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“Is this what your wrath looks like? You carrying me through the forest to an enchanting cottage and sharing a warm bath with me? I should piss you off daily.”
He couldn’t help it. He laughed, enjoying her brazenness too much. She glanced back at him, her brows raised as though surprised to hear it.
Sobering, he once more made his expression stern. “Continue to disobey me, steal from me, and you will no’ find yourself so comfortable next time.”
“I keep telling you, it’s not stealing when its already mine.”
“And the uniform?”
“Borrowed. I was going to return it.”
“Sure you were.” He lifted her hand out of the water. The offending glyph glowed eerily blue, resembling the markings that had kept him caged all those years ago. “Who did this to you?”
Her shoulders scrunched and she turned her face away, finally showing a bit of discomfort. She either detested that mark as much as he did, or she didn’t want him examining it too closely.
“He didn’t give me his name,” she replied.
“What did he look like?”
“Tall, thin, didn’t understand the concept of personal space.”
Orik’s teeth gnashed together so hard he feared they’d crack under the pressure. “Did he touch you?”
“Not physically. His spell felt like a violation, though.”
Orik wanted to find that witch and smash his face in. Repeatedly. “Do you know what kind of spell it is?”
She shrugged as though it were no big matter, but even without seeing her face he could tell she was more upset than she was letting on. “He said it was a tracking spell.”
A witch was tracking her? Possibly even now, as they spoke? Had he followed her here? Part of him hoped he had,so I can pull his spleen out through his throat. But he would want Jessie far away from such a confrontation. She didn’t need to see the savage beast he unleashed when he became The Destroyer.
Thunder boomed in quick succession.Boom. Bang. Crack. This was gearing up to be one of the worst storms of the year. Even witches took cover when thunder and lightning threatened like this. He felt confident that they’d encounter no trouble tonight, at least until the storm passed.
“Why would he put a tracking spell on you?” he asked.
She continued to face straight ahead, her expression hidden from his view. “I think he took me for a witch like him. One who’d escaped the castle.”
“And why would he think that?”
She pulled her hand out of his grasp and let it slip below the water. “I kind of let him believe you were holding me captive. Told him I’d stolen this uniform—”
“Which you did.”
“—so I could escape. It didn’t sound like he liked your kind very much, and I worried what he would do if he thought I was with you.”
With me?Why did he like the sound of that? He knew she meant she was on the side of the dragons, but those words were pleasing in a way he couldn’t explain. “And are you? With us?
“Of course. Even though our intro was a little rough, you got me off that ship and made me feel safe again. I might be a little unruly—”
“A little?”
“—but I really am grateful for that.”
His gaze swept the sloping curve of her neck, and he had a powerful urge to plant a kiss there. “What compelled you to cozy up to a lema, of all creatures?”
She perked up. “My new little friend? I think I’ll name her Phoenix, due to the fact that I…uh…due to the fact that she, er, looks like one. Do you know what a phoenix is?” She settled in against his chest, and he had to resist placing his arms around her. He suddenly wished he’d taken the time to remove both their clothes before dragging her into this tub. “No. Tell me.”
“It’s a bird that, after death, regenerates from its own ashes and is reborn anew.”
