“Only if it doesn’t bother you.”
“You don’t need my permission.”
He raises that scarred brow. “I wasn’t asking for it, but I respect your feelings on the matter. Anthea means less than nothing to me, but that probably won’t stop our families from shoving us together, or her trying to play the role of fiancée. I might have to play along to get her alone, so I can knock her out and search for your grimoire.”
He might have to seduce her, he means.
My spine straightens, and he kisses the side of my neck again.
“I won’t touch her, but if you’re not comfortable with it, I’ll tell my uncle to shove it and find another way in.”
But using Anthea would be the safest, and it would get his uncle, the rector, off his back. If he were to sneak in, the risk of discovery would be too high, and he was wounded last time when he broke Jasper out.
No, it’s better to catch the Carltons off guard, even if the idea of him around another woman sets my teeth on edge.
“Do it,” I murmur, turning my head to capture his lips with mine. “But don’t take any risks.”
His hand comes up to cup my jaw, keeping me in place as he kisses me again, deeper this time, imprinting his taste into my very cells. Beneath my ass, the length of him stirs, and I rotate my hips, twisting to reach more of him. Somehow, I end up straddling him?—
Just in time for the Arcanaeum to tug sharply on my attention.
I’m so caught up in Dakari that it’s a struggle to pull back and focus.
Someone is coming up the stairs.
I barely manage to drag our faces apart before Leo makes it to the top and catches sight of us.
“For fecks sake!” he growls, turning on his heel. “First Pierce, now the bloody Talcott? And on the same day? Do you plan to deal with the lich, the ensorcellment, or the Carltons this century? Or do we need to wait for?—”
“Shut it.” Dakari shifts me out of his lap, planting himself squarely between me and Galileo like a shield. “Before your temper makes you say something you’ll regret.”
His words are heavy with the threat of violence, despite the covenant.
I rise to my knees, putting my hand on his shoulder tomove him out of the way, but he’s a rock beneath my palm. Unmoving. Protective. It would be sweet if I needed protecting from Leo. Unfortunately, he’s just making this worse.
Galileo belts out a humourless laugh, throwing his head back in disbelief. The light streaming through the clock faces on all sides plays across his features, lending them more sharpness than usual as he replies, “Mytemper? You’re one to talk. Last time you threw a tantrum, you levelled an entire fecking village!”
“That was different.” I’m amazed that Dakari’s tone doesn’t rise to match Leo’s. “I was younger than you, and I learned a valuable lesson.”
Leo rolls his eyes. “What? How much power it takes to destroy everything within a mile?”
“No. How easy it is to hurt others when you act without thinking.”
The words are deep, full of warning, and yet… I don’t think Leo is in any place to listen.
He proves me right when he answers, “Yeah. Kyrie’s the hurt one here. Sure.”
With a shake of his head and a clench of his jaw, he pivots on his heel, stalking down the stairs with an angry exhale forced through gritted teeth.
When he’s gone, I fall back against the cushions with a sigh.
“I’m not handling his situation well,” I mumble, already pushing off the bed to go after him. “Would you mind if I?—?”
Dakari shakes his head. “Give him a minute to breathe, baby girl.”
I don’t think that will make a difference. In fact, it might only make it worse. “Leo is upset because I’m not devoting enough time to dealing with his ensorcellment. If I leave him alone…”
“He might pull his head out of his ass and remember you’re the only person trying to save his ungrateful hide. If you go down there right now—after he saw you with me—you’ll be his enemy by association.”
