I glare at him, already feeling the magic simmering below the surface. I’m able to call to them with ease, and they’re circling my wrists and flowing from me as if they never left.Fuck.I hate that he’s the reason my magic is rising effortlessly, but at least I don’t have to force myself into my past.
“Good.” He nods, approvingly. “Now send them away.”
We continue with this exercise for hours, until I feel like I’ve been shoved from the edge of a cliff and only barely prevented every bone in my body from breaking. I know magic has a cost, but I didn’t know it could feel like this.
After I drag myself to his room, I give Anya a quick update before falling asleep in the chair next to her, still in my clothes.
It continues like this for days. Magic in the barn every morning, time with Anya in the afternoon. Thankfully, I adjust, and each day, I recover more quickly. Though, I still take at least a short nap.
Within a few days, Anya is the one tucking me into bed while she entertains herself in the room. The scratches on her face are healing slowly, but Matron Lara says that’s normal for a wound from something with so much magic.
When I approach the barn at the end of the week, voices float out to greet me. One is clearly Caiden, but I don’t recognize theother. My brow furrows. It’s always been a private lesson. Who else is here with Caiden?
Instead of announcing my arrival, I tiptoe to the side of the barn, then find one of the smaller holes to look through, careful to stay behind a solid enough part of the wall that I’m hidden from view.
I can see Caiden clearly, but the other figure has their back to me and is partially blocked by a pillar.
“…we agreed,” Caiden argues.
“You’re the one who assured Juliette’s safety,” the other person, a man says.
“I didn’t have anything to do with that,” Caiden says defensively.
“I thought you said this was under control but it’s all gotten worse since that Iskvalandian bitch arrived.”
I tense at the vitriol in the man’s voice, then move slightly, so I’m not in view of the hole. Hearing them is enough.
There’s a grunting sound and I curse myself internally as I peer through the hole again.
Caiden’s shadows tighten around the man’s neck. His captive claws at them while making sputtering choking sounds.
“You so much as eventhinka negative word against my wife again and I will slice you open and remove your intestines while you watch.”
The man has his hands up near his throat, probably trying to claw those shadows from his neck.
“Do we understand?” Caiden seethes. “She is never to be harmed.”
I think the man is trying to nod, but he’s not making any more sounds. His hands fall, limp by his side.
The shadows dissipate suddenly and the man falls to his knees, then catches himself with his hands so he’s on all fours. He sucks in a breath, then starts coughing and sputtering.
“I was serious when I said she’smine.Nobody will touch her. I don’t care how much plans change. Without her, everything fails.” Caiden kicks the man’s side. “Tell me you understand.”
He coughs again, then nods before managing a scratchy, “yes.”
“Good. We’re done here.” Caiden looks up and I swear he notices me before I can move away from the hole.
I flatten against the wall, heart hammering against my ribs. What the fuck is going on?
“I told you, I’m sorry about Juliette. I liked her. Which is probably why she was targeted,” Caiden says.
“She was my only daughter,” the man says, his voice still raspy.
“And you treated her like a prize mare,” Caiden hisses. “Get the fuck off my estate and don’t come without an invitation again.”
“Yes, of course, your majesty,” the man simpers.
“And remember what I said. If anyone so much as hints that they mean my wife harm, I will make them wish for death.” Footsteps tell me they’re leaving the barn.
