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If it was possible for smiles to have tones, his definitely took on a satisfied aura. Or lilt. “Sit down, try to get comfortable. This may take several minutes. Once you’re satisfied with your position, close your eyes.”
That was ominous, but Rochelle obliged nonetheless and lowered herself to the stone floor. The stone in the basement was polished smooth, so while it was hard and cool, it was at least not rough. She adjusted herself a bit, settled on a position she knew she could maintain for a while, and closed her eyes. “Should I be scanning for anything?”
“That won’t matter,” Aric said. There was a faint rustling sound and something coiled around her torso, around her arms, immediately cinching them tight to her sides, pinning them. She couldn’t move anything more than her fingers, and from her chosen position, her legs were useless.
Rochelle gasped. “What are you—”
“Open your eyes.”
They opened without effort, as she’d been struggling to keep them restrained. For a second, she had to blink to clear her vision, as if she’d been asleep or suddenly blinded, but then her vision settled. The basement appeared as it was supposed to. Except Aric was no longer in front of her.What?His voice hadn’t sounded like it had moved at all. Her heart kicked up tempo. “Aric?”
“These bindings are the same essential material as those that restricted you in that cave,” Aric said. “Though they’re highly controversial and equally expensive, they are available on the open market for the right buyer. They seal the magic of any sorcerer they’re tied around, so long as the ropes remain intact.”
Rochelle frowned. She understood his words, though they grated on her. What really boggled her was that his voice still sounded like it should have been coming from in front of her, but she couldn’t see him. Then it dawned on her.He camouflaged himself, so I can’t see him.Which meant their theory was wrong. She deflated and let her head tip back, opening her mouth to tell him the disappointing news, but her voice lodged in her throat for a split-second.
There was Aric. Standing normally, as if gravity weren’t a thing, with his feet planted on the basement ceiling.
“A-Aric?” She nearly screeched his name, her eyes bugging out of her head. “What are you doing on the ceiling?” There was no way, right? It was part of the illusion, surely.
But a dangerous and stupidly alluring smile split his face and his eyes flashed an instant before he himself disappeared. He reappeared in front of her again, his bangs and popped shirt collar briefly waving with the movement. “So you spotted me, even though I threw my voice to keep your senses focused elsewhere.”
She stared at him.
Aric took a knee in front of her, still smirking like a damn Cheshire cat. “In other words, you passed the test, Rochelle.” He reached out and stroked two fingers down a front length of the bindings, following it halfway down the swell of her breast before letting his hand fall away. With the retreat of his touch the rope-like bindings loosened and fell to the floor around her, then immediately lifted up and swirled into a tight coil before blinking away altogether. Like a reverse snake charmer that teleported. It was almost mystifying enough to make her forget the way her body had ignited at his heavy touch.
She swallowed hard. “So … I was right. It was Denham.” If she didn’t focus on that, and the maybe-amazing discovery of her passive magic sight that she didn’t fully understand, she was going to jump on him. Probably she shouldn’t. “You’re saying I can see through illusions or something, right?”
“More than that,” Aric said. He stood and held a hand out to her, pulling her effortlessly to her feet as soon as her palm settled in his. “I believe you can see throughdeceptions. Magical ones, at least.”
Her mouth fell open. “I’m sorry. Did you just say I canseethrough a lie?”
He chuckled, gave her hand a squeeze, and said, “It is much like seeing through an illusion, but not quite as simple. If you were completely sealed, you’d have heard me standing in front of you but not seen me anywhere. You’d have seen a rapidly encroaching fog instead. Did you see the fog?”
“Fog?” She gave a shake of her head. “Nothing like that. Just empty space where your voice seemed to be coming from.”
He inclined his head. “Which means your ears are still susceptible to deceit. It’s specifically your eyes which possessive this passive magic.” He grinned. “In a sense, you could call it ‘Seeing is Believing.’”
She huffed and crossed her arms. “That sounds ridiculous.”
His grin only broadened. “No magic or inherent power comes with a proper name. I only thought that would help you understand what yours does.”
It did, actually. It was justsoridiculous.
“And yes,” Aric said, his grin vanishing. “This means it was Prince Denham who laid hands on you last night.” A darkness overtook his expression as his tone lowered to match. “I don’t know what his agenda was, but Iwillsee him pay for harming you. That I swear to you.”
Even as her heart soared at his words, Rochelle realized this was her moment—the moment she’d been dreading and postponing for months. She dragged in a breath, and her arms fell to her sides. “Actually, Aric…” She heard the hesitancy in her own voice and winced. “I … well, I don’t knowexactlywhat his goal was, but I definitely have some insight, and it’s—” She cut herself off for one more semi-stabilizing breath. “There’s something I really need to tell you. Something I should have told you a while ago, but I didn’t know how.”
The bloodlust faded from Aric’s face and he arched a brow. “Let’s move up to my office, then, and have this conversation where we can talk more comfortably.” Before she could respond, he’d transported them straight from the dark stone basement to his ground floor office. He motioned to the two-seater tufted wingback sofa she often claimed when she lingered. “Sit and tell me what I need to know.”
Rochelle swallowed hard and perched herself on the edge of the cushioned seat, watching as he sat in the matching chair, angled to face her. The office was closed and the draperies still shut, offering them some privacy. Unlike the heavy draperies in the bedrooms, the set over his office window was designed to still allow light, so the room was surprisingly bright. Almost optimistically so and she couldn’t help but feel like it was mocking her somehow.
She pushed the stupid thought down and met his patient, faintly furrowed stare again. “It’s kind of a complicated story,” she said, for lack of a better way to start. “I don’t know if I should start with Denham’s part or mine now, because it’s a lot more convoluted than I thought it was.”
When she paused for breath, Aric said, “Start at the beginning. Tell me the story as you experienced it.”
She nodded. That only uncomplicated some of it, but it was never going to be a simple conversation. “If there’s a word for lying by way of passively agreeing with someone else’s presumptions … then I’m guilty of that. Many times over.” It was no surprise when his brow furrowed, so she forced herself to keep going. “I did wake up in a field just outside of Corast, completely naked and disoriented, and everything I’ve said that happened after that really happened. But I’ll understand if you question that after what I’m about to say.” She paused to lick her lips. “I’m not from Zrynia. I never made any choice or took any action to come to Yafae. I couldn’t possibly have, because I’m … I’m not from thisworld.”
His eyes narrowed more and she knew his trust of her was shattering by the heartbeat.
