Chapter 17
SEVENTEEN
Rylan
“Well, I suggest you figure out how to get word to him…” I don’t finish my sentence. Everyone in the room can hear the threat without it being spoken.
Sweeping my cloak around me, I storm out of the house, slamming the door behind me. The sound echoes around me in the narrow street. Well, that meeting went to hell fast. I can still hear the slippery bastard’s voice in my head, dodging my questions, hinting at backing out of our deal.
Usually, Maren’s reliable, dependable in the way only a man with too much to lose can be. But today, he was different, cagey, like a rat backed into a corner. As I make my way through the darker streets on the outskirts of the city, my hood pulled low over my face, my mind tracks through our conversation, analysing each word for hints of ulterior meaning. The thought of what I’m going to have to do if his loyalties have turned has bitterness coating my tongue .
I’m tired, more tired than I’ve been in a long time. The kind of exhaustion that sinks into your bones, making every step feel like wading through mud. My instincts are dulled, my reactions slower. And I know that’s dangerous. I need to get out of here before someone recognizes me and I put the whole godsdamned kingdom at risk.
I just need to get home. Scrub a week’s worth of filth off me, shave off this damned scruff that’s been itching at my face for days, and go in search of—
I shake my head, stopping that thought in its tracks. A week away from the castle didn’t clear my head the way I had hoped it would. If anything, it’s given credence to the age-old saying, absence makes the heart grow fonder. Or, in my case, lustier. Because that’s surely all it is. A perfectly normal hot-blooded reaction to a woman with almost unearthly beauty and the fiery temper to match. Maybe seeing her and being at the butt end of some of her insults will chase the thoughts that have plagued me over the last week right back to the recesses of my mind where they belong.
I’m a block away from my horse, hidden in a quiet spot blocks from the main square, when I spot movement up ahead. My senses snap to attention, the fatigue momentarily forgotten. Hand on the sword sheathed at my side, I slow my movements, eyes trained dead ahead.
There’s someone in the alley, trying to blend in with the shadows. Instinct kicks in, the part of me that’s always on guard, always prepared for the worst. I don’t think; I just act. Sprinting forward, I reach into the alley, my hand shooting out to grab a handful of fabric and yanking it into the light. I clamp my hand over their mouth, leaning in close, my voice a low growl. “Scream, and it’s the last sound you’ll ever make.”
They start thrashing immediately, kicking and writhing with a desperation that surprises me. I angle my body away while still holding on, dodging kicking legs and scratching hands. The movements are so vicious, so violent it takes me a moment to recognize her—the feel of her, the familiar scent, even the way she fights.
Eirabella.
In my shock, I almost let her go.
“Eirabella! Stop! It’s me!” I hiss, trying to keep my voice low while loud enough to penetrate her fighting haze.
She doesn’t stop struggling, her eyes growing wilder with panic. An errant leg catches my knee, and it buckles under me. She takes the opportunity to slip out of my grasp, bolting down the alley. But she barely gets ten steps before I’m on her again, grabbing her arm and slamming her against the wall. The shock of it silences her, but only for a moment.
Her eyes catch mine and widen in recognition.
And then narrow.
“What the fuck are you doing?” I snarl, the anger bubbling up before I can stop it. My heart is pounding, a mix of adrenaline and… fear. Fear that I might not have caught her. And she’d be gone.
She glares at me, defiant as ever. “Let me go. Now .”
We’re locked in a battle of wills, the tension between us crackling like lightning. Her stubbornness is infuriating, but there’s something else too—something that tugs at me, even as I try to push it away. She’s so close, her breath coming in sharp bursts against my skin. All it would take is to lean down just an inch more, and I’d finally feel those lips against mine. The thought of it sends a surge of heat through me, one that I can barely control.
“Are you alone?” I ask, my voice tight with barely controlled anger, trying to focus on anything but the pull she has on me. “Who are you hiding from?”
She doesn’t answer, just keeps glaring at me with that fire in her eyes. I’m about to shake her for some answers when I hear fast footsteps behind me. I spin around, keeping Eirabella pressed against the wall, and see Mathis appear from around the corner, breathless and looking betrayed.
The sight of him only pisses me off more. “Misplace something?” I snap, grabbing Eirabella by the collar and pulling her off the wall to present her to him.
Mathis straightens, immediately bowing his head in deference. He’s panting, sweat beading on his forehead, but there’s no excuse in his eyes—just guilt. “Rylan. Your Highness… I—”
“I don’t want to hear it,” I cut him off, my voice cold. I can’t deal with this right now. Not after the day I’ve had. Not after catching Eirabella trying to run away.
Eirabella surprises me by yanking herself from me and stepping in front of Mathis, her voice sharp. “Captain Corvane did not misplace me. I just got lost. Wandered away from him.” She shoots him a look that’s half-apologetic, half-pleading, but he shakes his head.
