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“I’m glad to have you here, Ellie,” he said. “You’re a breath of fresh air I didn’t realize I needed. I don’t know who enchanted you to look like Zander to frame you for my father’s death, but I’m happy that it brought you here.”
My cheeks flushed. He was being so open with me. I wasn’t used to his warmth. Ren was so cold so often.
“I’m glad to be here,” I said. My voice was breathy, and my heart thrummed in my throat.
Ren’s eyes slid down my face and to my lips. Time stopped around us, and it enveloped us in a bubble, where the rest of the world didn’t exist.
This time, Ren didn’t clear his throat and turn away. He didn’t shut down from me. Instead, he leaned in, closing the distance between us.
His lips brushed against mine, and my breath caught in my throat. He kissed me, and electricity pulsed through my body. Ren cupped my cheek, and power quivered between us—more powerful than anything I’d felt before. Heat stretched thin between us, and yet it was cool to the touch. It wrapped itself around us, and my body hummed at the same frequency Ren’s did.
He broke the kiss. I stared at him, dazed and out of breath. His eyes filled with warmth and something…dark, but the delicious kind.
I shivered. My whole body felt awake, every nerve bursting with life.
“Good night, Ellie,” he said and stood. He rubbed his hands together and cleared his throat.
“Good night,” I said in a thin voice.
Where was he going? I wanted to finish what we’d started. I wanted to feel his hands on my skin. I wanted to feel his kisses on every inch of my body. I wanted…more.
When he left the library, I fell back against the pillows, covered my face with my hands, and melted into a puddle.
19
Iwas up before dawn, had breakfast in the mess hall, and headed out to the training arena, where Dex and Nylah waited for me. We started working through our drills, with Nylah and Dex both throwing magic at me.
Halfway through, Nylah grinned at Dex before they both looked at me.
“What?” I asked.
“You’re doing great,” she said. “I think our job here is done.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“You’ll train with the guard now. Any other private sessions you’ll have will be with Ren.”
“I don’t get to see you both every morning anymore?” I asked.
Dex’s mouth only twitched. I didn’t think he’d ever smiled in his life.
“You can always come see me at the cathedral. You’re not leaving, just progressing.”
I nodded. I knew what Nylah was saying, but the thought of not having morning sessions with her and Dex felt like a loss. She was right, though. I could visit them whenever I wanted to. With everything going on, it wasn’t like we wouldn’t work together.
After our training sessions, I walked to my room to shower and get dressed to go to lunch.
A servant stopped me. “The King requests your presence,” he said.
“Right now?”
He nodded. My stomach fluttered, and I turned, walking to Ren’s office. I was nervous to see him. I wished he would have let me see him after getting clean. I looked terrible now—sweaty and dirty after training hard. Ren had seen me like this dozens of times, and I hadn’t cared, but after last night, it was different. Iwantedto look nice for him.
I took a deep breath and knocked on the door. When Ren called for me to enter, I opened the door and closed it behind me. I smiled at Ren, who sat behind his desk. He finished whatever he was writing and stood. He didn’t come around the desk to greet me. His eyes were cold and hard. All the warmth from the previous night in the library was gone.
“Thank you for coming to see me,” he said. “I want to talk to you about last night.” I swallowed, and my stomach erupted in butterflies. “I’m sorry I kissed you.”
The apology was like a punch to my gut.
