“Fuck.” But I don’t stop coming. I turn the water off and step out of the shower, then storm from my suite and throw open the door to Evander’s. The water’s on in his bathroom. I should have gone to Roark’s.
“Leave it on,” I growl.
“Use your own shower. This one’s?—”
“I broke mine.”
He takes a towel from the heated rack and steps out of the way. “Be my guest. But wear your own damn clothes.” He’s out of view. I’m still washing up when he comes out of the dressing room in a clean suit and dress shirt. “You almost fucked things up.”
“I didn’t fall asleep on purpose. How the hell was I to know she would crawl into bed with me? I closed my eyes and her scent hypnotized me.”
“Her scent hypnotized you? That’s a new one. I could have used that at the academy when the head of clans asked me why I was in the female dorm in the middle of the night. ‘I’m sorry, Headmaster Townsend, I was hypnotized by the scent of the female field hockey team and ended up?—’”
“I was there. I don’t need to hear about your debauchery, not now.”
He looks down and back up to me. “This feels different.”
“It fucking does.”
“I had to leave. I wanted to join them so badly my organs were shaking.”
“Your organ always shakes.”
“My internal organs. I get it... I get it. We’ll see in aweek when theThessariis stronger. She’ll have the lightning.”
“And if she doesn’t? How are we going to survive six months of this?”
“Five months, thirteen days.”
I glare at him. I’m not interested in his math skills now. I step out of the shower and into his dressing room.
“Wear your own clothes. Last time you borrowed one of my suits, you shifted through it.”
I don’t stop but head out the back passageway into the secret hall. The corridors were put in when the castle was built. My great-great-grandparents didn’t want to see their human servants. I head through the hallway into my suite.
It takes me longer than ten minutes to get dressed. I make a quick call to Percy to get my private car pulled around from the garage.
When I knock on Raine’s door, Roark answers it with a towel around his waist. “I believe I told you she would be ready when she’s ready.”
“I’m ready.” Raine steps out of the bathroom. Her hair is up in a simple ponytail. Her cheeks are red, and it’s not from makeup. She’s wearing a light tank top, but it’s not from the Crest Wing wardrobe. And white linen pants, and light-colored sandals.
I step away from the door and usher her into the hallway. After the incredible effort I put into not touching her a few minutes ago, I’m not going to accidentally do it now. “After you.”
She slows on the stairs for me to catch up.
“I’m coming. Wait. Come this way.” I open the door to the den. It’s not somewhere that we usually let anyone else in. In fact, I don’t remember ever letting another candidate in. I hold the door open for her. There’s a female den acrossthe hall. But no one has used that since my mother used to come here. Aisling loves the place, though.
“Whoa.”
“What?” I can’t tell if it was a good whoa or a bad one.
“There’s just . . .”
I stand away from her and take in the room with a new perspective. It’s not that different from other places in the castle. The walls are a deep inky blue. Two leather chairs flank the lit fireplace. There’s a wall full of leatherbound books and dark tapestry curtains with the history of Crest Wing woven into them.
“These match the ones in the foyer. Well, not match.”
I try not to smirk.
