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"Not really. I prefer to retain control."
His face broke into a grin of triumph. "I knew it. You know if you want to control someone, I'd be happy to let you, under the right circumstances, of course."
"I'm not interested, but thank you for the offer." I was growing weary of his unwanted advances.
He reached out and grabbed my arm as I finally got around him, pulling me back against him. "You know, your mark may be the biggest I've seen, but I've been told mine is the most captivating. I think I should show you so you can see what another moon marked really looks like."
Rage was boiling up within me and I knew if I didn't take action soon then I'd probably end up doing something I'd regret later. I gave him a switch elbow to the stomach and yanked my arm out of his grasp.
"Feisty little thing, aren't you?" He murmured, almost against me once more, since he only needed to to take one step for my every two.
I spun and snarled, "Leave me alone or else you'll find out how humans fight." I must have started to raise my hand or something because Illurial grabbed my wrist and squeezed until I could feel the bones rubbing against one another as I tried to pull free once more. Without the element of surprise on my side it was practically hopeless though.
"Oh, I remember how humans fight and it leavesmuchto be desired. You probably couldn't fight me off even if you were at full strength and based on what that hot head said earlier, you're definitely not that. After all, you couldn't even pick up a single sword, could you?" I wanted to punch the smirk right off his face, but fortunately I didn't have to.
"Who are you calling a hot head?" Thorn's voice was a low growl from somewhere behind me. He wasn't close, but I knew he could change that in a matter of heartbeats.
A peel of laughter left Illurial. "Oh ho! And here's the hot head himself. I mean you did announce to the entire court that she was easy pickings, for now at least. What did you expect us to do?"
When I felt Thorn's presence behind me I knew that I was basically sandwiched between the two of them. Illurial still hadn't released my wrist and his grip was tightening even further until I couldn't keep the wince from my face. The other moon marked fae saw my expression and a smile spread across his face. "Maybe you would prefer to go back to Fenvalur if you don't find my behavior to your satisfaction?" he murmured.
Thorn would have heard him as well given how close he was, but it seemed like Illurial thought Thorn wouldn't know what Fenvalur got up to in his lab. I was willing to bet that if Thorn found out it would cause a whole new level of chaos. He may not feel the same way about me as I did about him, but I knew he hated seeing me hurt. It was probably why he was interjecting here in the first place.
"Let her go, or I'll show you how the Sunkissed Court earned the hot head nickname." There was a lethality in Thorn's voice that sent a shiver down my spine. It wasn't fear though. It was a shiver of desire. Need.
"Why in the goddess's name is a member of the Sunkissed Court so interested in a member of the Moonlit Court? Hm?" Illurial was smug. He had guessed our secret, I was sure of that.
A growl leaked from Thorn before he said, "I'm responsible for training her to wield the moon blades, which means if you damage her I can't do my job. Now how would that sound to the king? A member of his own court interfering with the one destined to drive the blight from our lands? Maybe that means you have something to do with the blight if you're trying to stop it from being removed. What do you think, Senara? Could this man have a reason to want the blight to continue?"
I could tell what Thorn was getting and and so could Illurial by the way his lips had curled into a sneer. "Probably. Whatever he does, he's clearly making money of it while other people in the fae lands suffer. Seems like reason enough he'd want it to continue to me."
"Smart girl, this one." Amusement tinged Thorn's voice. "Now how about you let her go?"
My hand was suddenly free from Illurial's grip and I cradled it against my chest, trying to protect the damaged area as best as I could. "I'm going back to the banquet," I blurted and before either of them could stop me I'd darted around Thorn and disappeared through the doors.
Somehow I found myself opposite the bard once more, I sat and looked at the blues and purples erupting on my skin from where Illurial had held me. Were there healers that could help with something like this? Hells, was there food? I wanted to eat my feelings in that moment and when the scent of some of the cinnamon buns I'd had while I was getting ready hit me I knew I'd found my prey.
"Are you okay?"Van's melodic tones hit me as I started to walk away.
I turned and smiled at him, but I knew he wasn't buying it. "I'll be fine." The door I'd just come through swung open with force and Thorn strode in looking like he had murder on his mind. "Actually, could you walk me over to the food please?"
Van wasn't slow on the uptake and just nodded. "Anything a lady desires, though I doubt my sword skills are up to the challenge of that one."
A snort escaped me. "I doubt most people's swordwork is up to his level."
"Do I even need to ask about your wrist?" A furrow creased Van's brow and I could tell he was drawing the wrong conclusion.
I shook my head. "It wasn't him. Some guy named Illurial took a liking to me and didn't appreciate me turning him down. The other, well, it's complicated." I dared not say anymore in case I gave myself away. It seemed unlikely that we were the first to have a cross-court interest but I wasn't familiar enough with the fae and the society's rules to try and bend them just yet.
"Definitely sounds like you need a sweet roll!" Van bumped his shoulder against mine in a way that reminded me of Wyn. It brought a smile to my face and even though I could feel Thorn's steely gaze on me I didn't turn toward it. No, he didn't want me like that. I was something to be trained, molded, not a woman to be loved.
If that was how he wanted to play it that was fine, but he'd be finding me acting differently toward him in that case. I had to harden my heart to him and not let any niceties change that. If I got to enjoy some tasty desserts with a lute player in the meantime then that was fine by me. I just hoped that I wasn't punished for it when we started this so-called training.
Chapter
Twenty
Thorn
