Page 14 of Ruled By Magic

“Exactly.”

I opened my mouth, then closed it again. This might be normal for mages. Maybe they all woke to a wardrobe full of new selections every day. It didn’t matter. I had questions, and only he could answer them.

“Lord Commander?”

He held up a hand and returned to his message. “Just a moment.”

I took the opportunity to observe him without having to deal with his regard. Immaculate despite the early hour—seven a.m., according to the wall clock. Already dressed in a pale gray suit and another red shirt. His signature style. He could be a model, advertising the clothes he wore.

He looked up and caught me watching him. One brow lifted. “You wanted something?”

My brain blanked, and I stared at him before the wheels turned again. “Oh. Yes. I need to know—” I swallowed. “What are the conditions of my imprisonment? Will I be allowed a call each week, like in a normal prison?”

He tilted his head to the side. “Who do you want to speak with? Your friends at the NPU?”

Confusion reigned until I remembered his words from the night before. I’d been too terrified, too distracted by his touch on my body that I hadn’t absorbed them. The Non-Mage People’s Union—militant, aggressive campaigners for non-mage rights—orchestrated the campaign for my release. It made a kind of sense. They hated the Assembly too.

“You think I’m involved with them? I’m not. I want to call my cousin to check on my cat.”

The words left my mouth before I could pull them back, and I cringed at how ridiculous they sounded. Check on my cat? Why the fuck did he need to know that?

He set his link-up down on the table and gave me his full attention. A smile played on his lips. “That’s what you’re most concerned with?”

Amusement laced his voice, and it grated on me. What did he know about being separated from everything he loved? “Yes. He’s old, and he’ll miss me. What’s so ridiculous about that?”

He paused, as if lost for an answer. Good. Did it bother him to see me as a person? Would it make humiliating me less fun?

He shrugged, all bored nonchalance. “Nothing, I suppose. But I can’t grant your request.” He gestured to the sofa. “Sit. I have things to go through. And,”—his voice dropped, warning threaded through it—“watch your tone.”

I drew in a breath. It was too easy to slip into normal speech. To forget the formality, the “Yes, Lord Commander” he wanted at all times. I fought a brief internal battle as I perched on the sofa, then forced out, “Sorry, Lord Commander.”

He sat down beside me and patted my knee. “There’s my good girl. You’re learning.”

Words meant to demean. But the sensuality of his voice made them shiver along my skin. His good girl.

I tried to suppress the tendril of excitement, of desire, that curled in my belly. The memory of his hand on my breast, the casual possessiveness of his touch, seared me. I had to look away, down to the floor. What was wrong with me?

He caressed the spot under my kneecap with repetitive upward strokes as he talked. “You’ll have a lot more freedom than a normal prisoner. The palace and grounds are yours to explore. I expect you here by four p.m. to attend me. Weekends, you’ll be available to me all day. Eat at any of the restaurants, use the facilities, everything will be charged to me. No room service. I won’t have you hiding up here.”

A vice I hadn’t realized existed released from my insides, and I sagged against the seat. I wouldn’t be trapped inside for months. I could still see the sun. A few hours each day were mine to spend however I wished.

He wasn’t doing it out of kindness. I saw the trick. The more I wandered around and enjoyed the luxury of palace life, the harder it was to claim to be an unwilling participant. Behaving like a kept woman, spending the Lord Commander’s money. I recoiled from the idea. But I had to eat, and it didn’t override the pure relief that I’d be allowed out.

The motion of his fingers on that strange, sensitive point below my kneecap set a slow pulse of need beating deep inside. A thrum of arousal that grew stronger with each stroke of his hand. How long would he keep up this game? I shifted in my seat. He noticed, and satisfaction settled on his features. He wanted to affect me. To turn me on with these touches that stayed just shy of indecent. Why? To stoke his arrogance? To add to my debasement? Or did he somehow imagine I’d be truly willing when he took me to bed for the first time?

“I only have a couple of rules for you to follow.” His voice snapped me from my reverie, and I jumped. “No leaving the palace grounds. Helen will explain about the barrier. You’re to stay within its confines unless I take you out. Understood?”

I nodded, then remembered. “Yes, Lord Commander.”

“Second, you mustn’t attempt to communicate with anyone. Ordinary link-ups won’t work inside the barrier, anyway.” His expression turned stern. “Is this one understood too? There will be consequences if you disobey.”

A vague threat. Would he cut off my liberty, restrict me to his rooms? Something worse? If I broke the rules, I’d have to be very, very careful he didn’t find out. “Yes, Lord Commander. I understand. But—” His brows rose, but I forged ahead. “What if something happens to one of my family, or a friend? How will I know?”

He glanced up, and his fingers slowed their pace. Hadn’t he thought of this? Did he imagine I’d just accept six months of total isolation from the world outside? He met my gaze again. “Speak with Helen. She’ll contact those closest to you and give them instructions to call the palace if something catastrophic happens. I don’t expect this privilege to be abused, though. It’s not a message service. If it’s used, someone had better be dying.”

“Thank you.” I meant it. Now, at least, I wouldn’t spend the next six months worried about everyone on the outside. Suzi would have her baby soon, and Renelle had a heart operation coming up. With an effort of will, I dragged my mind away from all I missed, back to the man who controlled my immediate future.

He stood and trailed his gaze over me one more time. “Tonight’s outing is a trip to the ballet. We’ve got a private box, so I’ll have you all to myself.”

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