27. Lucien
27
Lucien
I stared after her retreating form, my mind a storm of conflicting emotions.
The witch drove me insane.
Half the time I wanted to protect her, and the other half I wanted to drop her over my knee and slap that perky ass of hers until she saw reason.
She was a student, for Goddess’ sake, and a decade younger than I was. Yet she drove me mad with…Well, I wasn’t sure.
Rage? Possessiveness? Lust? All of the above?
She was technically underage, and so far beyond limits that I had to reel myself in. The Academy would have my head—and my position—if anything were to happen. They had strict rules, and I was all about rules.
Rules are clear and easy to follow.
Well, they used to be.
The Goddess knew how much I wanted to protect her.
From the moment she’d stepped into my office with that vile elixir and that look of pure terror on her face, I’d been determined to fight at her side.
She was simply remarkable.
But that didn’t mean anything.
It couldn’t.
“Fuck,” I muttered.
Rafe turned to me, eyebrows raised.
I cleared my throat. “I’m going to bake cookies,” I announced, already heading inside. “I think I might have overreacted a little bit.”
“A little?” Rafe replied.
I pretended not to hear him as I retreated to the safety of the kitchen. Baking was far less complicated than facing…Whatever these feelings were.