“Any other questions about my love life, Princess?” His breath drifted across my cheek, a whisper of heat and shadow.
“I don’t care about anything regarding you, Moonveil,” I said with a cocky voice.
And the air between us changed. Heat radiated from him, a pull stronger than any potion. All I could think about was closing that last sliver of space and pressing my body against his, feeling every line of him. It took everything in me to cage that want, that need, before it could swallow me whole.
But my gaze betrayed me anyway. It drifted lower, slow, and unhurried, tracing the sharp line of his jaw before finally settling on his mouth.
“Your eyes say otherwise, Princess,” Lorik said with a mischievous grin that I couldn’t understand.
“Don’t call me Princess. I don’t want to be one.” I said, stepping away inch by inch. I had to force myself, truly force myself, to pull back from him, as if peeling my own body away from heat and gravity.
“That you don’t want to be one doesn’t mean you aren’t one,” Lorik responded again with his typical dry and obscure voice. “Those duties will never leave you.”
“What would you know about royal pressure and commitments?”
“Yes… How would I comprehend that?” Again, with his mysterious and dry voice, not the smirking, even playful tone we spoke minutes ago.
“Good night, Moonveil,” I said, walking past him without looking back. It felt like wading through a current determined to drag me into him. Every step was a fight—my pulse screaming, my magic clawing at my ribs, that impossible pull tighteningwith each inch I gained. Something inside me reached for him even as I tried to leave, begging me to turn back, to give in.
Inside the washroom, the candles burned too bright, their flames bending toward my heartbeat. I gripped the sink and splashed cold water over my wrists, trying to steady myself.
Then I looked up.
My eyes were flickering red. A thin ring circling my pupils, pulsing, alive. Red? That wasn’t possible.
I blinked hard, but the color didn’t fade.
The door opened behind me.
Rory Rey stepped in, and for a second, I didn’t recognize her. The tight black dress, the slit showing the curve of her thigh, her dark hair loose instead of braided; she looked nothing like the blunt-force warrior from training. She looked… stunning.
And dangerous in a way that had nothing to do with blades.
In her hand was a glass of the same shimmering auroric potion I’d downed earlier.
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” she said with a lazy smirk. “Relax. I’m not in a killing mood today.”
I didn’t respond. I couldn’t. I hadn’t been alone with Rory since the day she’d nearly killed me on the mats months ago. I’d been avoiding her ever since. Ducking hallways, skipping shared drills, pretending not to hear when she entered a room.
She didn’t seem bothered by the silence. She lifted her glass and downed the shimmering potion in one effortless gulp.
“See?” she said, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. “Finishing my potion. I’m not in the mood to kick your ass today.”
I looked at her eye, and then I saw it. I hadn’t really noticed it when she got it, as I was trying not to look her in the eyes. Her silver eyes had a ring of red blooming around her pupils, the same impossible red I’d seen in mine.
“Oh, Princess,” she drawled. “Seems like you drank an aphrodisiac potion without knowing. And it looks like it’s working. Too bad your blond boyfriend isn’t here to witness it. And believe me when I say this: you need sex if you want to survive Dragontail.”
“What?” My voice came out thin. “Aphrodisiac potion? And what does the red mean?”
She must have caught the panic twisting across my face because she let out a low, amused snort.
“When the potion finally hits when you see the person you actually crave your eyes flicker red.”
I had no words. My thoughts were a tangle of heat, fear, and confusion, but I forced myself to speak.
“So… you saw your Draventh boy outside,” I said, my voice tighter than I intended. “Your… whatever he is. Fuck buddy? Boyfriend? And then, poof! Red eyes?”
She barked a laugh. “No, no. My sexual needs are far more complicated than that. Lorik and I are… family. I just tell everyone we’re fucking so the girls stop hovering around him. It’s obnoxious. He’s been a magnet for females since forever. It’s annoying.”
