“Did you enjoy your outing?” Ezra asked.
I bit my lips together and looked at the walls of the castle, growing steadily closer. “Are you going to lock me up?”
“He will not be locking you up, Quinn.” Cayden’s voice was so sharp it could cut. “Not now. Not ever.”
I reached for my best friend and squeezed his shoulder, before Rowan pulled my unsteady ass back into his lap. I flushed.
“I will not,” Ezra agreed evenly. “You’re safe, and Rowan’s point is valid. My anger will pass. A session at the gym will help.”
Ezra’s gaze bored into me. Oh, he was asking me to join him. He wanted to talk. Once again, I had done the opposite of what he wanted, and once more, it seemed there would be no repercussions.
My view of my ‘captivity’ faltered, but didn’t vanish. Maybe clearing the air with Ezra was exactly what I needed. He said I meant ‘a great deal’ to him, but he’d also said that about the Architect, his boss and the all-powerful ruler of this family, who I doubted asked him to take off his shirt. So, what exactly did he mean by that?
I rubbed my cheeks, lurched on the moving horse, and quickly grabbed the saddle to regain my balance.
Rowan and Cayden were off the romance list, but maybe I could nurture my little crush with Ezra. I mean, if he wasn’t trying to control me and prepare me to be the Architect’s baby maker. Which he may or may not be doing. I tugged on my hair.
“I’d love to lift with you, Commander,” Rowan said brightly before I could give myself a headache from overthinking. “You always lift alone. I bet your bench isn’t that far off from mine.”
Ezra’s gaze grew stormy as Rowan launched into a small novel about his sets and protein rotation.
The lightness I’d felt earlier returned. I bit my lips together and batted my eyes at Ezra. “Super sets, sounds manly. You two will have fun.”
Rowan hadn’t moved his hand off my thigh, and he squeezed it. “You can come watch. I’m sure Cayden can find something else to do.”
My insides boiled, imagining Rowan and Ezra shirtless with their muscles popping. Bulk versus pure art. I coughed to cover the sudden rush of blood going everywhere but my brain.
Cayden scowled. “I’m sure I can figure out how to lift a weight.”
“You’ve never lifted?” Rowan asked.
Cayden's scowl deepened, and he bit his lips shut.
An awkward silence descended over us. Ezra preferred to lift alone, but Rowan was a social guy. I wanted him to offer to lift with Cayden, but the big mage didn’t. Despite their brief alliance, I guess we were back to mutual dislike.
The horses’ hooves clopped, and a few drops of rain fell in the sunshine.
The uneasy silence made me fidget. “What sport were you playing earlier today?” I asked Rowan, remembering the kilt and jersey.
Rowan squeezed me. “Football. Do you know how to play?”
I started to ask him if it was American football or soccer, but then shook my head. That would only open up a can of worms I wasn’t ready for. I’d accepted, for now, that all of this was real, which meant these were my friends… and Ezra. I didn’t want them to think I was crazy.
Rowan launched into an explanation of soccer with some new rules and a second ball made of pure magic, and our horses picked up the pace. A rainbow filled the sky over the castle.
Chapter 26
Alexander
Iwoke.Everytime,it was that simple. However, instead of my last memory being the cold gray stone under my coliseum, it was her. Dull green eyes flecked with gold. A face crusted in dirt. And a dying body so thin I couldn’t believe she still walked.
My eyes were closed, and I was in no rush to open them. Rain pattered against my window while a few brave birds chirped in the steady drizzle.
A second heartbeat in my chest, connecting me to someone I didn’t know, the woman with whom I’d twinned my future, my very being. I could feel her laughing in my castle. She was happy and excited, everything I wanted her to be.
It would be simple to sink into her mind and read her thoughts to know exactly what she was thinking. If I didn’t like what I saw, I could fill her with my hopes and wishes. She could rise from her bed and walk to mine without me lifting a finger.
It would be so easy.
