Chapter Eighteen
“Boyfriend, huh?”
I jumped and whirled around, heart pounding as I glared at Wilde.
For the first time since we’d met, he’d left the black cloak at home.
Instead, he wore simple fawn pants, a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and a pale blue waistcoat.
The outfit suited his delicate coloring, softening his edges.
His pale hair was tied back, only a few shorter strands framing his face.
The others hadn’t noticed his arrival yet.
Fitz had his nose in a book. Maximus stood with his back to us, guarding the opposite direction.
Angelica was taking a nap, using someone else’s pack as a pillow.
Delilah had climbed a tree across the stream to investigate a bird’s nest. She claimed it was to check if the eggs belonged to monsters, but she probably planned to test them by eating them.
“They backed me into a corner,” I said, shifting my position to block him from the other’s view.
His shorter stature made it easier. “They’re too spooked to let anyone wander off on their own and asked a million questions.
” It was the stupid geas’ fault. “It was the only explanation that made sense.” I frowned as magic coated my tongue again.
Can I not mention the geas to Wilde? Since we’d spoken freely about the old man, I’d assumed Wilde was an exception to the spell.
“I’m happy for the excuse to keep a closer eye on you.” As he spoke, he placed his hand on my chest and trailed his fingers up to my shoulder.
“W-what are you doing?” I asked, mouth suddenly dry.
“If we’re pretending to be lovers, shouldn’t you kiss me hello?” His fingers continued tracing a line up to my neck, then he cupped the back of it with his whole hand.
The touch was gentle, easy to break. I could have pulled away, but I allowed him to guide me down.
My gaze flicked to his pink lips, parted slightly in invitation, then back to his black eyes.
I could see myself reflected in them up until I closed mine.
The fresh, clean scent of rain surrounded me, with sweeter notes underneath.
Does he taste as good as he smells? I lowered my head, ready to find out.
His grip tightened and I immediately stopped. “That’s enough of a show for now,” he whispered, his breath hot against my lips. “We’ll save the rest for when we aren’t in polite company.”
I blinked hard, coming out of a daze. Straightening, I turned to tell everyone that my ‘boyfriend’ and our savior had arrived, only to find them abnormally absorbed in something else.
Fitz’s book had moved from a relaxed posture in his lap to right in front of his face, completely blocking his view.
Angelica had her pouch open, searching through it.
I might have believed her if she’d brought the pouch closer to her rather than stretching her back at an awkward angle to reach behind herself.
In the tree, Delilah hung upside down, yolk staining her mouth as she whistled an off-key tune.
Only Maximus stared directly at us, jaw clenched and lips pressed in a disapproving line.
“Everyone, allow me to introduce”—what did I say his name was?—“Will. My boyfriend.”
Wilde slipped his hand into mine and leaned his head against my shoulder, really hamming it up for them.
Silky strands of hair tickled my chin and everywhere he touched buzzed with awareness.
“A pleasure,” he said, his lips curving around the word like a promise.
“Though I’d hoped to meet you all under more ideal circumstances. ”
Those ‘ideal circumstances’ being as his master’s prisoners?
In her excitement, Delilah dropped straight down from the tree, landing on her feet. However, she was too far away and ended up being the last to meet him.
Angelica untwisted herself with surprising grace and stood up. “Angelica Calamitous.” She breezed over her introduction and went straight to interrogation. “Did he blackmail you?”
Wilde arched an eyebrow. “No.”
“Enchant you, perhaps?”
“No.”
She pursed her lips, then leaned forward and whispered, “If you need help, blink three times.”
Wilde leaned in, keeping one possessive hand on me, and stared deeply into her eyes without blinking.
After several seconds, she lost their staring contest. “Fine, I believe you’re not a hostage in this relationship. You just have horrible taste.”
I flipped her off.
“See?” she exclaimed, pointing at me. “He’s awful, crude, and a miserable human to spend time with. What do you see in him?”
Wilde gazed back at her with a serene expression. “That’s all part of the appeal.”
“It is?” Angelica and I said at the same time.
Wilde winked at me.
Fitz tucked his book under his arm and held his hand out to Wilde. “I’m Fitz. Nice to meet you. Glad to have a mage along.” His brow furrowed as he frowned at me. “I thought you didn’t know any mages, Trey?”
Before I could think of an excuse or a lie, Wilde corrected him. “I’m an apprentice, not technically a mage yet.”
“It’ll still be useful to have you, for as long as you’ll stick around.”
Maximus silently approached and took Fitz’s place shaking Wilde’s hand.
