I’ve had plenty of time to study Sariah in silence: how she carries herself with ease and determination, how she talks to her warriors, how they regard her with respect and adoration. She is a true-born leader, exuding natural charm and infusing everyone with a sense of belonging and purpose. I can see why they would wade through fire for her. Hell, I’ve known her only for a few days, and I would probably do the same too.
The resolute flame in her haunting eyes makes one lose himself completely in them, ready to surrender their volition at her altar, to her cause. Or maybe that’s just me?
“If you keep looking at my ass like that, pretty boy, you’ll burn holes through it.”
I raise my gaze to her taunting smile as she looks at me over her shoulder. Her fair hair is pinned like a braided crown to her head, gold-spun tendrils floating like a halo in the wind. A humbler man would probably feel embarrassed she caught him staring at her posterior. Good for me then, that I don’t have a single humble bone in my body.
“Don’t ride in front of me, moonlight, if you don’t like the attention,” I say as I squeeze my horse forward, gaining ground and matching her trot. We’re side by side now, and I chance a glance her way. She’s pursing her lips, restraining a laugh that seems to fight to get out.
“You’re such a flirt, Blaise,” she snickers.
“Well, I heard so are you. At least, that’s what Aimee said.”
“She talked about me with you?” she asks, her hopeful voice trembling slightly in the wind. “What did she say?”
“Oh, you know, just that you were her only friend for a very long time. Before she met me, that is,” I say proudly. “You’ll have to fight me for the best-friend title now, little pixie.”
Sariah scrunches her nose playfully at my nickname for her, rolling her eyes and laughing.
“We’ve already established I’m better than you at many things, Blaise. This wouldn’t be the exception.”
“Mmm, I don’t know about that. I’m not the one who pretended to be her friend while secretly being part of an obscure order tasked with keeping watch over her.”
My words are meant as a lively jab, but her eyes turn downcast and weary, her shoulders slumping with guilt.
“I, uh–I didn’t pretend. Do you think she’ll hate me?”
“I think she’ll understand, eventually. You were bound by a blood oath, and that’s extremely powerful magic. Besides, if there is anybody who can understand keeping secrets from the ones you love, it’s her.”
Sariah gives me a quizzical look.
“What do you mean?”
“That, moonlight, is not my story to tell,” I say, poking her cute button nose. “Besides, I wouldn’t want to deprive you females of the chance of having a heart to heart about us.”
She raises a pointed eyebrow my way, an amused smile painting her deliciously looking lips.
“About you?”
“Killian and I, yes. I am well aware of the so-called girl talk between females, about the males that capture their attention and hearts.” I wiggle my eyebrows at her playfully.
Her cerulean eyes widen before she bursts out in uncontrolled laughter.
“Oh dear Ereshkygall, you’re hilarious,” she manages to say between cackles.
“How so?”
I was expecting her cheeks to pinken in coquettish embarrassment, to at least flutter her eyelashes a bit at me. That’s the usual response I get from females. But I’m rapidly learning that my usual infallible charm and roguish remarks don’t work shit at all on Sariah Voxhall. She’s such a strange creature, both spellbinding and maddening. And utterly immune to my magnetic presence.
That’snever everhappened before.
“Youreallythink I’d be talking about you, Blaise? Oh, poor, poor pretty boy,” she giggles further.
“Well, why not?” I ask, truly bewildered.
She looks at me as one would regard a child before stealing their innocence away a little by telling them happy endings don’t exist, or that themythical Fae Godmother that grants one all their wishes is just make-believe.
“I’m suspecting nobody has ever told you this before, so it’s gonna be awkward, but you’re just not my type,” she says in a gentle voice.
