Chapter 15
Shade dripped oil onto one hand and rubbed his palms together to spread it evenly. My heart pumped furiously in anticipation of his touch.
My breath hitched when he placed his large hands on my right ankle, massaging upward slowly, fingers covered in swirling dark scars kneading into my skin.
I relaxed into the touch, a satisfied warmth filling my chest, and I closed my eyes, leaning back as I savored the glide of Shade’s hands over my skin.
He moved up my leg until he reached my knee before running his hands back down again.
After repeating the movement several times, he paused at my knee, so I opened my eyes to meet his molten silver gaze.
“Is this okay?” His voice was deep and rough, and I swallowed thickly, nodding.
Those eyes didn’t leave mine as he grazed his hands higher.
My heart rate increased with every inch he passed.
I didn’t want him to stop. I wanted those strong fingers to reach the spot no one had touched before, the pulsing wetness between my thighs.
Hot desire curled in anticipation, pooling low in my belly, ready for the touch I craved. I would explode the moment he—
He stopped. Midway up my thigh. I forced back the whimper threatening to escape, and his hands moved back toward my knee.
I stared at the canvas ceiling, and embarrassment heated my cheeks.
Fuck, I was being ridiculous. I literally met this man a day ago and was panting after him like a schoolgirl with a crush. I was behaving worse than Eleanor was with Harkin. I needed to pull myself together.
When he finished massaging my right leg, Shade applied more oil to his hands and repeated the process on my left. I refused to look at him again, ashamed of my thoughts and my body’s reaction.
Gods, I hope he hadn’t realized.
I took a deep breath, trying to curb the still-lingering desire.
Shade’s scent filled me, eliciting a deep calm and relaxing my tense muscles.
Something about the scent was so familiar.
I inhaled again. Lilac, or at least something similar—a close relative?
The woodsy scent was deeper, like sandalwood but not …
“The purloe flower!” I blurted when it hit me.
The hands on my legs stilled. How did I not realize before now?
The scent so like the one in the castle’s clearing and the flowers covering the old ruins.
I opened my eyes to find Shade’s gaze on me, his head tilted to the side.
“Your smoke, it smells like the purloe flower.”
That curling smoke stilled along his skin, and he pulled back, releasing my legs.
He took up the small armchair facing the bed, as if settling in to watch me sleep.
At his silence, I fell onto the bed, huffing out a small, frustrated breath.
I understood it; after being locked away for so long, it made sense.
I needed to be patient, give him a chance to get used to this new existence.
Everything about him intrigued me, and I was dying to know more.
I tucked myself in, turning on my side to face him. Shrouded in shadow, I couldn’t make out his expression. The idea he would sit there all night, watching me sleep, frustratingly sent more heat curling through me.
The way my body reacted to everything he did was becoming a nuisance. I didn’t understand why. I had never reacted like this to anyone before. His gaze, his touch, all of it made my body tight with anticipation.
I couldn’t give in to it. To this feeling. To the desire to touch him. To the distraction he posed to my most important responsibility.
Not now. Not ever.
We were silent for so long, my eyes had drifted shut before he spoke. “It was a gift.” The words were soft and full of emotion. Sadness. Longing. Wistfulness. All there under his gravelly tone and tugging at my chest.
“From who?” I assumed he wouldn’t answer, and when he responded, it wasn’t what I expected.
“The Gods.”
The next morning, Shade was in the same spot as the day before when I awoke. Standing in the entryway of the tent, soaking in the sunlight peeking over the horizon. This time, I didn’t stay quiet.
“Why the sun?”
Out of everything he missed being locked away, why had the sun held him captive each morning. He hadn’t paid attention to anything else, except maybe me.
Shade’s deep inhale was audible, like he was trying to breathe in the very rays of sunlight splashed across his face. “Why not?”
Of course his response would be a nonanswer. I couldn’t seem to suppress my curiosity this morning, so I asked another question. “You said you lived before. How did you end up in the lamp?”
It was the wrong thing to ask. Shade’s shoulders bunched, and the sereneness that had filled him with the sun’s rising, bled away.
I immediately regretted pushing him. He enjoyed so little since emerging from the lamp, and I had just destroyed one of his pleasures.
