Chapter 15
Taera
Asandstorm roils inside me.
How dare he?
“You’re such a liar. You told those girls…” Even furious, I can’t make myself say it. I blush, baring my teeth, hating my own modesty.
“That you’re my latest fling?”
“I wasn’t even in your bed.”
“My sheets beg to differ.” His lips tilt.
“You can’t just say that.”
“I can say whatever I want. They’ll decide what to believe.”
“I would never—”
“Taera.” He comes to a sudden halt, turning on me and then taking two steps until he’s towering over me. I refuse to shy away, even with his hot breath against my face and every muscle of my body tensing. He remains a mask of indifference, but his eyes glitter. “Calm the fuck down.”
My voice shakes with fury. “No. You’ve torn my life to shreds.”
He scoffs. “So you mutilate my bedding?”
Then he’s yanking me through a glistening obsidian door, swinging it shut.
His chambers.
Horrifying, disapproving thoughts flood my mind—in a voice that sounds a lot like Gramps—at the idea of sharing a room with this infuriating, inappropriate magician.
“Why did you tell them we’re together?” I choke out.
“Trust me, I’d rather fuck a cactus.” He snorts. “You really did a number on my sheets.”
“I’m not wearing those robes,” I snap back. “They’re indecent.”
“You don’t have to wear anything.” He raises a brow. “Might improve the view.”
My vision flashes red. “You destroyed all my things and abandoned me here. What was I supposed to do?”
“Take a damned bath, like I told you. Instead, what? You decided to ruin your reputation and mine. I don’t need rumors about a newfound fetish for dirt.”
He’s mad I didn’t take a bath? After what he’s done?
I step toward him, nails digging into my palms. “And my face—you think my face is a joke, something you chose? Now they think I’m your, your…”
“My plaything? That’s the point.” He steps forward as well, bringing us cracklingly close.
“This is my face,” I growl.
A wide smile spreads across his own, slow and triumphant. “Not anymore.”
“I will never let you change it.” The urge to slap him pulses through my fingers. I want to spit at his infuriating grin. But then I remember the compass I stole, still pressed against my skin. I stiffen.
He chuckles darkly. Then, like he’s reading my mind, he turns away and strides to his desk.
“Wait, listen to me,” I cry out.
“Why? I’m damn close to throwing you back out into the desert already.”
That’s exactly what I want. But enraging a magician to do it… that’s too stupid a plan, even for me.
“Why are you doing this to me? Is this fun for you?” I demand.
He goes very still. “You have no idea what I’ve sacrificed, getting you here.”
The hairs on my neck rise, but I won’t let him scare me into silence. I’m grateful he hasn’t looked inside his desk yet. I have to keep distracting him.
“How am I supposed to know anything if you won’t tell me?”
“What’s in it for me?” Nikolai eyes me.
“What?” I stare at him, momentarily transfixed. I shake myself out of it.
“If I answer your questions, what’s in it for me?” he says.
What could I possibly offer that he hasn’t taken already?
“What do you want?” I ask.
“I’ll answer three questions.” He holds up a hand—right before I open my mouth to demand more. “If and only if you shut up, stay put, and don’t require my attention for the rest of the day.”
I try to remember whether making a deal with a magician will curse me. It hardly matters now.
He adds, “And you take a bath. I don’t want my chambers smelling like the desert.”
I stay quiet. Gaining information is too important.
“Alright,” I mutter.
He narrows his emerald eyes on me. “Ask your questions.”