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He was barely touching me, and between that and the wincing glance I’d received earlier, I knew it must be bruised and hideous looking.
The more Noah tried to clean me up, the more his seething became apparent.
Finally, I mustered the energy to do something. I brought my hands up, taking his away from my face.
“Talk, Noah. Before you explode and I end up back on the chopping block.”
He leaned back on his knees, his breathing louder and more clipped. “The entire castle was bespelled. Glamoured with magic that if we had our powers we would have seen. Magic that should not have been possible right now, and everyone gave in.” He rose, throwing the towel across the room as he growled.
“My mother, the queen herself, was so enamored with the hunt for a spy that she lost all reason,” he seethed. He banged his fists on a table at the foot of his bed. “The royal guard went far beyond even their most extreme forms of interrogation. Our own kind were locked up and treated as criminals.
“And no one did a damn thing!” he shouted. He ran his hands through his hair and let out a loud yell up toward the ceiling.
I didn’t move for fear of stopping him when he so clearly needed a release. This pent-up anger, this frustration needed to come out, and it was better with me as an audience than an already terrified staff.
“I begged,” he huffed out. “Begged my mother to see reason. I went to trusted guards and ordered them to stop, but nothing worked.”
He staggered back away from the table and fell to his knees before me, still angry, but the ferocity had lessened.
“The magic was right there, and even I didn’t know what it was. I just knew they weren’t listening. And they let this happen. Our staff is terrified. They’ll never feel safe here again.” He paused and shifted so that he was leaning on the ground with his hands.
“And when I heard the commotion in the courtyard. I came as fast as I could to see what on earth could have rallied people there. And when I saw…” He paused and swallowed. “Cora, when I saw you…” His body trembled and I desperately wanted to reach out, offer comfort, something to him. “I snapped like I never had before. There was a rage that consumed the deepest parts of me. And still, no one listened to my orders. The magic was so powerful, and I have no idea how it was weaved so suddenly in our midst.”
He looked up at me. “I would have killed them all.”
I stilled, meeting his gaze. The storm had quieted, he’d gotten what he needed to out. But the rage—that burned deeper within him than a quick outburst would cure.
He leaned forward and touched my face. It was already feeling better, most likely thanks to his healing powers. But Noah’s touch was still gentle, tentative, like he thought he’d break me.
My body shook. The adrenaline from the ordeal was wearing off and even with the nervousness of Noah kneeling before me, it wasn’t enough to ground me again.
A tear slipped from my eyes and I hated myself for it. I turned my head, desperate to hide that I’d been rattled, that I’d accepted defeat in the end and lost hope when I saw his lifeless body.
I shifted, looking away from Noah, but before I could wipe my eye his hand was on my cheek. Turning me back to look at him.
He caressed the tear away and his voice was low. “I would have killed them all if they had executed you like that.”
I sniffed, and before I could respond at all, Noah pulled me toward him and kissed me.
Noah’s hand rested on my cheek as his tongue slipped into my mouth with a passionate desperation. I rose, anxious about my movements, but he didn’t stop. He reached his free hand to my back, closing all space between us completely.
This kiss was one filled with a dark rage yet simmering with the relief of knowing how bad it could have been. I hesitated only for a moment before wrapping my arms around his neck and pressing my body as tightly to his as I could.
This time, his kiss wasn’t hesitant. It wasn’t a friendly peck. Not a chaste, quick brush over my lips. Instead, it was firm and unyielding, filled with fire. One that was dangerously close to consuming me to the point of no return.
And still, Prince Noah kissed me.
