After the door is closed again, Caiden gestures toward the table. “Sit. Eat.”
Looking at him sours my appetite, but I know better than to push him again. Until I have a plan, I need to keep him from losing it completely. The last thing I need is him asserting his claim on me in a more physical way.
I force myself to nibble on fruit while Caiden fills his plate with some of everything on the table. We’re silent long enough that the tea I poured is cold.
“When do we leave?” I ask.
“In an hour,” he says.
Relief floods though me. At least I’ll get to see Anya again and know that she’s safe.
“We have some stops to make along the way and should reach the winter estate in a few weeks,” he says.
“What? A few weeks? Why can’t we go straight there?” I set the bread I was attempting to eat back on my plate.
“Because I have an empire to run. Besides, it will be good for you. You can see what it’s like outside the city. Get to know Pendralia.”
“Can’t you send me along ahead of you?” I know the answer, but I ask anyway.
“You’ll enjoy this.” He glances at my barely touched plate, then looks back at me. “If you’re finished, you can return to yourroom to dress. I sent some ladies up to meet you. They’ll help you pack for the journey.”
“I wantmyladies,” I snap.
“Then you’ll do as I say so they’re still there waiting for you when we arrive at the estate.”
Six
Sabina
The carriage is luxurious, but the formal dress and company make it almost unbearable. I want to ask questions. I want to know where we’re going, when we’re stopping, and how long I must endure until I can see that Anya and my ladies are safe.
Instead, I busy myself by staring out the window and watching the landscape change from the bustle of the city to the rolling hills of the countryside. I haven’t left the city since I arrived. I’d almost forgotten what it looked like beyond the walls.
“Wife, I’m curious. Have you had any unusual reactions or strange things happening since recovering from the temple?”
I tense at the wordwife, and when I turn my attention to Caiden, he’s wearing a smug expression. He knew exactly what he was doing. I must remember not to give him the satisfaction. Then his question sinks in, and I realize he wants to know about the magic. My pulse increases. “What kind of reactions?”
“You’d know.” He shifts his position, making his jacket move enough to reveal the hilts of the blades he has tucked into a holster on his ribs. I hadn’t noticed earlier.
“What was it like for you?” I’m curious, but also suspect that it’s less suspicious if I ask.
“It took a couple of months before I noticed. At first, I thought it was my imagination that rooms darkened when I entered them. But when I accidentally set a book I was reading on fire, I realized my magic was manifesting.”
“That sounds terrifying,” I say.
“The only disappointment was that at first, I thought fire was my only gift. But the gods saw to it to give me several.” He stares at me as if daring me to ask for more information. I know this game. He’ll use it to play with me, to act superior and have something to hold over my head.
As much as I’d like to know what other magic he has, I let it hang between us, my questions unasked. “Your father must have been disappointed when you only showed an aptitude for fire.”
“He was.”
“Do you remember anything that happened in the temple?”
He shakes his head.
“I don’t, either,” I admit.
“I wonder if I can coax the light out of you. I’ve heard stories about heightened emotions leading to magic revealing itself.”
