Chapter 12
My chambers are dark, lit only by a series of flickering lanterns. I want it this way; I do not want her to see me too clearly. Not yet.
When she enters, she strides into the room like a queen. As if she expects me to fall at her feet.
I almost do.
For she is every bit as beautiful as I expected her to be.
Even when I saw her at that damned arena with dirt on her face, and tangled hair, wearing nothing but that hideous outfit they dressed her in, she was the most stunning creature I’d ever laid eyes on.
Like this – in the dress I gave her – she is even more resplendent. But she is also disarming.
“You summoned me,” she says sharply, tapping her bare foot on the cold flagstone floor.
“I did.”
“You bought me.”
“I did.”
“Why?” She cocks an eyebrow at me, and takes a step closer. If she is afraid of me, she is not showing it. But then, she doesn’t know me yet.
She doesn’t know what I’m capable of.
I am in shadow, seated in the large armchair by the window, drawn back in its embrace so the moon does not light my features. Slowly, I lean forward and steeple my fingers together. Behind me, my wings unfurl to their fullest, most impressive length.
Her eyes flicker, but she does not move away.
“I bought you because you will be useful to me.” My gaze lands on her arms. Good, she is wearing the gloves.
I stand and close the space between us in one large stride.
She shudders as she looks up at me. Tall for a woman, but not nearly as tall as me, she pushes back her shoulders. She is trying to look powerful, but the gesture does nothing but accentuate her chest and make me want to grab hold of her waist.
She was not supposed to be this beautiful. My man told me she was; after the long months he spent following her, tracking her movements, he told me of her beauty and of the fire that lives in her belly. But I have known beautiful women before, and I did not expect this.
Now she stands before me, I understand why she is so important.
I just do not understand how.
Not yet.
“Have you settled into your chambers?” I ask, pacing around her as she stands stock-still, taking in the curve of her hips and the way her hair hangs down to the middle of her back.
“Why have you given me chambers?” she counters.
“I’m glad you found the dress I left you.” I ignore her question and continue talking. “And the gloves.” I stop in front of her, reach out, and tweak the index finger of the glove closest to me.
Alana Leafborne meets my eyes. Defiance swims in them. She breathes slowly and steadily and does not even flinch as I slowly tug the glove from her hand. “You know why I wear them,” she says – a statement, not a question. “If you didn’t, you wouldn’t have gone to the effort of retrieving them and giving them back to me.”
“An astute assessment.” I look down at her hand. Pale and naked, it trembles a little and she clenches her fist, biting into her palm with her nails in an effort to stop it.
Slowly, very slowly, I reach out and wrap my hand around hers, engulfing her fist with my palm.
Her eyes widen. Her mouth opens a little and her entire body stiffens.
“You cannot hurt me,” I growl.
“How can you be so sure?” she breathes.
I wait, holding her, staring into her eyes.
When nothing happens, a surge of frustration shakes my wings and I stride away tutting. Turning back, I see her attempting to return the glove to her hand.
“No.” I shake my head at her. “Leave it off. Both of them. When you are here, with me, you will not wear them.”
I cross the room and snatch them from her and then, with a wave of my hand, I unfasten the binders on her wrists. “These neither.”
As she rubs the red marks left by the cuffs, she stares at me, confusion etched on her porcelain face. “You’re not worried I’ll use my magic?”
“What magic do you have?” I ask, my lip curling. “You can read my thoughts, Alana, is that right?”
She does not look away from me as she says, “That’s right.”
“But the binders haven’t prevented you from doing that.”
I see the realisation wash over her. “No, they haven’t,” she says slowly.
“And you possess no other useful magic except the ability to cast incantations and enchantments? No elemental magic?”
She shakes her head.
“Then you will wear them outside of this room, to make those around you feel safe. But here, they will be removed the second you enter. Do you understand?”
For a long moment, she stares at her hands. Then she looks up at me. “I am to visit your chambers often?” she asks, tilting her head.
She thinks I intend to fuck her. She thinks that is what I brought her here for. Sadly, she is wrong. “Yes. Every day.”
“Every day?” She presses her hands to her stomach and swallows hard.
“I wish to converse with you, Alana. Nothing more.” I gesture to a chair by the fire. She frowns at me. “I wish to learn about you, and your people. I don’t want anything else from you.”
Tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, she shakes her head. “I don’t understand.”
“You are not a stupid woman. I think you do.”
She frowns, then says, “Why me?”
I shrug and flop back into my chair. “Because you are nice to look at. And if I’m going to spend my days talking to someone, it will be someone pleasing to the eye.”
“I’m sure there are many other–”
“I chose you!” My voice booms so loudly the lanterns rattle and the flames quiver.
Alana blinks at me.
“I chose you. Now, let us establish some rules.”
She pinches the bridge of her nose as if she’s trying to understand what I’m saying.
“Every evening, after supper, you will come here to me. You will wear whatever outfit I tell you to wear. You will answer my questions. And then you will return to your chambers. As long as you keep to this arrangement, no harm will come to you or your kin.”
At the mention of her friends – even though they are friends who have exiled her for the past century – her eyes widen.
“They will be safe if you do as I say.”
There is a long pause, then Alana dips her head and says, “Very well, my Llord. As you wish.”
When she looks up, her eyes meet mine. Pale green, like sea glass, they are almost completely mesmerising. But as I look into them, I remember.
Light, and fire, and pain, and blood. Walls crumbling, waves lapping at the walls of the citadel. And the noise... the noise.
“That will be all for tonight.” I stand up, walk to the window, and press my head against the glass. Outside, the citadel glows with moonlight and lanterns. The walls are intact. There is no noise.
“You swear they will be safe?” she repeats her question as she reaches the door.
“Do as I say, and they will not be harmed,” I promise her.
She pauses. I can feel her breathing. I can feel the burning questions she needs to ask but daren’t. Instead, she leaves silently. And I drink myself to sleep.