I redirected, asking something else. “What was it like when you were here before? The world.”
Shade turned, letting the canvas fall closed and shutting out the dawn light. He strolled around the tent, seeming more comfortable in the space than he had yesterday.
“Much the same,” he murmured, picking up a discarded romance novel and flipping through the pages lightly.
“Really? Was there magic?” I couldn’t contain the excitement in my tone at the fact he was giving me something.
“Is there not magic now?” His expression portrayed his confusion at my question.
“There hasn’t been magic for centuries. What you did with the … the army, was the first I’ve seen.”
Shade’s light-gray gaze remained locked on mine, and I squirmed under the assessment, grateful the blankets hid the movement.
Then Shade spoke. “Magic is everywhere. In the earth beneath our feet. In the water we drink. In the very air we breathe. Everything is energy. Before—when I last walked this land, some family lines had the ability to manipulate this energy. The gene latent, save for those who truly wanted it.” He placed the book back down and moved to the armchair.
He sat heavily—as if under the weight of his next words, he couldn’t stand.
“Those people could harness the energy. Mold it into something more. Something powerful. That, Adelia, is magic.”
He hadn’t said my name before now, and the way his tongue caressed the sound settled low, to the spot constantly heated when in his presence.
My next squirm moved the blankets, and gray turned silver.
His eyes locked onto where my legs were pressed together.
As if he could see the dampness gathering underneath the navy sheets.
“And now?” The breathy way I spoke revealed just how much he affected me.
His eyes darkened when they met mine, the tingling on my cheeks alerting me to the blush spreading along them. “If there is no longer magic in these lands, then people simply lost the drive to obtain it.”
His words settled and cooled the building heat.
All our stories—our histories—claimed magic was gifted by the Gods.
The revelation they were wrong was a wonder and absolutely terrifying.
Anyone could access this energy and manipulate it to create magic.
The thought of someone like Beatus or even Orcan learning how to do so sent a quiver down my spine. “Anyone can learn it?”
Shade leaned forward, resting his elbows against his knees and studying me, his head tilted. “Were they descendants of the original familial lines, then theoretically—yes.”
Another danger, another threat to Eleanor.
Gods, would it never end? Panic clawed at me, trying to gain a foothold.
I shot it down, aided by the suddenly potent scent of purloe flowers.
I flashed a small smile Shade’s way. Whether he knew the effect the scent had on me, I didn’t care, I was grateful all the same.
“Don’t tell anyone else.” I intended the words to be an order, but they left my mouth as a plea.
Our misleading histories gave us an advantage for now.
I didn’t know how I would use the knowledge, but I couldn’t let it fall into the wrong hands and be used against us.
Couldn’t let others learn how to harness the energy and bring magic back to our lands. Not yet.
Shade didn’t reply, though his gaze dulled when I finally left the comfort of my bed to get ready for the day. I prayed to all four Gods he would listen regardless.
Another secret. Another burden. Something else to hide from my sister.
I would weather it. That was my duty, and I’d rather die than fail.
The next few days passed with no new revelations from Shade.
Though, he slowly started talking more. It seemed the story about magic loosened his tongue, and he now engaged in my conversations, even some with Eleanor.
To everyone else though, he remained cold.
Aloof. A silent guard at my back as the king tried to find a way around the issue with his new army and the need for me to command them.
Each night was spent under Shade’s watchful gaze. Sometimes, he would tell old tales from his childhood—dark stories of ancient magic and mystical beings, each one giving me a little more insight into who he was.
Kind. Loyal. Just.
My days were spent around Terym’s large table surrounded by arguing men.
They were tediously boring, and most of my time was spent daydreaming or worrying about Eleanor, who had spent an increasing amount of time with Harkin.
The youngest lord had escaped the need to attend the meetings.
No one seemed too concerned about his absence.
I suspected it due to the fact he just took his position and was untried. Lucky bastard.
Harkin took Eleanor on many adventures through Ferveem Forest to see other ruins, hidden coves, and even a small waterfall—Eleanor had gushed that day over how romantic the spot had been—as well as several more trips to the closest village.