Page 42 of Ruled By Magic

Did yesterday really happen? The memories held a dream-like quality, all bright colors and noise. The attack, the mad descent down the mountain. And, strangest of all, sleeping in this room. Leo was letting me in. The hard facade he kept locked around himself had cracked enough for me to glimpse the person beneath.

And I liked what I saw.

I liked it so much it terrified me. Strip away the arrogance, the entitlement, the studied political demeanor, and I saw a soul worth caring for. Someone capable of compassion and real, pure joy. A man I became more entwined with each day. The longer I spent with him, the less I looked forward to my impending freedom.

One more breath and I twisted to face him. He looked peaceful, lips parted and hair in a spiky tangle. Unable to help myself, I ran my hand through it and smoothed it out.

His eyes shot open, alarmed, before he took me in.

“This is a nice way to wake up.” He stroked my hair, then brought his hand to rest, strong and solid, on my waist. “I wonder what time it is? My link-up got incinerated. I’m sure I’m running late.”

“Let’s see. Does that hideous clock of yours work? Why do you have it, anyway?”

He laughed, grabbed the turtle clock from his bedside table, and placed it between us with exaggerated care. “My friends and I used to play a game to see who could find the worst souvenir when we went away. I won hands down with this. It came from a diving trip. There’s a little resort on the far east coast, where the forest meets the sea. It’s fantastic.”

“I’ve never seen the sea.”

Shock crossed his features before he schooled them. Only the very wealthy could afford to travel so far. “I’ll take you. As soon as I can organize another day off.” He frowned. “Although I won’t feel safe until I find out who attacked us, and how they blocked me from teleporting.”

“Will you get one of those machines, to see how it works?”

“Yes. I’ve got a couple of contacts who know where to access magical tech, for an exorbitant price.”

I rubbed my eyes and examined the cluttered space. The photographs drew my eye. So many people. In all the time I’d spent with him, I’d never seen him socialize with anyone.

“Is that your dad?” I pointed to a photo of a much younger Leo, next to a curly-haired man with kind eyes.

He nodded. “He’s obsessed with wine and took me to see some vineyards. An attempt to refine my palette. It didn’t work. It all tastes the same to me.”

“He looks nice. Are you close?”

Leo let out a sigh. “Yes, though I haven’t spent much time with him recently.”

“Why not?”

A pause, long enough for me to wonder if I’d said the wrong thing, before Leo answered. “I’ve just been so busy.”

True, but it didn’t feel like the whole truth. I pointed to another photo at random to break the awkward moment. Leo and three young men, all wearing the traditional red gowns presented to mages on graduation.

“Your graduating class?”

A longer pause. My mistake hit me as the face of the man on the left clicked. Samuel Davis, the junior minister I’d outed. Leo’s friend, who’d taken his own life. I clapped my hand over my mouth. “I’m sorry.”

He studied me. “I believe you are.” He stood and stared at the picture. “You were guilty, but of negligence, not malice. You haven’t got that sort of cruelty in you.”

He tore his gaze from the picture and dressed in silence. As he donned his suit, the weight of his position seemed to settle over him. I glanced at the door. Would he want me in here, unsupervised, among all his private things? “Should I head out?”

Dressed to perfection, his usual immaculate self, Leo sat on the edge of the bed. “No. Rest here, if you want.” His gaze scanned my body, covered by the blanket. “I like the idea of you naked in my bed. In fact, it’s how I want to find you when I come home. Wait for me here, from four. Understood?”

“Yes, Lor—” I caught myself. “I mean—Yes, Leo.”

He caressed the back of my neck. The cool touch of his fingers sent a shiver down my spine. “Good girl.”

He vanished.

Time passed strangely in the perpetual summer of the palace. I would have forgotten the Harvest if it weren’t for the decorations that sprang up everywhere. Three months, isolated from the world and wrapped up in Leo. Every day I crossed off my calendar, my anxiety grew. How would I live once he released me? Would everyone hate me?

And what would it be like to wake up alone, divided from Leo by more than distance? I hadn’t asked if we’d keep in touch. It felt too ridiculous. Would the Lord Commander keep in touch with his ex-prisoner? Of course he wouldn’t. However happy we were, it couldn’t last. It was a brief interlude in his life, something he’d move on from to more suitable entertainment. And I’d have more important things to worry about, like how to eat. I tried to live in the moment, but it became harder with every passing day.

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