Page 79 of Reaper’s Curse

He stood and took a step forward, and fighting as I did to hold my ground, I shifted backward a fraction. Trapped in his stare, I couldn’t forget the sensation of being pulled apart from the inside when he’d extracted his magic.

Noting my backward shift, he paused. “I owe you an apology. Several, it would seem.”

“I’m listening.” I lifted my chin.

He released a sigh and relaxed his arms and shoulders. “I shouldn’t have come to your rooms the other night in such a state. I shouldn’t have come on to you the way I did. I was utterly disrespectful. And I should have been far gentler when I pulled my magic from your system.”

He ventured another step closer, and I reacted with a retreat. I bumped into the nightstand.

“You’re afraid of me.”

I kept my mouth shut. Before this morning, I thought I would be fine, but looking upon him now, my emotions were in a knot.

He stalked forward and lifted his hand as if intending to caress my cheek, but he paused before touching my skin. A flicker of unidentified emotion played behind his eyes, and his hand dropped to mine.

He gently gathered my fingers in his. “I will be forever sorry for my actions. Know that it was never my intention to hurt or scare you.”

I stared at our connected hands before raising my gaze in search of his. “What did it feel like? All that magic inside of you?”

He sucked back a sharp breath, his attention momentarily lost in whatever he saw in my eyes.

“Oh, Raven.” He shook his head. “It was otherworldly. You cannot imagine⁠—”

A tiny yelp startled us both, turning our attention toward the bedchamber door.

Neive stood in the opening between rooms, her mouth agape. “Your Highness, you shouldn’t be here.”

Winter snaked his hand through his hair and squeezed his fingers into a fist. His eyes pinched closed for half a second.

“There is no reason for concern. I’m fine now.” His attention returned to me, and he glided his hand down my arm. “I was just apologizing to Ms. Gunn for the other night.”

“Very good, Your Highness.” Neive bustled into the room and threw open the wardrobe doors.

Only one of my two outfits hung within. The other I had worn the day before. I’d been trading back and forth between them every other day, allowing one to be laundered while I wore the other. Neive shuffled the outfit back and forth across the hanging bar, as if hoping more options would magically appear.

She released a small sigh and turned back to face Winter. “I was not questioning your wellness, merely pointing out the fact you are standing in a lady’s room. A lady”―she motioned to me―“who has yet to get properly dressed for the day.”

“Very well.” He raised his hands in surrender and stepped away. “You win. I shall wait in the other room.”

He stalked toward the receiving room.

“No reason to wait.” Neive followed him out the door. “I am quite sure there are many other things demanding your attention.”

“None as important as Ms. Gunn.” His voice came from an unseen point in the next room.

Neive shook her head with a soft huff and turned back to me. “Would you like me to help you dress? Or would you prefer to handle everything on your own?”

Every day Neive asked the same question, and every day I replied with the same answer, as I did so then.

“Very good.” She bowed slightly, then she stepped into the next room and pulled the doors closed.

A bickering between the prince and the lady’s maid immediately ensued in the other room. I pressed my ear to the door and listened.

“You shouldn’t be in her rooms,” Neive said.

“Neive,” he tempered.

A slight scoff left me imagining the prince reaching for Neive and her pulling away.