“It was hidden in the section on ancient and restricted magic upstairs, but I knew you’d need it.”
Glued to her blue eyes, David went speechless. He tried to reason through her motives. She assisted him despite his reputation but when given the option, chose his mother to help her over him. She defended him when she had no reason, accepted his dirty past, butwas ashamed by her association with him. She slept with him but didn’t want anyone to know. She found this book for him…why?
He remained quiet long enough that Anna turned to leave. “I’ll give you privacy.”
His hand shot out, grabbing her wrist. They both stared in surprise at his firm grip there, chaining her to him.
“David?” His name slid beautifully off her tongue.
He still couldn’t find words, which was strange because he always had words…rarely tactful, but alwaysthere. A strange sort of heat flooded his body—not desire, not anger. Something indefinable and foreign. Andpossessive.
Her emotions twisted and bent, and he couldn’t make heads or tails of them. A crease formed between her eyebrows. Summer-blue eyes swallowed him, open as the sky.
He was falling. Drowning.
He hadneverbeen speechless.
Her lips parted, and she drew breath, but it caught in her throat. His eyes dropped to her mouth.
Mine.
He stood frozen, torn with indecision. Did he want to shove her away or fuck her against these shelves until she was as speechless as him?
In the silence, she cupped his cheek and set a chaste kiss against his temple. “You will get through this, David, and if you need someone to help you, I’m here like always. Read the book.”
She disappeared without another word.
David stared at the place she’d vanished until his heart returned to a normal rhythm. He shook himself, then found the closest chair, pulling the book and basket of food close.
CHAPTER 31
SEAN
The evening was chilly, but Sean donned a woolen cloak and stepped onto their suite balcony anyway—alone. Autumn had somehow convinced Cole to spend time with her, and Isobel had already retired to her own room, not that he wanted to spend the evening with her anyway. He’d tried, but he couldn’t quite forgive her.
Settled on the wooden bench, Sean gazed at the rainbow stars and blue luminescence that reminded him of the northern lights. His breath puffed out in small clouds speckled with Luster, and he tightened his cloak when a cold wind picked up.
The Council meeting had gone about as well as expected. They felt their people’s actions against David were credible given the circumstances. A prophesied villain had threatened their foretold messiah. A rash response was to be expected.
Those people weren’t a Council, Sean decided. They were religious fanatics, spreading lies to their flock, spurring a belief he was more than just a scared boy with Sovereign blood. They wanted theAshantato deliver them. It made them slaves to a future not yet lived. This prophecy was controlling them, and in being controlled, they’dallowed their home to fade, they’d permitted their people to cave to superstition. They hadn’t fought to fix it. Instead, they waited. They grew complacent to the starvation of their own people and expected the messiah to undo it.
He was no more a savior than David was a villain.
Sean couldn’t think on it too long, because when he did, fury stirred. He needed to read the Sending, needed to understand the source of this religious fervor, how a crowd of zealots could justify murdering an innocent man in cold blood.
Because they would have killed David if they hadn’t been stopped. They were out for blood.
Beyond all that, he needed to rid himself of this nagging sense of injustice, but no matter what he did, he couldn’t eradicate it.
Because it didn’t actually belong to him.
David had leaked through.
The balcony door creaked open, and a small object was thrown against the bench beside him.
Sean glanced at David, who sat opposite him, staring into the glistening skies. With numb fingers, Sean slid the book toward himself.
On Soule Binding.