“No. She ran,” Mathis admits, his tone resigned.
“Go back to the castle,” I order, a tone I don’t usually take with him.
“Your Highness—” he tries, clearly reluctant to leave, but glances at my face, seeing I’m done with this conversation.
“I said go,” I repeat, my voice hardening. “I’ll take care of this.”
Mathis bows again, his shoulders slumped in defeat. As he turns to leave, Eirabella calls after him, her voice soft and full of remorse. “I’m so sorry, Mathis.”
He doesn’t respond, but his shoulders square as he just keeps walking, his figure soon disappearing into the shadows of the city.
When we’re alone, I turn back to Eira, my anger simmering just beneath the surface. “You ran?” I ask, the words more an accusation than a question.
She meets my gaze, her chin lifting defiantly, full of roiling fury. “You would’ve too if you’d been through what I’ve been through.”
The words hit me harder than I would expect. I don’t know what to say. I don’t know what to do with this anger, this confusion, this... attraction that’s been building ever since I grabbed her in that alley. Fuck. Let’s be honest. That has been building since I first spotted her across that crowded town square. She’s staring at me, her breathing heavy, as she waits for me to respond, and I realise that I’m looking at her too—really looking. After being gone from Aetherhold for a week, I’ve missed the intense pleasure of just getting to… see her.
“You’re… beardy,” she suddenly blurts out.
I blink, caught off guard. My hand comes up to my face, feeling the rough scruff that’s been growing unchecked. “And you’re…” My voice trails off as I frown, my eyes narrowing as I take in her appearance. She’s wearing that teal dress I bought her. The one that had made me think of her the moment I saw it hanging in that street stall. It makes her eyes pretty much jump out of her beautiful face. But that’s not what seems … off about her something that doesn’t fit. Without thinking, I reach down and lift the lace hem of her dress, revealing the extra layers of clothes beneath. What in the…? “Planning on joining the circus?” Her response is immediate—a swift kick aimed at my face, which I dodge just in time. “Stop it.”
But she doesn’t; she kicks out again, and this time I catch her ankle, and she loses her balance and sinks back against the wall for support. “Let me go!”
“You say that to me a lot.”
“You hold me captive a lot,” she retorts, trying to free her foot .
Before I can say anything else, someone walks by the entrance of the alley, and instinctively, I move closer to her, shielding her with my body, my hand sliding from her ankle up to her thigh. It’s a reflex, something I do without thinking, and it’s only when she stiffens beneath me that I realise how close we are. So close that all I can think about is how easy it would be to kiss her right now. My heart pounds at the thought, the ache in my chest intensifying.
“What are you doing?” she whispers.
“Shhh. It’s better nobody sees us here. Either of us,” I murmur, keeping my voice low, my lips almost brushing her neck. “I told you, it’s not safe out here. It’s only safe for you at the castle.”
She practically hisses at me. “If you ever say that word to me again, you’re going to have to refer to being a man in the past tense.”
I can’t help the small smirk that tugs at the corner of my mouth. That’s my Eirabella, always ready for a fight, always ready to push back.
Rylan. Stop.
She’s not your anything but a disciple. That thought should be like a bucket of cold water over me, but instead, it’s taking all my willpower not to close the gap between us, not to give in to the need that’s been simmering under the surface.
Once the street has cleared, I reluctantly pull back, dropping my hand from her leg. “Tell me what’s been going on,” I say, trying to steer the conversation back to something I can control.
She hesitates, her eyes searching mine as if deciding whether to trust me. Then the words spill out of her, fast and angry. “You want to know? Everything’s been a mess. The training is going badly. The only water I’ve conjured is sweat and tears from everyone else laughing so hard. I got in trouble for fighting with Selene, even if she deserved it, and almost passed out from doing laps around the training room. Master Kaelen likes to make me the whole class’s punching bag. I have no freedom whatsoever, only being allowed to go for a walk if I have a guard. Your sister thinks I’m about to stage a rebellion all because I sat in your seat at dinner. Selene has tried to drown me only four or five times. Oh, not to mention, Julietta has been taunting me, saying ridiculous things about you two, as if I would care.”
Her words cut through me, but it’s that last one, the way she says it—the way she tries to brush it off, like it doesn’t matter—that gets to me. “So you would care?” I ask, my voice calm, but my heart pounding in my chest. “About the things that Lady Julietta said?”
She glares at me and thumps her fist against my chest, her frustration boiling over. “Seriously? That’s what you choose to focus on? After everything I just told you?”
“What would you like me to focus on?”
“The fact that all these things happened while you were off gallivanting through the kingdom doing gods know whatever and whomever while I was left here without you.”
I can’t help it; a smile curls my lips. “Oh. I see. You missed me.”
