Page 28 of A Reign of Storm and Madness

“So, you tried to get me banished from the Academy for my own good then?” I deadpan, not quite believing it.

“Obviously, it didn’t work.” He glares at me as if it’s my fault and in a way, I suppose it is.

“Do you think casting an illusion on me during my punishment would absolve you of your decisions?” I demand. Despite the harsh tone I use, I don’t feel quite the same level of heat as I say the words. Damn him. I want to stay mad and he’s making it far too difficult.

“No, of course not,” he says quickly, “but…” He roughly shoves a hand through his hair, grabbing ahold of the dark strands and holding tight as he looks to the floor again, worrying his lower lip between his teeth. The skin around the scar that cuts through the side of his face tightens, growing white at the edges.

It then occurs to me why he’d sought me out and what he wants from me. A laugh erupts from my lips before I even feel it coming. His head jerks up at the same instant that I clap a hand over my mouth. The two of us stare at each other for long enough, but my amusement doesn’t die. Oh, how fucking rich this is.

Ruen’s guilt didn’t just force him to cast his illusions during my punishment, but it’s also forcing him to check on me. I can’t believe it. The one Darkhaven I expected to not give a single shit about me is the one that can’t fucking stay away.

I shake my head and drop my hand from my lips as another giggle pops free. I laugh and snort and feel tears in my eyes. Bending over, gasping for breath, I hold on to my knees, trying my best not to collapse under the weight of the ridiculousness of this entire situation.

And perhaps it makes me wicked—perhaps it makes me cruel—but I’m an assassin, not a true servant of the Gods and their offspring. I’ve had to kill and bleed to survive for half of my life. What’s left of my soul is already shredded beyond repair. If he truly feels guilty then that’s something I can use, something I have to use. Our lives aren’t the only ones on the line.

“Do you want me to forgive you, Ruen?” I ask, dropping his ‘Master’ title.

Cool suspicion enters his gaze and he doesn’t say anything, but that’s alright. He doesn’t have to. I already know the answer.

I straighten and move away from the stacks. One step and then another, I don’t stop until I’m right in front of him. Our chests bump against each other and for the flicker of a heartbeat his eyes glance down to my cleavage before jerking back up, the edges of his lips turning down.

“I’m happy to offer you my forgiveness,” I tell him honestly. “You know as well as I do that I’m the only one who can absolve you of the wrongs you’ve done against me.”

Still, he doesn’t say a word. Waiting. He might have made a good assassin, I think distantly. He knows how to be patient. That’s always been difficult for me.

My attention drops from his eyes to linger on his lips. I wonder, dimly, if they’re as soft as they look or if they’re firmer like Kalix’s. Does he cling to a woman as he fucks her like Theos or does he create distance even as he takes her in the most intimate of places? My lashes lift. I let all my curiosities fill my gaze and know the second his pupils dilate that he can read each and every one of them.

“I’ll forgive you, Ruen Darkhaven,” I say, lifting a hand and laying it against his chest. His heart thuds against my palm, pulsating in rapid beats. His mint scent is in my nose, filling my lungs. “And all I need in return is one…” I press closer. “… little …” Our lips stop a hair’s breadth away from each other. “... favor.”

The second the word ‘favor’ rolls off my tongue, all languidity in his limbs goes taut. I smirk, having expected that.

“What kind of favor?” Ruen demands gruffly as if he’s waking up from a dream.

I meet his eyes. “I need you to help me get out of the Academy.”

Chapter 17

Ruen

Ineed you to help me get out of the Academy. She wants to leave. I shouldn’t be shocked by her statement. After all she’s been through, were I in her shoes, I would want the same. I should be pleased by the thought of this girl finally out of my sight and away from my brothers, but I’m not. Quite the opposite. Before I can stop myself, I crowd her backward until her spine hits the bookshelf once more and my hand lands on one of the ledges, gripping it for dear life as I glare down at her.

“And just where the fuck do you think you’ll go?” I grit through my teeth, the question coming out as more of an accusation. I don’t give her a chance to respond as I catch sight of the mischievous twinkle in her gaze before I launch into my next words. “I’m sure Dauphine has told you what would happen to the rest of the Terra here should you make another mistake in Dolos’ eyes. Leaving against the wishes of the Gods would be more than a mistake, Kiera. It would be a death sentence.”

To her and everyone else—including ailing Sylvis. I put the Terra Librarian out of my mind and focus on the girl in front of me who tips her head back, silver hair sliding over her cheek as her gray eyes flash with some cool, dark emotion. There’s no fear in her. No trepidation. If there is, she hides it damn well, and that only makes me more suspicious of her even as I want to bury my face in her throat and inhale that deeply pleasing floral scent of hers. Like the Elysian Fields of the history texts, she smells so divine that I worry one small slip and I’ll be just as addicted to her as my brothers are. I’m already too close for comfort and I can’t find the strength to pull back.

As if she knows what she does to me, the vile little creature before me tips her head back and grins. “Oh yes,” she answers, confirming my assumption. “She told me.” Then, as if she’s not at all frightened of me—by the things I could do to her here, surrounded by one of my illusions with no one around to hear her scream—she pats me on the chest. Pats me. On the damn. Chest! Like I’m some wayward animal who just needs a good stroking to calm down. “I’m not going to be gone forever.”

“No,” I snap, ignoring her words. “Pick another favor.”

She blinks those pretty stormcloud eyes at me and her grin widens. “So you do want my forgiveness.”

I freeze and realize my own blundering fucking words. Damn conniving little—“If you want the favor,” I say, cutting the words out through thin patience, “then I suggest you think of something else.”

Kiera shrugs. “I don’t want anything else.”

This just gets worse and worse. I should’ve stayed away from her. Should have never let myself get so worked up by her. Yet, here I am, still contemplating the logistics of actually giving her what she wants if it’ll mean relieving the guilt that has been tearing me apart inside each and every night until my ability to sleep has become nothing but a distant memory.

As if she senses my weakness, the vixen moves towards me. “I promise,” she says, her tone soft and coaxing, “I have no intention of running away from the Academy and leaving the rest of the Terra to be cut down as recompense for my crimes.”

---