Chapter 15 #3
“Mm.” She tilted her head. “Well, considering Tavin is the last to be interrogated and we’ve heard nothing yet, I doubt they’ll find whoever did it.”
“I heard they’ll start searching our rooms soon,” Jorius added with a sigh. “I’d better clean up.”
“Everyone. Gather around!”
We ran over without hesitation, forming an orderly circle around Gaius. As I stepped into place between Talia and Jorius, a shadow fell over me, blocking the lowering sun. Goosebumps erupted across my skin. Thanor.
He stepped in behind me, close enough that my breath caught as he leaned in, drawing in a slow inhale.
“You reek of the Praetor,” he murmured, his voice low and edged with anger. “Yet you claim you’re not his whore.”
I gritted my teeth. “What I do is none of your concern.”
His hand slid around my shoulders, dropping to my chest, grasping the pendant. The moment his knuckles touched my bare skin, my knees nearly gave out from the sensation at my ear. It was getting worse.
“Anything to report?” Doctore asked, his voice firm against the taut silence.
I pushed Thanor’s hand away, heat rising to my cheeks.
“Nothing of import, Doctore,” Thanor said, his voice rough.
For a heartbeat, the air seemed to tighten around us. Doctore’s gaze flicked from Thanor’s hand to my face before his jaw tightened. His expression hardened, but he said nothing. Privileges of being champion, I guessed. No one seemed willing—or perhaps even able—to oppose the Ringbreaker.
“Tomorrow,” Gaius continued as though nothing had happened, “you will all go to the market to acquire the ingredients for the Moonbound Rite. A list of merchants will be provided at dawn. You’re dismissed.”
I stepped back—
and collided with Thanor.
He didn’t move. His hands closed around my arms, steadying me before I could pull away.
Across the courtyard, I caught sight of Talia.
Concern edged her expression as she hurried toward the entrance, toward Tavin.
He looked unsteady as she reached him, his face unreadable.
Goddess, what had Decimus done to him. Maybe he had lost his temper.
Poor Tavin. But I didn’t have time to dwell on it. Thanor’s voice brushed my ear.
“Bathe tonight. I won’t walk beside you while you carry his scent.”
“Stop commanding me,” I snapped under my breath, twisting against his grip. “I do as I please.”
“You have two options,” his hold tightened. “You bathe—”
His voice dropped.
“—or I replace his scent with my own.”
Heat gathered between my thighs, an unwelcome feeling. I huffed. “I’d rather step into boiling water.”
A low laugh left him as he released me. Only then did I notice Jorius watching us, his expression frozen in open disbelief. Thanor followed my gaze, his stance hardening. He shot Jorius a dark look before striding back into the Ludaryn without another word.
“What was that?” Jorius asked as we walked.
“It’s nothing.”
“That wasn’t nothing. He hasn’t laughed. Ever. You told me you hated him—said it was just your piercing reacting.”
“Shh. Be quiet.” I glanced around before lowering my voice. “I told you that in confidence. Nothing’s changed.”
We stopped outside my chamber.
“You’ll tell me if he does something without your consent, won’t you?”
“No,” I said firmly. “And even if I did—what could you do? He’s the champion. You can’t protect me from him. We’re Bondwards.” I studied him. “I care about you. I won’t have you getting hurt because of me.”
His jaw worked, his bright eyes dimming for once. “You underestimate me.”
“Then tell me,” I shot back, sharper than I intended. “What would you do if I told you the Praetor is the greater threat?”
He stilled.
“He intends to court me,” I continued. “He’s already claimed me in his mind. So tell me—what will you do? Kill him?” A short, humorless laugh escaped me.
“You don’t know what I’m capable of.”
He turned to his chamber, but I caught his shoulder, forcing him to face me. “You can’t say things like that and then refuse to explain.”
The questions I had buried surfaced all at once.
“I told you my greatest secret. I consider you my closest friend. And yet I know nothing about you. Where you come from. How you’ve survived here so easily. What you mean when you say you have eyes everywhere.”
He stepped closer. Not as tall as Thanor—but no less imposing for it. His usual warmth was gone. In its place was something he’d never shown me before.
“I need you to take this seriously,” I whispered. “Just once. No jokes. Just the truth.”
His hand rose, fingers brushing my chin, lifting my face toward his.
The touch stilled me. Not forceful. Not like Thanor.
But firm enough that I couldn’t ignore it.
For a moment, something unfamiliar slipped between us—something quieter, but no less dangerous.
It caught me off guard. I felt it in the closeness.
In the way he looked at me. In the absence of his usual ease.
And for the first time, I wasn’t entirely certain what stood between us anymore. I looked away.
“The only thing I can offer you is myself,” he said. “Not my past. Not my secrets. My friendship.” His voice lowered. “And more, if you want it.”
Silence stretched between us as the meaning settled over me.
“I can’t,” I said, the words catching as tears slipped free. “Your friendship is too important to me. I’m sorry.”
He wiped the tears from my cheek, his touch gentle.
“That’s alright. I’d rather have your friendship than nothing at all.”
He stepped back.
“Good luck with Thanor tomorrow.”
The door closed behind him. I stood there for a long moment, staring at it. Three men. Each pulling at me in different ways.
Decimus, someone to maneuver.
Thanor, someone pressing closer with every breath.
Jorius, someone I might lose, whether I wanted to or not.
I only wanted to be free. To leave the Ludaryn. Caelora. Valystria itself.
Maybe I would flee north, into the Shatterlands. It was said no one survived there.
But even that felt preferable to what this place was turning me into.