and for a heartbeat, she was back in the dream.
I could show you, Lory.
But this wasn’t a dream, and in reality, he had spread some lie about her deserving to be burned. A part of her warned her that the dream might not have been all her own, but Falcrest was too smug a bastard to not rub it in her face if he’d been weaving that dream in her mind.
“What did you tell them?” It took all her self-restraint not to reach for the dagger she was now allowed to carry anywhere she went and point it at his throat.
“Easy, Vednis, or they’ll think you’reburningfor more.” The smirk on his perfect mouth made a streak of warmth run through her veins, but his words—oh, his words made her burn with fury.
“What do they think happened?” Instead of going for his throat, Lory braced her hands on her hips and stared up at him.
Gods, the alcove was narrow enough that she could smell leather and sage and a hint of glowing embers—his scent, nearly overwhelming as he leaned in an inch.
“You don’t want to know, Vednis, trust me.”
“Trust you?” She stepped back, the wall stopping her retreat at half a foot. “You’re the reason I’m stuck here. You’re the reason people look at me like I’m a criminal.”
“Youarea criminal, Gutter Gem. Athief, to be precise.” Something raged behind his cold gray irises, a wildfire threatening to break free, but he leashed it with a wipe of his hand across his face. “You really don’t have a choice whether to trust me, and while we’re at it, letting them believe you tried to kiss me is a much better option than letting them guess your magic equals that of the eternal torches on the walls.”
Lory’s gaze flipped to the burning wooden sticks in the steel brackets along the hallway. Then his words sank in, and all blood drained from her head. “You told themwhat?”
“Youdidtry to show me what your mouth can do, Gutter Gem. Perhaps not yesterday, but the topic has been on the table.” The way his lips twitched into a smirk told her he was enjoying this. “Of course, I had to defend myself from your lustful attempts.”
Had he just winked at her? How dare he?
“Inevertried to put my hands on you, let alone kiss you.” That obnoxious prick truly thought he owned her, but two could play that game. “Even if you wish, Captain Falcrest, you’ll never get to taste that honeysuckle mouth of mine.” Feeding all her anger into the gesture, Lory half-closed hereyes and ran her tongue along her upper lip, watching with satisfaction how his gaze heated.
“You’re playing a dangerous game, Lory.” He rolled back on his heels, bringing a few more inches distance between them, but she could see the restraint in the way the tendons in his neck stood proud, how he sank his teeth into his lower lip, how he shoved his hands into his pockets rather than allowing them to drop to his sides or wander off on their own accord. “I’m sure your mouth isn’t the only part of you that’s delicious, Gutter Gem, but as for now, it’s best all those parts remain as far from me as possible. Let people believe you had a lapse of judgement and I reprimanded you thoroughly. Anything is better than them finding out what you might be.”
“And what is that?” She tried not to let his words get to her, tried to tell herself that it didn’t matter what he thought, that it didn’t sting that he made the world believe she’d thrown herself at him and he’d rejected her—better, taught her a lesson with a flash of fire—or that he couldn’t stop staring at her mouth like he wanted to retrace the path of her tongue.
“Let them belittle you, make fun of you. If they underestimate you, you’ll be in less danger.” He took a step closer, blocking out the hallway until all she could see was him. The chattering of ashlings rushing to class had long ceased, and no more footsteps echoed along the hallway. “At least, for now.”
Lory was about to object, placing her hand on his chest to shove him away, if that was even possible—with his trainingand experience, nothing could push him off balance. But Falcrest pulled a hand from his pocket, lifting it to her face and halting an inch from her cheek, as if debating whether to touch her, the gesture so familiar, a memory of salt and sweet spices streaked through her mouth, and her breath caught in her throat as she refused to read the answer to her question in his eyes.
“You’ve already shown me how well you handle your tongue,” he murmured, his other hand an inch away from her shoulder in a near replay of her dream. “Now show me that you’re willing to do whatever it takes to survive.”
His face was so close, the heat and size of him overwhelming, but Lory fought with all of her will to remember that this was the real Captain Falcrest—the man who enjoyed the sort of reputation he had and wasn’t afraid to drag her reputation through the dirt for the games he played.
“Give me one reason why you care. Why I should trust you.”
Falcrest flashed his teeth, not pulling back as Lory squared her shoulders, defying the intensity of his eyes. “You shouldn’t. Only that I have my reasons. Besides, I can always order you.”
A thread of warmth ran across Lory’s palm where it still rested against Falcrest’s chest, and the captain’s chin dipped, eyes shutting in exasperation. “Get to class before I forget myself.”
His tone made her think he didn’t mean it in a good way. “And torch me again for assaulting you with my mouth? I don’t think so.”
So fast, she almost missed the waver in his stance when she shoved him away, Lory ducked under his arm and stalked for the blue room, forbidding herself to glance back over her shoulder.
If the whole school learned the tale Falcrest spun, Ricca wouldn’t be the only one trying to kill her. Half the female students would probably line up to take a punch because of what she supposedly tried to do—at least, if the way they looked at him was anything to go by.
Lory entered the blue room as silently as she could, forcing herself to walk past the groups of chatting students to an empty seat at the back of the room where Aiden was sitting alone as usual.
“You were speaking about learning experiences when we tried to get out of that room?” She flung herself into her seat, inhaling a stabilizing breath as she faced the ice wielder, who appeared lost at her anger.
“It usually is, but this time, things … escalated.” He scanned Lory’s face with that new expression of warmth Lory had gotten to know the day before, gaze snagging on the pale spots on her skin. “At least, the wounds healed fast.”
“Yeah, at least that.” Unsure whether to laugh or cry, Lory leaned sideways in her chair, shoulder against the backrest. “He told them I assaulted him.”
