25. Chapter 25 #2
My disgust must show because he nods once. “He’s an idiot, but that in itself can make him dangerous, especially to his own people.”
“The others?”
“Wicca’s power has something to do with her experiments. I don’t know what.” He shrugs. “Kael’s is rumored to be combat-based. Violent.”
I shutter at the thought of Wicka’s power in her lab. The way she said she wanted to see me inside out… what if that’s her power? My stomach feels sick. I push the thought away.
Don’t think about it too much, Arwen.
“Duval and Paris?”
Maddox shakes his head. “They stay in their lanes. Never challenge me. Never cause trouble beyond their own territories. So I don’t know for sure. The rumors are never credible anyway. Mine has to do with redirecting force. I'll show you sometime.”
Silence settles between us as I take it all in. It’s a nightmare.
“So everyone’s going to know about my power now. Once it gets out to your family, it could spill to other Councilors?”
Maddox doesn’t respond right away, but we both know the answer.
“Cleo…” My voice catches. “She looked so scared.”
The image flashes through my mind again. The knife at her throat, terror in her eyes, Amaya dragging her away…
“I couldn’t let her take her. And part of me feels like it just… bubbled over.” I hesitate. “But part of me thinks I wanted it to happen too.”
Maddox’s brow furrows.
“She kept talking about how useless I was,” my voice drops. I don’t enjoy being vulnerable, but the way he just opened up to me about his family… I have to put a little trust in him.
“I think some part of me wanted to prove she was wrong. Wanted to show her I’m not that person anymore. That I’m not useless.”
My fingers twist in my shirt, and he moves so fast that I don’t realize how close he has gotten until he is kneeling right in front of me, hands warm against my face, raising my chin up to look at him.
“You were never useless. Ever.” He says in a sharp tone.
I let out a small breath. “I know,” I say. “Or… I do now, mostly.” My eyes drop before I force them back up. “I spent a long time thinking my only worth was based on power.”
His thumb brushes against my cheek in the most gentle, un-Maddox like way. I lean into it.
“But I know now, it’s not all about sin power,” I continue. “I guess the old thoughts just break through sometimes.”
A humorless smile tugs at my mouth. “It’s funny, now that I have this power, I’m honestly more worried about how it might change me.”
Maddox’s expression softens into something almost painful. “Arwen, you walked into that classroom on the first day and put me in my place right away.”
Despite everything, I huff a laugh.
“You have this spark of fire. I watched you fight for yourself all semester. Watched you get knocked down over and over and stand back up, stronger than before.” His gaze searches mine. “You choosing Cleo today. Your loyalty. Your heart.”
His thumb continues stroking my cheek.
“No power is going to change who you are at your core.”
Something in my chest cracks open as he tucks a lock of my hair behind my ear.
“And never apologize for being who you are. If those old thoughts saying you’re useless break in again, you come to me and I’ll remind you just how wrong you are.
His words slide in and fill places inside me I didn’t know were still hollow. How does he always know what to say?
He goes quiet, but his expression shifts to something conflicted.
“Did you…” He glances away. “Did you feel anything about me before? Back at the academy?” He asks roughly, refusing to meet my eyes. I swear he has a little red in his cheeks, and it makes me want to melt.
I reach up and grab his jaw, forcing his gaze back to mine so he can’t avoid me.
“First of all,” I say in my most matter-of-fact voice, “you already know you’re hot.”
His eyes widen as he laughs in surprise. Rich and rough and so beautiful that I almost forget what I’m trying to say.
I never see him smile; his smile is devastating.
“At first,” I admit, “you intimidated the hell out of me. But once I got to know you…” My voice softens. “I saw how special you were too, Maddox. Of course, it drew me in. How could it not?”
His smile fades into something more serious.
“The way you care.” I hold his gaze. “The way you never stop trying to make things better, even when your entire world is built against that. Your loyalty to the people you care about. The way you never back down.”
I smile.
“And everything you did for me, crafting that potion to help me.”
His expression changes instantly as the warmth fades. He looks away, and I can tell something is wrong.
“What is it?”
“I almost didn’t give it to you,” he says so low I almost miss it.
“What do you mean?”
He looks away again. But instead of embarrassment, I see guilt.
“Actually… I had it the day before your trial, but when I went to give it to you, I saw you with Atticus.” His jaw tightens. “And I let my jealousy get in the way.” He exhales.
“Yes, part of me was concerned what your power level could mean politically if Pride got you in their grasp.” His voice lowers. “But the truth?”
His eyes find mine again. “Watching you smile at him felt like getting gutted.”
My breath catches. I didn’t know.
No idea he felt any of this before my trial. That he felt this strongly before the magic of the bond pushed us together.
“Are you mad?” He asks, face tightening.
I shake my head and his shoulders loosen just slightly.
“No, Maddox. I can understand why you hesitated. Protecting your people, what you built.” My voice softens. “But in the end… you came through. You chose me over your doubts, because you knew it was the right thing to do.” I brush my thumb along his jaw. “Because that’s who you are.”
My chest tightens around the truth of it.
“You’re loyal to a fault. You fight for what’s right even when it costs you.”
His gaze darkens as emotion swells in my throat. “I love that about you.”
Maddox goes still as he searches my gaze. Then his hand slides behind my neck, pulling me toward him.
His lips crash into mine. Hard and desperate, like his patience has snapped.
I gasp into the kiss and he uses the moment, pushing his tongue deeper into my mouth while I kiss him back just as hard. He pulls me against him as his hand tangles in my hair while the other grips my waist hard.
A dam in me breaks, flooding me with how much I want this. It doesn’t feel like the bond. It feels like fire between us. Like every stolen glance and every moment of restraint detonates all at once.
He groans against my mouth as my tongue touches his. He knees himself closer between my legs and slips his hand under my ass, easily lifting me up and against him.
As he stands, I wrap my legs around him and feel just how much he wants me too. The hardness presses right against my leg.
His forehead presses to mine when we break off our kiss, coming up for air, both of us breathing like we just ran a marathon.
Dark eyes lock on mine. “Sleep in here with me tonight.”
And there’s no hesitation at all when I nod my head. Bond or not, this man is mine.