Training #2
I raised my gaze to Dommik’s. Round, dimpled cheeks looked foreign against his angular features, but they suited him. I tucked my lips, trying to hold in my own laughter. A maniacal cackle burst from me, sending him into his own over this absurd misunderstanding.
“I can never correct him,” I breathed, admitting what Dommik had already known, that when he found me that night in the Illica keep, I was worshipping something, but it was definitely not the Dawn.
“No,” he stepped toward me, “you can’t.”
I cleared my throat, ceasing my laughter as he came closer and reached out to me. My breath all but halted when his fingers met the fabric of my dress.
“This dress is too lovely to be covered in your crumbs, my lady,” he gently scolded, picking grain from its fabric.
Had Rhazien’s blood still been in my system, it would have admonished me for the fluttering in my chest. It also would have compelled me to swallow and forget the words I said next.
“You think my dress is lovely?” The question breathed around hope.
Fierce cerulean looked up at me. “It is.”
My traitorous body flushed at the compliment. I needed more.
“Just the dress?” I fought the urge to bite my lip.
Time slowed as I waited for his response and I braced myself for rejection. Why keep entertaining this attraction? This was a mistake.
I almost apologized for asking, but then Dommik said, “No. Not just the dress, my lady.”
Smoldering satisfaction burned down my spine and settled in the pit of my belly. Its coals may have been stoked further had someone not abruptly entered the ballroom.
Dommik matched each tap of the approaching footman, backing away slowly but watching me with his own heated gaze.
I stood tall to greet the man.
“For you, my lady.” He bowed his head and presented a letter on a golden tray, green wax and a distinct rose sealed the center of an envelope.
It was from Rhazien. I smiled as I traced the calligraphy of my name on Rhazien’s stationery.
I turned my back to Dommik as I carefully opened the letter and I chewed a nail as I read to myself.
Lady Reyva,
Please join me tonight for a private dinner.
Wear something black. Or nothing at all.
Yours,
Rhazien
My heart swelled at the idea of Rhazien planning activities just for us.
Something in me knew this was right. This is what a courtship was supposed to feel like.
This is what I’d missed out on in my youth.
Not the sneaking around and becoming the family disappointment.
And not the transactional relationship purely based on the expectation of breeding.
I read the words one more time.
Yours, Rhazien.
Behind me, Dommik cleared his throat. “Are you ready to continue?”
If I were a ship at sea, Dommik was the fog, intruding on my path and blinding my way home. Rhazien was the lighthouse.
I stuffed the letter back into the envelope, annoyed that I had to continue this exercise instead of planning the next outfit Rhazien could tear off me.
“Must we?” I asked, turning to Dommik.
He cocked a brow.
“I’ve proven myself to you twice now. Do you think I really need practice?”
Dommik’s annoyance manifested in his tense jaw and darkened gaze.
“Lorana’s stone is no everyday trinket. It’s a magical item.
It could be hidden anywhere in Atoris. Warded.
Protected. Cursed. You need to take this seriously so you’re as prepared as possible when it comes time to attempt locating it. ”
I clenched my jaw and nodded. The weight of this task resettled on my shoulders. It was infuriating, but he was right.
“Okay,” I said, pivoting back to the table to select another item.
One stood out above the rest, so much so, I was surprised I didn’t recognize it sooner. The black diamond necklace Rhazien gifted me for the welcome ball. Void of color but filled with memories.
I picked up the chorus of stones. “This one.”
Dommik held out his hand and I dropped the gems into his waiting palm. Without a word, he was gone again. Longer this time. Then…whoosh.
“Oh!” I gasped at his abrupt return, placing a hand on my chest. “Must you do that?”
“Locate the necklace,” he insisted with a coldness not present before he’d left.
“Ready?” I asked as I exhaled.
“When you are.” Dommik’s assurance was flat and removed.
I closed my eyes and imagined the necklace, bringing the image to the front of my mind. The palm of my hand laid flat against Dommik’s chest.
