Chapter 37
Chapter
Thirty-Seven
“You’re making me miss training with Sawyer.” I threw my elbow backwards, jamming it into Sebastian's ribcage to try and release his hold on me. He grunted at the force and loosened his grip just enough so I could drop down between his arms.
“Am I going too hard on you?”
Rising to my full height, I spun and raised my weapon in defense. “A little bit, yeah,” I choked the words out.
“Good.”
My eyebrows drew together, then I lunged at him, my dagger angled at his heart. Before he could adjust himself, the clang of metal pierced my ears as my blade collided with his armor.
My arm fell and I smiled at my victory, sheathing the dagger in the wrapping around my thigh.
Sebastian dropped his guard, relaxing his stance. “I thought you said I was going too hard on you. What the fuck was that?” he panted.
I smiled knowingly. “I lied. Sawyer and I worked a lot on battle techniques while you were gone. Not to sound arrogant, but I've become pretty talented when it comes to combat.” I was confident that if I were presented with a real opponent, that I’d have a good chance at success.
He wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. “You're proving that claim true. Before we finish up, how about one more attempt at wielding your magic?” he panted.
We'd been bouncing back and forth between sparring and harnessing my powers, sometimes putting the two together. Sebastian had been pushing me a little harder than usual, but I knew he just wanted to prepare me.
“Fine,” I agreed. “One more, but then I'm done. I can't be late for the armoring ceremony.”
“Deal.”
“I'm out of ideas though, so you gotta give me something.” I brushed the braid off of my shoulder, my fingers sticking to the sweat soaked pieces that had split out of it.
Sebastian tapped a finger to his chin. “Compel me to kiss you.”
A laugh released from deep within me. “What are we, teenagers?”
“No, but you are much younger than me.”
“Oh whatever.” I rolled my eyes. “I don't want to use my magic to coerce you into doing anything sexual with me.”
“Who said anything about sex?”
I cocked my head, raising a brow. “Kissing always seems to turn into something more between us.”
“Well I wouldn't mind trying my hand at being the submissive one.”
My eyes rolled back into my skull again. “I don't think I need to press you into kissing me, anyways.”
“No, you don't need to, but I want you to.”
“On the gods.” My eyes rolled back into my skull. “Fine, come here.”
I had just begun tapping into my powers to fulfill his fantasy when a throat cleared behind us. We both jerked our heads towards the entrance of the arena. Sawyer leaned against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest. “I need to talk to you.” He nodded towards Sebastian.
Sebastian’s jaw tightened, recognizing that this wasn't something that could wait. It must have been important, because the two of them still weren't on good terms.
He turned to me, placing his hands on my upper arms. “If I let you walk back to the castle alone, do you promise to be careful?”
“Of course.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, I'm sure. Go.”
Sebastian dropped his hands. “Okay. I'll come get you before the ceremony.” He planted a brief and uncoerced kiss on my lips.
My gaze followed him to Sawyer, who dropped his head to avoid eye contact with me.
He still refused to talk to me, and I didn't fully understand why.
Surely he didn't actually blame me for Jocelyn's death?
I thought he was just angry and needed to point the blame at someone, but with each passing day, I became more unsure.
“Alright, that might be my favorite dress I've seen you in,” Pia chimed when I exited my washroom in the gown I chose for this evening.
The dress of luxurious, black silk clung to my curves, flaring out at the bottom with the help of a slit on each side.
The top was snug and sleeveless, the plunging neckline edged in gold beading.
A cascade of golden leaves adorned the gown, flowing from my waist all the way to the bottom of the skirt which was trimmed with the same beading.
The dress twinkled from my reflection in the window. “I might have to agree with you.”
“Woah.”
My skirt flowed as I spun around at the sound of Sebastian's voice. He approached me, his attention roaming me up and down. “You look…I don't even have the words.”
Pia cut in. “I believe the words you're looking for are gorgeous, breathtaking, totally hot, bangable—” She stopped herself when she noticed Kohen in the doorway, waiting to escort her to the ceremony.
“Speaking of breathtaking.” He wrapped his arms around the waist of her navy gown, pulling her into his chest.
“I'll see you down there,” she addressed me, her cheeks blushed.
Kohen led her down the hall, then Sebastian shut the door behind them. He made himself comfortable, sitting in my armchair by the window, eyeballing me as I collected my comb and started working it through my hair.
“You look quite handsome,” I complimented his usual dress suit.