“The hell I did! You left me here, you fucking bastard!” she snaps, lunging at me, trying to push me away, but I’m ready for her this time. I grab her arms, pulling her close, my body pressing against hers as I pin her back against the wall. She’s breathing hard, her eyes wide and wild, and there’s something intoxicating about it, something that makes it hard to think straight.
“Oh, Eira,” I say, her sweet, shortened name rolling off my tongue like liquid silk, “I think you missed me so much you don’t know what to do with yourself.” I lean in, so close now that I can feel the warmth of her breath on my lips. “Would you like me to suggest something you could’ve done with that missing? The things you could’ve done while alone in your room and thinking of me?” I say, the suggestiveness in my voice making her eyes widen. The urge to close that last inch, to finally taste her, is almost overwhelming. After a week of being on the road, the hold on my restraint is tenuous at best. “Gods, you always smell so fucking good,” I murmur, my voice rough, almost hoarse. My nose traces the column of her throat, her pulse palpable under my touch. What I would do to press my lips against her skin right now. “Like raspberries and honey. Soft and sweet and delectable.” The words slip out before I can stop them, and I watch as confusion flickers in her eyes, followed by something that makes my heart skip a beat. Reciprocation. She wants me, too. And she’s just as angry at herself for it as I am at myself.
Why couldn’t… shouldn’t I take just one… little… taste of her?
Eirabella’s breath hitches, the only noise in the silence.
I squeeze my eyes shut and force myself to step back, to put some distance between us, running a shaky hand through my hair. “Let’s go,” I say, my voice firmer now. “It’s time to go back.”
“No,” she says, shaking her head, her voice trembling with defiance. “I’m not going back there.”
“Why not?” I ask, genuinely confused by her resistance.
“I just told you why!” she snaps, exasperated.
I take a deep breath, trying to find the right words. “Well, I’m back now, and none of that is going to happen again.” I breathe truth into the words I’m about to say. “I promise.”
Her eyes narrow, scepticism clear in her gaze. “Oh, so you’re going to magically make my powers come back?”
I can’t help the small smile that tugs at my lips. “Let’s just say I’ve learned a few things while I’ve been away. And I have a few ideas.”
She eyes me warily, and I can tell she’s not convinced. “Are you going to watch me soaking in a tub too?” she asks.
White-hot jealousy streaks through me. “Who the fuck watched you bathing?”
This time it’s her turn to smirk. “Look who actually missed whom?”
Her taunt tugs at the last of my restraints. My hand slides to cup the nape of her neck as I pull her close and lean in so that barely a whisper of a breeze separates our lips. “Do you hear me denying it, Eira?"
The words hang in the air between us, sparking like embers catching light. I feel the tension shift, every nerve in my body on edge, screaming at me to close the distance, to take what I so desperately crave, but I hold back.
Barely.
“Fine,” she says finally, her voice steady but her eyes still wary. “I’ll come back. But I want to make a deal. I can’t feel trapped there. I need to have some freedom. I think feeling like I’m a prisoner there is stifling my magic.” She grimaces, as if the admission hurt her.
Taking a step back, I nod, considering her words. “Fine. Whenever you want to go out, let me know, and we’ll go out.”
“No,” she says, shaking her head. “That’s not what I mean.”
“It’s either that or no deal,” I say, my voice firm, remembering the way Mathis had looked as he’d rounded the corner, chasing her down. If it had been me, I would’ve looked ten times as terrified at the thought of having lost her.
She hesitates before finally nodding. “Fine.”
I feel a small pang of guilt as I realise how I’ve forced her hand. The trust between us, what little there was, has been shattered when she’d found out who I was, and why I’d brought her here. But I can’t afford to think about that right now. There are bigger things at stake.
With one hand on her wrist, the other on the small of her back, I guide her to where my horse is hidden. I lift her up onto the saddle, then swing up behind her, the familiarity of the movement making me smile. The way I press myself against her a little closer than need be also reminds me of our first days. The ride back to Aetherhold is quiet, the silence heavy with unspoken words. Every inch of my skin is aware of her presence, her warmth pressed against me, and it’s driving me mad.
When we finally reach the castle courtyard, I dismount first, then help her down. She’s about to turn and run off to her room when I grab her wrist, stopping her in her tracks.
“When you’re ready to apologise, you know where to find me,” I say.
She looks up at me, her eyes flashing with confusion. “I’m not sorry for running away. I told you, you would’ve too.”
I shake my head, my gaze holding steady on hers. “I’m not talking about that.”
She frowns, confused. “Then apologise for what?”
I take a deep breath, the words sticking in my throat. “You left, Eira. Without saying goodbye.” She blinks but doesn’t respond. I reach out and brush my finger along the curve of her cheek, feeling the flecks of fire in my irises catch flame at the mere touch of her. “Just in case you’re wondering, I would never, ever have done that to you.”