Page 27 of Ruled By Magic

“You need to get to bed. You’ll sleep like the dead tonight, healings do that.”

I nodded, clutched the blanket, and tried to stand. My legs wobbled and I thumped back onto the sofa. My vision softened. Before I could protest, the Lord Commander put his arms around me and picked me up. I squeaked but didn’t fight it. Instead, I relaxed and leaned my head against his chest, breathing in the warm scent of his cologne as he deposited me gently into bed.

“I’m going to remove what’s left of that dress, and the shoes. I won’t ravish you. It’ll just be more comfortable.” A tingle of magic, and my clothes disappeared. He covered me with the blanket. “Goodnight, Liv.”

I tried to speak, but the lure of sleep overcame me, like quicksand sucking me in.

I awoke strong and energized, my mind clear and body supple. People would spend a fortune to feel this good. The previous evening’s events swirled and jumbled in my mind, a vid that made little sense. The Lord Commander stuck his head into my room without knocking, asked after my health, and left. No teasing comments or loaded innuendos today.

Coffee in hand, I sat at the neat dinner table and tried to process the last three days. Desperation drove people to behave in strange, out of character ways. Aleita, so overcome with rage she attacked me and earned a long stay in prison. The Lord Commander’s friend, so shamed he took his own life. My own shocking bargain. And even the Lord Commander himself.

I’d been so caught up in his dominion over me personally, I hadn’t spared a thought for his wider role. Our deal was so scandalous—so against anything a good, Zantus-fearing man would do—that the political repercussions must be huge. What was his standing like in the Assembly? Did the other members respect him? What did he want to achieve while in power; did our goals align at all?

I started my news channel as a force for change, but what had I achieved? Mages still ruled Dexia. Non-mages had no voice, were blocked from any government participation. And right now, no one had closer access to the Lord Commander than me. Even before the attack, he’d appeared to soften toward me a little. And he treated me with the greatest care afterward. Could I achieve something positive with my time here?

And if he’d softened toward me, could I speak to him about Hex? The thought filled me with a hope so bright it hurt. Hex didn’t write the article that led to his friend’s death. I might persuade him to show leniency.

I couldn’t think of the Lord Commander without memories of the previous day flooding in. The taste of him, the casual way he’d used and teased my body. The commands wrapped in praise and gentle words. I wanted more. Craved it with an intensity that made no sense. I shifted in my seat as an uncomfortable ache built between my thighs, along with frustration that I couldn’t relieve it myself. I had to wait for him. That only made me burn hotter, and I jumped up. Nothing good would come from sitting around the apartment.

I wanted to run, stretch my legs, and work off the energy that zinged through my muscles. I opened my wardrobe to dress and froze. Workout gear. What the hell? Had he asked his stylist to add exercise clothes to my magical closet of horrors? The leggings clung tight enough to show the curve of my ass, and the structured top showed a disgraceful amount of midriff, but still. He’d thought of it.

Was it wrong that I felt grateful?

Breakfast first, then a run. I made my way to the usual restaurant, collected a plate of fruit topped with colorful, flavored ice shavings, and chose a spot in a secluded booth. Something jabbed into my leg as I sat. My heart stopped.

A link-up. Abandoned on the seat, no doubt dropped from someone’s pocket or handbag. Under normal circumstances, I’d hand it to the server and think no more about it. But my fingers twitched toward it, almost of their own accord.

Freedom. Knowledge. Communication. It represented everything I’d lost. I could contact my friends and family. My breath came faster. The bubble of isolation the Lord Commander kept me in felt more restrictive than ever. Before I lost my nerve, I snatched it up and stashed it in the waistband of my leggings.

I forced down half my food without tasting it and fled the restaurant for the gardens.

Beautiful, manicured hedges and fishponds gave way to woodland as I ranged further from the palace itself. I launched into a jog. Weeks of inactivity in the prison had eaten away at my muscles, and my legs soon ached, but I pushed on. The exertion felt incredible. Should I try the link-up? Was I deep enough into the woods?

I almost missed it. A shimmer in the air blurred the scenery ahead and irritated my eyes. I stopped. As my vision adjusted, I followed the trajectory of the strange shimmer. It reached high into the sky, curving gently inwards. I lost it among the trees, but it must be a dome shape—the barrier Helen mentioned. It marked the edge of the palace grounds, the limit beyond which I was forbidden to go.

My fingers shook from exertion as I pulled out the link-up and flicked it open. A standard setup, numbers and keyboard. With a last glance around, I shrunk into the trees and dialed my cousin’s number.

A beep in my ear, and the call cut out. Disappointment shrouded me. Of course. The barrier. He’d said most link-ups couldn’t penetrate it. I’d just forgotten. I clenched my fists and glared at the shimmer in the air. It separated me from everyone I knew.

An idea formed. Dangerous, but compelling. I’d almost missed the barrier in my headlong run. The Lord Commander expected I’d be exercising. Would he believe I passed through it by mistake? The plan appeared simple. I’d walk round to the entrance, disheveled and upset, and ask the guards to contact him. Apologize and pretend it’d all been a horrible accident. I could make a few calls, at least. Check in with my closest friends. Put to bed the nagging fear they’d all turn against me, shun me on my release.

I reached a hand out to touch the barrier. As soon as it connected, a tingle shot up my arm, sharp but not unpleasant. My fingers passed through, and I snatched them back. Cold, as if ice could remain a liquid. I tried again, but let my hand linger. Was this a good idea? Definitely not.

Unbidden, I pictured myself in the Lord Commander’s office as I sank meekly to my knees. The pleasure he took in my obedience. The twisted satisfaction I gained from serving him. It wasn’t right. It wasn’t me. I needed to reassert myself. To remind myself I was more than a vacant plaything.

I launched myself through the barrier.

The magic sluiced over my skin like liquid electricity, a cold tingle that enveloped my body and spat me out. Eerie. I examined it from the outside. Even less noticeable from this vantage, the hint of a shimmer gave it away. I touched it with the tip of a finger. Solid. As smooth and cool as glass.

The air outside the barrier chilled my sweaty skin. It was much colder outside than inside the dome. It regulated temperature, too? Gooseflesh broke out on my arms as I fumbled with the link-up. I mistyped the number twice in haste and took a deep, steadying breath. Panicking wouldn’t help. Correct number typed in, I pressed it to my ear.

Sarina answered after three tones. “Hello?”

“Sarina? It’s Liv.”

A pause so long I checked the screen to see if the call had dropped.

“Liv? How the hell are you calling me?”

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