Page 133 of Blade of the Nightking

I glanced up, startled. Rìan stood motionless against the wall, his face as cold and composed as ever.

I shook the feeling off and turned hastily back to Levinica. “He’s a bit of a demanding little menace,” I said softly. “But mostly sweet-hearted. Hopefully he doesn’t destroy all your beautiful things.”

Vacantly, she nodded.

Behind me, Segolayne sucked in a breath. Rìan stiffened where he stood. I realized instantly it was more response than Levinica had shown in days.

Carefully, I rubbed the kitten’s head with my thumb.

“Don’t be too naughty,” I whispered to it before dropping my voice and jerking my chin subtly toward Rìan. “Though I fully support you making his life miserable.”

From somewhere in the shadows, Veylan snorted softly.

Levinica's hand moved again, slowly stroking the kitten's fur. It answered with a deep, contented purr.

I rose quietly to my feet and turned toward the door.

Rìan stepped into my path so abruptly I nearly walked straight into him. Slowly, I lifted my gaze to meet his. My heart stuttered at what I found there. Where his eyes were usually shuttered and guarded, now they seemed impossibly deep, dark enough to drown in. His lips parted as though he meant to speak, then closed again.

“I don’t care what you say.” My voice came rough and shaking. “You’re wrong about me.”

I stepped closer, closing the distance until my chest nearly brushed his.

“I am not useless,” I said, putting every scrap of steel I possessed into the words. “But I am not touching that fucking bow again.”

He held my gaze, his eyes pulling me deeper and deeper. Something tightened low in my belly. Finally, he dipped his chin once.

I released a breath and turned away, relief mingling with a small thrill of victory as I strode past him into the hallway.

For once, Veylan remained silent as he escorted me back to my rooms.

Somewhere along the way, I realized I was smiling.

CHAPTER 27

The storm woke me before Nadja did.

Thunder rolled so violently it shook the walls, lightning splitting the sky in blinding white flashes that slashed through the narrow gap in the curtains.

Nadja entered quietly. When she saw I was already awake, she gave me a small wave to indicate it was time. Once I was dressed, she escorted me to the training chamber, where Veylan was waiting. He held the door open as I stepped inside, then gave me a bored look before melting away.

For once, the terrace doors were closed. Rain lashed against the glass in furious sheets, driven hard by the wind until it sounded more like pebbles striking the castle than water. Thunder cracked again so violently the veins of light running through the walls flickered and dimmed, casting the room into uneven shadow.

Lightning arced. For a brief, blinding instant, it illuminated him, already waiting for me at the mat. Then the light was gone, and he became shadow once more. For a heartbeat, he looked as he had in the space between our minds—that formless presence tethered to the Veil, with neither flesh nor face. Only there, his eyes had burned silver within the void.

Now, there was nothing. Only darkness where they watched me.

I slowed as I approached, bracing myself—for anger, for punishment, for some response to what I'd done the night before. Giving Levinica the kitten. Defying him.

But when I reached the edge of the mat, he said nothing. His expression was hard, his gaze fixed and solemn, his brows drawn in frustration as though he wanted to see through me, to step into my mind, and was forcing himself not to. He knew what it would cost him to dreamwalk. Knew what I could take.

I swallowed and glanced down. His boots had been discarded beside the mat. Fighting the apprehension building inside me, I bent and removed my own without a word.

The mat was cold beneath my feet. Thunder rumbled, shuddering through the floor beneath me, and lightning flashed again—briefly igniting his eyes, catching the silver flecks of power banked behind that unyielding stare.

Without a word, he stepped closer until only a breath separated us.

Every instinct in me flared to life. He stood with a preternatural stillness, yet beneath the tightening of our bond I could feel his magic—vast and monstrous—held in such perfect restraint it was almost beautiful. For a moment, I wondered if the storm wasn't outside after all, but standing in this very room, leashed beneath his skin.