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“It’s not like that—I’m not like that. Not anymore,” he finally said.
And I knew he was telling the truth, but the burning of jealously still twisted in my stomach, anyway. I didn’t want to share him. He was mine and I his. As I was for all my males. I hoped I was enough for him, too.
“He isn’t lying,” Aisling said, turning from the armoire with a wad of dark fabric in her hands, “You seem to have him tamed,” she said with a smirk. “A task, I think, only a queen could accomplish.”
Kade shrugged. The dopey, apologetic expression on his face something I could never be upset at.
“Would this work?” Aisling asked, drawing my attention back to her. She held up a burgundy colored dress, “It’s the best I have.”
It was simple, almost thread-bare. The color had faded—leached out from too many uses. But it was pretty, for something so ordinary, and reminded me of the dresses I had worn on the isle. Or at least the ones I had worn when I wasn’t in trousers and a blouse.
“It’s perfect.”
Chapter Sixteen
Aisling had plans to see Valin again that night. He had requested she join him to dine in his chambers.Progress,she’d said.Be careful,is what I said, but she’d waved me off, telling me not to worry about her. She knew how to handle horny men, she’d been doing it for years. But it wasn’t his lust I was worried about and I think she knew it too.
In any case, she’d be coming by the royal chambers afterwards to tell me all about it.
“Try harder,” Finn said, freezing half the placid lake before us with nothing more than the tip of his finger.
Of all my Graces, ice and the power over emotion Alaric had seemed to be the most difficult to wield. I had only produced frost, even with Finn touching me. And though Alaric was certain he’d felt me use his Grace once before, Istillcouldn’t push even the smallest bit of emotion into him. Which was why it was Alaric and Finn with me on the banks of the lake instead of Kade and Tiernan—though I still couldn’t draw out the Day Courter’s Grace either?
I drew on the ice in my veins, pictured it flowing freely from my fingertips like Finn instructed. Fear was the other way to draw it out, he’d said, but we would use that as a last resort in our training.
My fingers prickled. Veins of spiky frost twisting around them like vines. Then I plunged my hand into the water. It melted.
“Why is this so hard?” I whined, “Fire is so much easier.”
Finn nodded his ascent, “It’s true that Kade’s Grace was stronger—more violent in the beginning, but it was harder to control. Ice is easier to control once you can draw it out.”
Finn. Ever the calm, brooding soldier. He showed exactly zero frustration at my inability to do more than make the water a little colder than it was before.
“Try again,” Alaric said, kneeling beside me on the light, soft sand at the waters edge.
We went on like that for hours. Until I could freeze a chunk of water about two yards in diameter and I ached for the warmth to return to my bones.
Training with Alaric… it was different. Finn gave us our space, and we sat cross legged in the grass, the sun casting orange glows on our faces and long shadows in the grass.
“Take my hands,” Alaric said, shuffling in closer to me.
I grasped his hands in mine.
Immediately, I felt giddy. The emotion bubbled up from inside me and burst from my mouth in a stream of cackling laughter. He let go of my hands.
“Do you see how I did that?” he asked as the fit of laughter faded.
I shook my head, reigning in the emotion, “No. Sorry. Maybe try again, I’ll pay more attention.”
His eyes crinkled at the edges, and he took my hands again.
I felt it first in my hands—a sort of pull. A taking of my frustration. Before the tantalizing feeling of uncontrollable desire flooded my body. From head to toe, I ached. I viewed Alaric in a haze. I licked my lips, biting down on the bottom one to stop the moan begging for release.
He let go.
I blinked. Once. Twice. Swallowed.
Sly bastard.
