Page 48 of Ruled By Magic

He turned and closed the door with a thud. I stared after him, lips pressed together in a thin line. Our arrangement would revert to what it was meant to be. How could he be so quick to dismiss me? Why wouldn’t he just fucking listen?

I stalked to the wardrobe and wrenched it open, only to find it empty. Nothing, not even a wispy scrap of silk. I slammed the heel of my palm into the wood. Of course. He’d promised as much, hadn’t he, the first and only time I broke one of his damn rules. Did he really plan to keep me like this for three months?

I kept the towel wrapped around myself and prowled the apartment. Though large, it was still a small space. A deep, claustrophobic panic settled in my chest at the confinement. Like prison, but worse. Sharing a home with a man whose affection had morphed into disdain. A man who could be cruel.

Minutes ticked by, morphing sluggishly into hours. Nothing kept my attention. I paced, fidgeted, and sighed. By midday, boredom rather than hunger persuaded me to order lunch. A knock at the door, and I opened it, wrapped in my towel, to take the tray. The server barely glanced at me. I’d long since ceased to interest the few kitchen workers permitted to enter the Lord Commander’s corridor.

I pulled the lid from the tray and frowned. Along with the pickled eggs and salad I’d ordered sat a small black box. I opened it and gasped. A link-up, and a note. The link-up was bigger than usual, with a thick, curly aerial on top. It had a military feel. The note, though, caused my heart to constrict in my chest.

Hexara will call.

Hex.

Fuck.

She was alive! As long as this was genuine and not a cruel trick. A loyalty test? Would Leo be so nasty? No. I wouldn’t believe it of him. Someone else? I gripped the thing in one hand and stared at it as if it were a snake. Could it be a trap? Something that would blow up the palace from the inside?

My finger hovered over the button to activate the device. It might be a trick. But it could also be my only chance to reconnect with Hex. I had to try. I closed my eyes and pressed.

It beeped.

My body relaxed, tension draining from my muscles as I looked at it. A normal screen, no explosion. Just a link-up that appeared to have a signal. One of the few that could pierce the barrier? Leo and his close staff had them, but they were rare. I checked the contacts, fumbling with an unfamiliar layout, but it was empty. No way to call Hex.

It might still be a trap. A listening device for terrorists, or a bomb on a delayed timer. Every time I touched it, and each second it remained in the apartment, I was endangering myself, Leo, maybe the entire palace. Torn, I headed into my bathroom. The one place I could be sure Leo wouldn’t appear. I clutched the link-up, and slow minutes rolled by as I waited.

“Liv?” Leo’s voice, from the living room.

I dropped the link-up in shock as pure terror lanced me in the chest. Leo was back early. If he found me with this after what happened last night, my life would be hell. He might send me to prison. I shoved it into my makeup cabinet and tried to modulate my voice to calm. “Yes?”

“I need to talk to you.”

Something in his voice tugged at me. Not cold, not angry. He hadn’t marched in and dragged me out. A minuscule flutter of hope awakened. I glanced at the cabinet, tucked my towel tighter around myself, and headed out.

He waited on the sofa, body tense, staring at the wall. He locked on to me as I walked in and gestured to the spot next to him. The interaction felt oddly formal, as if I were there for a job interview. He watched me as I sat down.

“Liv.” The stiff formality of his posture carried through into his voice. “New information has come to light. The Guardians captured some NPU leaders last night and we spent the day questioning them. I know you had nothing to do with the riot.”

Relief flooded me. I closed my eyes and drew in a shuddering breath. He knew I was innocent. I had that, at least.

“How did they know I’d be there?”

The ghost of a smile tinged his lips. “My stylist. She’s an NPU sympathizer. When I ordered the elaborate gown for last night, she put two and two together.” He shook his head. “It’s ironic, really.”

I nodded. The person who aided Leo in my humiliation was on my side all along. All I managed was bitter amusement at the irony.

He took a deep breath and grasped my hand. “I’m sorry, Liv.”

Shock pierced my armor. I met his gaze. “You are?”

“Yes. When you’re under my command, I’m responsible for you. I shouldn’t have acted in anger.”

“You didn’t let me speak!” The words fell out, unconsidered. Straight from the heart. “I would have explained if you’d let me. I should have come when you called, I’m sorry about that, but Catrina lost her job because of me. I didn’t know she was NPU. I felt guilty.”

“I know. It wasn’t how a man in my position ought to behave.” Again, that formality. It rasped against my nerves. I wanted to shake him, to force out some emotion.

“The things you said,” I blurted out before I backed down. “You mocked me for how I react to you. It’s not my fault. It’s wrong and unnatural, I get it, but you made me this way. I was normal until you.”

That did it. He flinched back, as if I’d landed a blow, and sadness softened his features. He gripped my hand tighter. “I didn’t mean it. I wanted to hurt you. There’s nothing wrong with you, you’re perfect—”

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