Page 7 of King of Forest and Fur

Maybe that’s why he’s here, she thought as she mindlessly walked through the class as they busied themselves with their tea readings.

The king could be looking to hire himself a sorcerer or sorceress to work for him in his kingdom.

But royalty usually sends someone else in their stead to do their headhunting.

The thought only bothered her because she hadn’t known any king or queen to ever come themselves to interview potentials.

She pushed the thoughts away for now as she went over the findings with the groups.

After she dismissed her class, Leila gathered her things to head to her office.

Holding the excited students’ attention for the last hour had proven tough. Distracting herself with her own questions had been harder.

But now she got a break and she wasn’t going to waste it. Her food was ready to be eaten and then maybe she’d find Tressa or Chaniel so they could fill her in on why the king was here.

Leila opened her door and almost dropped her purple robes off of her shoulders before she saw that someone was already in there.

“Excuse me,” Leila said, as she went to face the bald man who sat in her guest chairs. “You are not allowed to enter this office without permission. That’s what the waiting chairs outside my office are for.”

When she got behind her desk to look at him, she realized that he wasn’t a student. Or a colleague. She didn’t recognize this man at all.

Leila stood her ground, not wanting to look as nervous as she was starting to feel.

The man was much older than she thought, built like a brick house and his dark black beard and heavy eyebrows contrasted his blue eyes so intensely, Leila felt a chill looking into them. He looked as if he couldn’t give a rat’s ass about her and her rules.

The man stood, causing Leila to automatically take a step back.

“I didn’t mean to scare you.”

She could tell he didn’t mean it. His sneer was more than distrusting. Leila kept silent, making sure her disapproving stare was secured.

“I’m Drystan Sahylnd. And you… you are going to help me.”

Leila let out a harsh scoff. “Oh, am I? I don’t think so. But if you’re still going to look, I think you would have better luck getting someone to help you if you ask instead of demanding.”

His sneer became more malicious by the second as he continued to stare into Leila’s eyes. She became uncomfortable and her body screamed in danger as her energy started to sense the stranger’s more and more.

Leila forced herself to pull it together and stand her ground. She was a sorceress after all and this man needed to back the hell down.

“You need to leave.”

The man stayed, unwavering… staring… smiling.

Leila was fed up. “What’s your problem? I need you to leave.”

“You’re going to help me,” he breathed.

Leila’s breath caught, but she remained strong, not letting herself get bullied.

“What do you suppose I could even help you with? And what makes you think I would anyway?”

“Because, Leila Camor, you can change the past. And you don’t have a choice.”

Leila stiffened.

This man had sought her out. He knew exactly who she was and knew about the abilities she had been practicing. It wasn’t a secret, but it wasn’t advertised either.

“Listen, I don’t know who told you that I’d be able to?—”

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