Page 237 of Blade of the Nightking

"So fix your face, Eidra."

I peeled my lips back, baring my teeth in an aggressively cheerful grin.

"Better?"

"No."

Rolling my eyes, I let the grin melt into something altogether different. Softer. Warmer. I tilted my head and batted my lashes up at him.

"Let's get this charade over with then, shall we?" I asked sweetly.

He blinked. For the briefest moment, he actually looked stricken.

But he recovered quickly, taking a step toward the doorway.

"Wait."

I caught his arm and drew him a few paces to the side, out of sight of the guests gathering inside the hall.

I reached for the top button of his shirt. His hand flashed out at once, closing around my wrist.

"What are you doing?"

I brushed it aside with an impatient huff.

"Aedric would never have his shirt buttoned to his throat," I scoffed.

His hand fell reluctantly away.

I undid the first button. Then the second. Then another.

The black linen parted beneath my fingers, revealing the hard lines of his collarbones and the smooth planes of his chest. My pulse gave an unhelpful thud.

"There."

I freed one final button before absentmindedly smoothing the collar back into place. The gesture came so naturally I didn't think about it until my palms settled against the warmth of his chest.

I froze.

Slowly, I lifted my gaze. His face had gone utterly still, something unreadable passing behind his eyes.

Heat rushed to my face. Refusing to acknowledge it, I stepped neatly back to his side, slipped my hand through his arm once more, and fixed my attention resolutely on the dining hall.

"Now we're ready."

He answered with a low grunt, and together we stepped through the doors.

It was crowded, filled with exquisitely dressed Pelagan courtiers who gathered in relaxed clusters, chatting animatedly over hand-blown glass goblets or laughing as they spun through lively dances.

Curious eyes turned our way, but they weren't unfriendly. Smiles greeted us throughout the room, heads dipping in acknowledgment, some courtiers even folding politely at the waist as we passed.

Beside me, Rìan's eyes continued to glow.

He wasn't merely deceiving one person. He was holding every mind in the room beneath his influence, each one nudged so delicately that not a single person suspected the thoughts in their head were no longer entirely their own. The enormity of it was almost impossible to comprehend.

More frightening still was the control—I could feel it. His magic stretched through the room in countless invisible threads, weaving between the guests like an enormous web. I felt only the faintest brush of it against my skin as it passed me by, the lone witness to what no one else could perceive.

My magic nudged forward, ever watchful of Rìan, hungry to learn the intricate workings of his gift.