A deliberate move of my head. My lips so dangerously close to his cheek as I spoke that each word carried the hint of a touch with it. “Would it really be so bad to help us from time to time?”
The gesture made him pause, a wild gleam in his eyes as he moved even closer. Time fragmented into separate sensations: the smooth glide of his hair against my skin, the tantalizing aroma of dark ice and a hint of spice in my nose, and the electrifying tightening in my stomach that I couldn’t suppress.
“Are you begging me, little queen?” A warm exhale brushed my ear, sending a shiver down my spine. “I could get used to that.”
I didn’t move away, our breaths mingling in the small space between our lips, our eyes locked. Tanez’s dire warning echoed louder in my mind with each passing moment. As tempting as this game was, I had to be more careful.
“No. Never.” I kept my expression unaffected and my voice light as I stepped out of this shadow of an embrace, moving toward the entrance of the tower. “But you can continue to hope. We all need our indulgent little fantasies, don’t we?”
Belekoroz chuckled, following me. “Perhaps I just wanted to lure you into my lair.”
I reached for the heavy double doors, growling in annoyancewhen my firm tug didn’t move them at all. His grin widened. Oh, so the bastard wanted to watch me rattle at the door like a fool. Too bad I didn’t plan to play by his rules.
With a burst of my powers, the wooden doors were ripped from their hinges, leaving behind a heap of broken shards, smoke still rising from them. Ignoring Belekoroz’s shocked exclamation, I stepped into the tower without hesitation.
“Are you completely…” His sputtering outrage as he followed me inside was quite satisfying. “Going somewhere without an invitation is incredibly rude,” he said, eyes alive with a dark flame.
I lifted an eyebrow, unimpressed. “As rude as not helping your brethren?” When the oppressive force of his powers deepened at my retort, a mischievous smile appeared on my face. I knew by now when he was only posturing. “Besides, you did invite me in. Just now.”
With an irritated snarl, Belekoroz snapped his fingers. The shattered door shards rose from the ground and seamlessly reconstructed themselves, the resounding boom as the doors settled back into the frame clearly for my benefit.
Instead of commenting, I glanced around the ground floor of the tower. On one side, a narrow, winding staircase twisted its way up to the other floors. Surprise flashed through me at what filled the rest of the space.
Weapons.
Swords and axes. Knives and halberds. Mounted on every part of the wall, with dozens more filling every rack and surface. A faint light from a few torches cast a glow on the sharp blades and the sparkling gemstones adorning the hilts and scabbards.
“I didn’t know you had such an interest in weapons,” I said, my mind racing. With what he had stored in his tower, he could easily supply a small army.
Belekoroz’s face became closed off as he approached a pair of broadswords made of dark, polished steel. The rubies set in their hilts glowed with an intense inner fire. He gently ran a pale finger along the edge of one blade. Made for a man’s hands, and too heavy for me to lift without the help of magic.
“There is an undeniable allure to a finely crafted blade. A sharp beauty.” His grip closed around the hilt of the sword, and he swung it to test it. “The satisfaction when you achieve the perfect balance.”
“You made them yourself.” I should have known. The reverence with which he touched those weapons hinted at countless hours spent creating them.
His lip twisted with some unnamed emotion. “You couldn’t have known. After all, the Allfather has destined M’tar to be the smith among us. I’m merely dabbling in the craft.”
It didn’t look like mere dabbling to me, but before I could ask about his forge and the need for so many weapons, he moved on, taking a wooden staff from the wall.
“Your weapon of choice is the bladed staff, isn’t it?” he asked, offering it to me.
“Yes.”
“I’ve seen you train with my brother.” Belekoroz watched as I let the staff hiss through the air. It was perfectly balanced, complementing my every move as I flowed through a few basic forms. A spark ignited in the darkness. His full lips tilted up in a familiar challenge. “He goes far too easy on you.”
“Is that an offer to take over my training?” I asked, giving him a sharp smile.
He stepped into the range of my weapon, unfazed as I brought the staff up in a lightning-quick movement, stopping just shy of the vulnerable skin of his throat.
“I can definitely teach you a few things,” he smirked, his amused expression unchanged.
“Do you really think I’ll let you get that close to me with a weapon?” I retorted.
His laughter filled the air as he gripped the staff, pulling me toward him. “You forget: weareweapons.” Again, he was far too close. Again, I did nothing to stop it. “All of us. Some are just more aware of it than others.”
With a quick movement, he effortlessly regained control of the staff and returned it to the rack, casting a quick glance at me.
“Do you want to see the rest of the tower?” he asked, his tone casual, as if the tension between us was nothing more than a game.
