Auryn shivered. She wasn’t ready to admit how wonderful it felt when his voice warmed her thoughts like this.
How else could you hear me like this if there is no Bond between us?
I just…hadn’t realized you’d given it a name like that. I still don’t understand how it’s possible. It didn’t make sense at Stonewake half a century ago, and it barely makes sense now.
Who are we to decide what magic makes sense and what doesn’t?I’d rather know why you conspired with your Attendant to deceive me.
His hand clenched at his side, half-formed into a fist. She couldn’t tell if he was angry, or holding something in. Maybe both.
Still, her voice was soft. Apologetic. “You weren’t supposed to know. I only sought to listen. I’d already missed several sessions...”
“Listen towhat,exactly?” he asked, stepping close enough now for her to see the pulse tick in his temple. “To their insults? To the way they spit your title like a slur?”
He reached out and grasped the edges of her cloak, pulling it back to inspect her arms. His fingers brushed her scraped skin.
“You’re hurt.”
She exhaled. “Is that why you’re angry? This is nothing. Just a scrape.”
“It’s more than that to me.” He frowned. “It’s been only days since you fell. You said you would rest today. Instead, you thought toclimb stoneworkandspyon the Council?”
Her voice trembled with frustration. “You keep me locked away like a relic. Of course I’m going to find a way out. Besides, this is not my first time doing this.”
“Your Attendant said as much.”
“Kail, you’re being too protective,” she accused.
“I’m keeping you alive,” he snapped.
“I managed that just fine on my own for a few decades,” she countered, though she couldn’t quite summon a shred of anger into the words. It wasn’t a fair thing to say, and she knew it well.
Forgive me.I didn’t mean that,she rushed to say in their minds.
The fire drained from his shoulders, and he reached out again, this time, slower. He brushed dirt from her cheek with the back of his knuckles.
“It wasn’t my intention to scold you. I want to carry you back. Bathe the scrapes from your knees. Rub salve into the rest. Tuck you into my bed and keep you there until I’m certain you’re well enough to face the next cataclysm with me.”
She laced her hand in his.
“If by that you mean the protest that Torven Rax will arrange against the Sokâr’s new wing, then I’m ready now. I would like to see you make him ‘very uncomfortable’, as you promised today.”
She peeked up at him, giddy when his eyes softened and twinkled with a mischievous gleam.
“How long have you been doing this, Auryn?”
“A while…I’ve been keeping records of sessions. It felt like a way of fighting back against being excluded.”
“So, you’ve seen me there as well.”
She nodded. “You were different today.”
His hand smoothed against her cheek, slid down to her shoulders, then her waist. He tugged her closer. Embraced her.
“I’ve never barred you from joining Council, Auryn. There’s no law against it. In fact, Doctrine would say you have a place at my side there. But you must understand that involving yourself in these matters sopublicly paints a target on your back. And you already have enough of one that I can’t seem to eradicate.”
Auryn pressed her cheek against the cold aethersteel of his chest plate. “I listen, but I yearn to speak. I just…haven’t found the courage to try.”
“I believe you could,” he admitted, fully sincere. “You are sharper than all of those half-blind fools. You know more of magic, to start. Not only that, but you see those you would rule.”
