His lips were soft and warm, and wetter than I anticipated. A zing of electricity shot through me at the contact, both at my lips and my breast, and I moaned into his mouth. Torin’s fingers never made a move to grab, never increased their light pressure. They simply continued trailing across my breasts as he pressed his mouth to mine.
“Really? This is what you’re using the dreamscape for?” The raspy tone of Fate’s voice floated to me, and Torin quickly tore his mouth from my own, his fingers following seconds later. I sat up slightly and craned my neck to see Fate floating a few feet away. I smashed my head back on the ground with a groan.
“Seriously, Fate? We’ve been calling you for hours and you decide to show up now?” I grumbled before pushing myself into a seated position. Torin was already sitting with his legs drawn up, muscled forearms resting on top of his knees.
“I heard you.Loudand clear. But I was busy. Being Fate comes with a lot of responsibilities, Child.” If Fate could be irked, I was certain that was the emotion bleeding through their tone.
Well, that makes two of us.
“What is it you need? I have other business I must attend to, and soon.”
“We have questions, Fate. Questions that need answers,” Torin interjected a bit more harshly than I would have, but I supposed we were both a bit peeved by being interrupted and the lack of information that we were given.
Fate inclined their robed head.
“One question each. That is all I have time for,” they begrudgingly admitted.
One question each?My head spun trying to decide what I wanted answers to the most. Torin glanced at me, and I shook my head, indicating he should ask first.
“This is Meru?” he asked, gesturing around us and to the mountains in the distance. Fate nodded in ascent.
“Yes. This is Meru, the home of the gods. Or whatever is left of them.” Torin chewed his lip in thought and went to ask another question, but Fate held up a black hand to silence him. “One question, Child.”
Torin gave a sharp nod before turning his hazel eyes expectantly on me.
“I can use both Creation and Destruction Magic . . . why?”
If Fate was surprised by my question, they didn’t show it. The dreamscape—Meru—seemed less than pleased with my inquiry. The previous kaleidoscope of color that encased Torin and I shot back into the sky, a swirling vortex taking its place. Thunder rumbled and lightning cracked as the wind picked up.
“The gods are coming, and we must be prepared,” was Fate’s cryptic reply.
Torin’s hand gripped my own as the ground rumbled again.
“Time to return to the land of the living, my children. I’ll see you soon. Perhaps think of better questions while you’re away.” With that, Fate disappeared with apopleaving Torin and I to muddle through our thoughts before we, too, were expelled from Meru.
Chapter 54
Faylinn
Iswitched positions in the wingback chair in Rohak’s office, rearranging my legs so they were tucked underneath me, my back resting against one of the armrests. I sighed as I settled back into the chair, completely content and at ease. The room was silent, apart from the occasional scratch of Rohak’s pen, and the soft purring of Cotton on the rug that I added to the office.
It was . . . cozy, comforting. Rohak and I spent the last few days in much the same manner, amiable silence filling the space between us. Every so often some important person or other would walk into his office and they’d discuss the affairs of the Northern Territories in hushed voices. Other times, I’d ask him about a particular missive or read him a particularly interesting passage in one of the books Lord d’Refan gave me.
Most days I was left to my own devices as Rohak spent the majority of his time at the Academy training Mages and Vessels. But the early mornings and late evenings were spent here in his office. I could have read anywhere, but I was always drawn back to this space. Something about it just settled my soul, and I wasn’t sure if it was the room or the person who created that peace.
I hummed quietly and Rohak looked up from his desk.
“What?” His voice was low and raspy, betraying the exhaustion he inevitably felt from his impossibly long days.
“Nothing, just reading. Absorbing. Learning,” I replied as I flipped a page inWhen Gods Walked Among Us.
It was an old book, predating anything I’d ever read. Some of the pages were crumbling and the ink was smudged, but I was able to puzzle out the majority of what was written. When I didn’t know a particular rune or a phrase seemed odd, I marked it in my journal to come back to later, or simply used context clues to get by.
Rohak yawned loudly and I finally looked up from my book to see him rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands. His usually slicked-back hair was ruffled as if he’d had his hands in it the majority of the evening.
I marked my page delicately, before closing my book. I rested my head on one of my hands and took my fill of Rohak.
Why was he always working?It was clear from our time together that he didn’t have a wife or a family, but I couldn’t figure out the why of it. He was incredibly successful and held a position of immense prestige, not just in the city, but in the Northern Territories as a whole. He was kind, if a little grumpy and cold at times, but I didn’t see him as a malicious person. And there was no denying he was handsome—I was certain that his jawline alone made many of the socialites in his circle swoon.
