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Resisting the urge to run after him, I wait until he’s farther down the hall before following outside of the torchlight.
He either doesn’t notice or doesn’t care.
Alaric passes the training room and continues to the end of the hall. He extinguishes the torch then turns the corner, moving quietly down the stairs.
I curse inwardly. He might not need light, but my human eyes do.
Placing my palm against the wall, I speed up in an attempt to close the distance. Acrid smoke hangs in the air from the extinguished torch, burning my nostrils.
When my fingers find the corner, I pause to listen. There is only the sound of my pulse thrumming through my veins.
Demons and saints, I’ve lost him.He’s probably already at the bottom and through the door. I turn the corner and descend anyway.
After a dozen steps, I collide with a solid form, losing my balance from the unexpected impact. My heart stops for two beats before restarting and drumming at twice the normal speed. Strong hands grip my upper arms, steadying me.
“What are you doing here, Clara?” Alaric demands.
I pull back, tilting my head up as if I could see his face in the pitch dark. “I was following you.”
He grunts. “I can see that. Butwhy?”
The coldness of his question stings. “I want to talk to you…” I croak. “Do I really need a reason?”
He’s silent for a moment. Then he shifts me so my back is to the wall and leans in, brushing his lips against the shell of my ear. “Quiet,” he whispers.
I strain to hear what he does, but my human ears aren’t good enough. Keeping still, I close my eyes and imagine we are anywhere else.
My little fantasy shatters moments later when he shifts, placing his hands against the wall on either side of my head, pinning me into place. I long to reach for him, to feel his arms wrap around me.
He tilts his head, so his lips rest lightly against my cheek. “You can’t seek me out again, Clara. I am to be crowned and oath bound by the queen.”
“I know,” I snap. “It seems everyone knew except for me. Cassius knew and kept it from me—”
“He was ordered not to say anything, so don’t be too angry with him.”
I can’t help the choking sound that works free. My heart feels like glass shattering on stone. I press my hands against his chest then shove him back a step.
“I don’t understand you, Alaric. How can you tell me not to look for you, after yesterday?”
A thick silence hangs between us.
“That was a mistake,” he says eventually. His voice is barely above a whisper, but the words ring in my ears.
“Why did you bring me here? I came because I didn’t want to be trapped, and you let me.” Shaking my head, I continue before he can interrupt. “You play her games, and I am the pawn in the center of it all. I’ve been thrown in the dungeon, marked, given away. You tell me you’ll return, then with your next breath you say you never wanted me. You avoided me only to chase me down and say you missed me, and now…”
Cutting off my incoherent rambling, I swipe at the tears streaming down my cheeks. I’m too upset to organize my thoughts.
He says nothing as I work to regain control of my emotions. Alaric leans on the wall, hands pressed to the stone on either side of my head.
“You are inconsistent, and I can’t tell what is real anymore. Everything you do ends up hurting me,” I say. The sound of his breathing is the only hint that I’m not alone. “Tell me to accept Cassius as my new master and give up on you for good.”
“No.” The word is harsh and sharp, but he softens against me.
“Why?” My voice cracks.
Then his hands are on my face, thumbs swiping at the tears. Alaric brings his face down and rests his forehead against mine. “Because, my dear Clara,” he starts slowly, “you are in my blood and in my bones and… I am in love with you.”
My heart does a flip.