The vision assaulted me. My body tensed into a stiff, frozen form as my mind whirled with Dommik’s point of view. His speed sent the world around him into a blur of red and browns. The portraits of the Hive smudged in my peripheral. The speed was nauseating.
But the necklace was close, and the scene was familiar. He finally slowed to a regular pace and I recognized the location immediately. He was…no. Why would he go there?
The unmistakable emerald wallpaper of my bedchamber came into view. Dommik’s presence, alone in the space with the black velvet decor, felt like an invasion.
I sucked in a breath, willing the vision to continue, but Dommik’s movement stalled. What was he waiting for? The necklace was still in his hands but he was standing...
He was standing at the end of my bed.
“Your chambers reek,” his distorted voice echoed in the vision.
The room was warm from the recently stoked fire but his voice was cold and flat. I could feel his anger build as he lingered there. His jealousy seeped from the vision into my pores. I could feel the stones cutting into his hand as he clenched the precious gems. His demeanor made sense now.
The weight of Dommik’s emotions were becoming too much. The vision was collapsing and darkness crept into the borders of my view. But I hadn’t found it yet. I had to hang on a little longer.
Finally, Dommik moved with purposeful strides to the side of my bed. An envious fury gnawed at him as he took in the smell of sweat and sex lingering in the air. He opened the drawer of my bedside table, finding the book with the red cover, The Forest and The Flame.
Put the fucking necklace somewhere already.
He stood there, staring at the book, another emotion overcoming me, its emptiness all too familiar even though it didn’t belong to me.
It was the crippling sense of grief. He ran a finger over the letters embossed on the cover, tracing them slowly before finally placing the necklace next to the book and shutting the bedside drawer.
I let the vision collapse and I coughed wildly as I came back to myself.
Dommik had done more than simply hide the necklace. He’d stumbled into a scene he wasn’t entirely ready for or able to accept, not that he’d admit it out loud to anyone. But I’d sensed it.
My focus came back into my muscles and that was when I realized Dommik’s grip on my arms was the only thing keeping me standing. His concerned gaze studied me.
“It’s—in my—” I rasped between coughs.
“Shh,” he said, lifting me effortlessly by my hips and onto the table. “Just breathe. Give yourself some time to recover and breathe.”
I hadn’t thought pulling two visions in such close succession would have been so draining, but then again, I’d never pulled two visions in a row. My arrogance had committed mutiny against my common sense.
I gripped the edge to hold myself steady and tucked one ankle neatly underneath the other.
In…two…three…out…two…three… I coached myself, taking in large breaths. I was determined to remain conscious.
Dommik watched and waited until I sent a breath to the ceiling of the ballroom, exposing my neck. He cracked his knuckles before laying his hands flat on either side of me.
“It’s in my bedside table,” I said, the words low and steady.
“Very good,” he said, hovering.
I slowly looked at each of his arms framing me. The corded muscle reminded me he would be strong enough to catch me if I fainted.
I licked my lips, focusing on my breath and not the dark spots blinking into my vision.
“I think we’re done for the day,” he grumbled.
Something in me shrunk at his tone. I’d correctly located both objects he’d hidden, but the sour disappointment from his memory hung like a cobweb in my mind.
“You’re jealous,” I said, lifting a hand before he could deny it. “I felt you. And you were jealous.”
Dommik dropped his head for a moment before looking at me with new eyes. Eyes that weren't immortal or hungry. Pleading eyes.
“What if I am?” he whispered.
“Then you need to stop.” Hypocritical advice from the envious woman on the verge of passing out. Valta’s shrill, antagonizing giggles were still fresh in my memories.
“How?” he asked with gritty urgency.
I shrugged. “Just ignore it.”
Like I plan to ignore what I feel for you.
His scoff echoed off the ornate tiles.
I am Rhazien’s. I am Rhazien’s. I am Rhazien’s.
“Dommik.” Our eyes locked. He was in focus, but the scene behind him blurred. “You have to forget me.”
Darkness won. I fell forward off the table and the last thing I remember is muscle and leather wrapping around me before I hit the floor.