“Maximus.” From the way the veins on his forearm bulged, he had poured all his strength into the friendly gesture.
Wilde flinched in response but didn’t pull away until Maximus released him.
He shrank into my side slightly and rubbed his skin, red from the interaction.
I frowned, both at Maximus’ force and Wilde’s reaction. He didn’t seem like the type willing to show weakness in front of anyone, especially not over something as simple as a handshake. Was it all for show? Pretending to be weak and vulnerable to reduce anyone’s suspicion?
Delilah finally pushed her way through the others, arms thrown wide for a hug. I stepped in her path, blocking Wilde from the assault, and her full weight slammed into me.
Wilde’s hand against my back was the only reason I didn’t fall over.
“Hello! I’m Delilah!” She wriggled out of my arms, her shirt coming untucked from her pants as she slid to the ground.
I released her before she became indecent, and she immediately sprang back up to her feet.
This time, she didn’t try to hug Wilde, only grabbed both of his hands in hers.
“It’s so nice to meet you! Trey has told us absolutely nothing about you, and you should punish him for that. ”
A dangerous glimmer entered Wilde’s eyes as he looked over her head at me. “Since I have your permission …”
I grabbed Delilah by the collar of her shirt and yanked her away from him, dropping her back on the ground. “Don’t give him any ideas.”
Wilde pursed his lips and murmured, “Spoilsport.”
“Speaking of ideas,” Fitz said, coming to my rescue. “How do we escape the spatial loop? I’ve been researching them, trying to see if I could identify the trap, but it sounds like anything can become a trigger with the right magical symbols.”
“Ah, I already broke it,” Wilde explained. He pulled two pieces of a twig out of his pocket and dropped them into Fitz’s hands.
Fitz’s shoulders deflated as he looked at the simple stick. “Already? I had hoped to watch you … is this all?” He shoved the book at Angelica and held the stick up to his eyes. “It does have the glyph, broken right down the middle of course. I wish I could have examined it better.”
“Why would someone carve such a spell onto a twig?” Maximus asked, eyes locked accusingly on Wilde. “Unless they wanted to waste our time.”
Wilde ignored the bait and gave him a genuine answer.
“The Lord of Grimnight’s lair is at the center of the forest. Evil mages often use these traps to deter adventurers and other trespassers.
They’re cheap and easy to make, so they don’t expend too many resources.
You’re lucky you realized the problem before one of the patrols found you first.”
“Patrols?” I asked, brow furrowing.
He glanced at me from the side of his eye. “You didn’t expect an evil mage to allow you to walk into his lair unchallenged, did you?”
Kind of? The old man didn’t usually retain a lot of minions. He kept a few imps around, along with servants like my nannies, but he’d mostly relied on magic and the environment to protect him. Since he wanted the royal champions to find him, I had assumed he’d clear a path for us.
What else has he not prepared me for? And is Wilde delivering a discreet message on his orders, or is he warning me against his master’s wishes?
That was a stupid. Of course Wilde wouldn’t go against his master, and there was no reason for the old man to hide his defenses from me, since we were on the same side. It’d probably slipped his mind—wouldn’t be the first time.
“Now that the spatial loop is broken, let’s get moving,” I said. “I don’t want to be here when the patrols come around.”
“Are you joining us, Will?” Fitz asked as he repacked his bag.
“Please do!” Delilah exclaimed, hopping up to her feet and grabbing his hand again. “I have all sorts of questions for you. Like: how did you meet Trey? Who made the first move? Is he mean to you? Because I think the meaner he is to you, the more he actually likes you.”
“Ew,” Angelica said, taking a few steps back from me. “Is that why you—”
“Fuck no.” I slammed that door shut immediately. The idea of flirting with Angelica made me want to scrub my brain clean. “She’s talking out of her ass.”
“See?” Delilah said, swinging Wilde’s hand back and forth. “He’s mean to me all the time because I’m his favorite cousin.”
I inserted myself between them, stealing Wilde’s hand back from Delilah. “This isn’t an interrogation. He’s not joining us—”
“I should at least see you to Traumstead,” he interrupted, twining his fingers with mine. The gesture was too intimate, too real, I almost forgot this was a performance. I tried to discreetly pull away and he tightened his grip, refusing to let me go. “To ensure you don’t run into any more traps.”
“Fantastic,” Fitz said with a sigh of relief. “We’ve already wasted enough time.” Without another word, he set off at a clipped pace, following the stream.
As we walked, Wilde refused to release my hand. I tried to pull away a few times before giving up. Once I stopped fighting, his grip softened from restraint to comfort. He held onto me like that for the rest of the day.