Page 28 of Blade of the Nightking

I gawked at him, recalling the bumps I’d seen gathered in intricate swirls. “Beneath the skin?”

“In the head,” he said calmly. “Where the brain can be overridden.”

The thought turned my blood cold.

He resumed combing, slower now, as if he sensed my unease. “It’s a very effective system. Sairus and I devised it long ago, when he was First Lieutenant of the Dawnwatch. My father’s Second.”

I startled, turning toward him.

He arched a brow, faintly amused. “You’re going to ask about my family history now, aren’t you?”

“Of course I am.”

“Wouldn’t be a full day for Elowen Teller without peppering me with questions,” he teased.

“I’m just… surprised,” I blinked. “I knew he was your uncle. But your relationship seems —”

“Strained?” he supplied.

“To say the least.”

He set the comb aside and sighed, bracing his hands on the edge of the pool before standing. Water streamed down the length of his muscled body, tracing familiar contours. My gaze betrayed me, drifting down his chest, his torso, his thighs… what hung between them…

He caught me staring and smirked, leaning in to tilt my chin up with his fingers. “I’m up here.”

I laughed softly, color rushing to my cheeks, and batted his hand away.

He stepped from the pool and wrapped a dark, plush towel around his waist, securing it easily before sitting on the stone edge. I reclined back against the cool lip of the bath, watching as he absently trailed his fingers through the water.

“When my parents died,” he said, after a moment, “I was next in line for a seat in the Full Circle. But among the Fae of Elantis, the heir can be challenged by the previous High Lord’s Second.”

I frowned. “Challenged?”

“It’s encouraged,” he added, noting my expression. “To ensure the seat is properly earned—and not merely inherited.”

I nodded my understanding.

“Sairus challenged me. The duel was witnessed by the Full Circle and much of the nobility.” His mouth twitched faintly. “It was violent. Bloody. You saw a glimpse of his power in the War Room⁠—”

“It was horrible,” I blurted.

“Yes,” he agreed softly. “But as powerful as he is—” He caught my eye and winked. “I’m stronger.”

A shiver traced its way through me, despite his flirtation.

“He scares you.” He tilted his head, studying me carefully.

I considered it. “He’s… awful. What he did was grotesque.”

Aedric smiled faintly. “Then consider this—as dangerous as we are, El, an Eidra is far worse. What we wield is child’s play compared to what your power can do.”

The thought sent a strange thrill through me, troubling and exhilarating all at once. I felt my magic stir in response.

He went on. “When I won the challenge, I was named High Lord of the Court of Flame. He’d tried to kill me for the seat, so I hardly could appoint him as my Second. In any case, he was loyal to my father, not to me.” A faint smile touched his mouth. “That became abundantly clear when he singed my eyebrows off and very nearly blinded me.”

I gasped, my hand flying to my mouth.

He laughed. “You’re adorable when you’re scandalized.”