“I’ll admit that I do clean up nice.”
“I still think I prefer you in your work leathers, though.”
Sebastian smirked. “I prefer you in whatever is under that tight dress.”
My thighs clenched. “What did Sawyer want to talk to you about?”
He crossed one leg over his knee and released a sound somewhere between a sigh and a groan. “Apparently him and Kohen overheard a conversation between two guards earlier that sparked some concern.”
My hands released my hair as panic filled me. “Okay? What did they say?”
He sucked his lips in, then blew out a breath.
“One of them said something about a group of stray Draemornian soldiers showing up at the ceremony tonight.
Something about them being pissed that Beaumont pulled back his war threats, and how they want justice for what happened in Craterra.
We don't even know if there's any truth to it, but we have to act like there is.”
“Who were the guards?”
“Two guys who graduated last year, I think. Sawyer wasn't exactly sure.”
“Why wouldn't they report it to your father?”
“I dunno. Maybe they hadn't gotten that far yet. Maybe they thought they could handle it on their own.”
I moved to sit on the edge of my mattress. “Do you really think any Draemornians would be stupid enough to try something like that? Especially at such a large event?”
“I’d sure hope not. But if we don't prepare for the worst, and then the worst happens, we’re screwed.
” He pulled himself from the chair and came to sit next to me, picking up the comb I’d neglected.
“Unfortunately this means I'm going to be on duty tonight.” Sebastian sounded disappointed as he started working the comb through my waves.
“Oh,” I grimaced. “It's okay. Maybe just try to save time for one dance with me?”
Sebastian smiled, untangling a knot of my hair. “Of course.”
When he finished, he laid the comb down to tilt my chin up with his finger.
His lips were soft and smooth as they grazed my own gently.
Lovingly. The contact gradually deepened, and I parted my mouth, entangling my tongue with his.
I savored the taste of him as his hand moved through the slit of my dress and to my thigh.
“Remember what I said earlier about what happens when we kiss?”
“We have a few minutes to spare.” His fingers caressed my skin, tracing the inside of my leg. He was dangerously close to where I really wished his hands would go, when he stopped abruptly and broke our mouths apart.
His forehead creased. “Where is your dagger?”
“Did you really stop kissing me to ask me that?”
“I'm serious, Maeve.”
“It's over there.” I pointed to the drawer of my desk. “Why?”
Sebastian marched to my desk, opening the drawer and taking out the dagger and its sheath before storming back. “Put it on,” he demanded, handing the weapon out to me.
I raised an eyebrow. “Seriously? We're just going to the courtyard.”
“Put it on,” he said again, his tone advising me not to argue.
Still, I hesitated, so he took matters into his own hands, separating the slit of my gown to reveal my thigh. He tied the sheath snuggly around my leg, then slid the blade into it.
“You shouldn't be going anywhere without this anymore.” He tightened the wrap to make sure it wasn't going to wriggle loose.
“I think you're forgetting that I have the most powerful magic in the kingdom. At least from what I’m told.”
“I think you're forgetting that you have a whole army who's pissed at you, and a king who presumably still wants you under his control,” he snapped. Though he disguised it by anger, I could sense the fear in his tone.
“Okay, Prince Hawthorne, damn.” I gave in to his concern with a hint of an attitude. I stood up, wiggling a bit to test out the fit of the sheath.
“Thank you.” Sebastian glanced over at my clock. “Shit, I have to go. Are you almost ready?”
“I need a few minutes. Go ahead. I'll see you down there.”
“I don't know about that.”
“You let me walk alone earlier. I’ll be fine. I'm armed now, remember?” I teased.
“You sure?” He hesitated. “I dunno.”
“I’m good, Seb. Go.” I guided him to the door, waving my hands to usher him out. “Go or you’ll be late.”
Sebastian sighed. “Okay, I'll see you after the ceremony then.” He leaned into my ear before leaving. “I can't wait to see how hot you look in your armor.”
I finished my hair, messily pulling the sides back to keep it out of my face. I put on a pair of low heels, then adjusted my dagger once more before scrambling out the door. I would be late, too, if I didn't hurry, so I broke into a jog down the stairs.
A few steps from the bottom, my foot slipped out from under me and I plummeted down the remainder of the steps. The edge of my elbow collided with the railing and I cried out in agony. I pulled myself upright on the last step, then lifted my arm to get a look at my elbow.
“Fuck.”