I smile when we reach the bottom of the stairs. The sudden glares from the witches and warlocks below have faded to indifferent faces and nods of respect as he pulls me to the door.
The large double doors magically open, and Aaron and I stiffen when Angie is standing in front of them, her arms crossed over her chest.
Her face goes cold, fury radiating from her in waves. “What is she doing here?”
“I came to get to know the girls,” I say.
Angie pushes through us both and immediately heads for the stairs, not bothering to look back or acknowledge my words.
“Don’t worry about that,” he says, his hand finding the small of my back.
“I’m not,” I say. “I will fix things with Angie soon.”
Aaron pulls me out of the Conjuring Hall, and the doors immediately shut behind us.
I pull myself away from him. He glares at me, hurt surfacing before anger covers it.
“What are you doing?”
“Tell me what happened with King Amir,” I demand. If I’m going to protect him, I need to know everything.
He frowns at me. I shrug at him, and my tail comes around and brushes his cheek. Just that simple touch is enough to make him fold.
“I got another offer,” he answers. He grabs my hand and starts to pull me out of the library.
“To be king?” I ask.
“Shhh,” he says, glancing around. “Let’s talk about this in our suite.”
“Why are you keeping stuff from me?”
He stops, then frowns at me. “What are you talking about? I’m not keeping anything from you.”
“Yes, you are,” I snap.
“What did Tiana tell you?”
“I asked about the Witching Glen,” I snap.
Aaron groans, running a hand over his face. “So you ratted me out to Tiana of all witches.”
“It’s a dangerous place,” I tell him. “That means Eric is dangerous.”
Aaron cups my face. He’s still angry, but his hands are careful. “Yes, the Glen is dangerous. But Eric has been helpful. This whole time he’s been around, he’s done nothing but try and rebuild our relationship.”
“You can’t see it,” I murmur.
“See what, baby?” His thumbs stroke my cheeks.
I hold his gaze and start to sniff the air. “I never caught it before because of the coffee beans.”
“What?” Aaron asks.
“You. There’s a veil over you. It’s not magic. It’s in your blood.”
Aaron sighs, then kisses my lips. “Baby, I just want to get us alone.”
I step back from him. Magic sparks involuntarily at his fingertips, blue-gold light dancing across his skin.
