Page 58 of Ruled By Magic

“Yes, really well. They seem nice. I think you’ll like Peter, the leader.”

“How did Hexara end up with them?”

“She was Atalie’s roommate in prison. She escaped along with them.”

“Lucky.” He paused and studied me. “So, what else?”

I finished recounting the night’s events. His face darkened when I mentioned the NPU. “Is this group affiliated with them?”

“I didn’t get that impression. More that they’re interested in money, and the NPU offered them some once they found out Hex had joined Peter’s crew.”

“What for?”

I let my gaze flick to the roof of the tent, where shadows crept. “For me. To arrange a meeting and get me on side.”

Silence blanketed us. A bird call sounded, far away. “What do they want you to do?”

“Work with them. Be a rallying point to change things.”

“I see.” The flat note in his voice told me he understood. A rallying point against him. “And is it what you want?”

“It’s a cause I believe in, but—” I drew in a long breath. “No. I won’t denounce you and play the victim. It wouldn’t be honest. It’s not what I want.” As I spoke the words, the truth of them sunk in. I couldn’t do it. I’d find another way to live. Something better.

Leo let out a slow sigh, and his hand traveled up my back. “I thought I had three more months.”

“Three more months to what?”

“To work out how to keep you.”

A jolt shuddered through my nervous system. “What?”

“I’d considered finding a reason to extend your sentence. A technicality, a broken rule. Something to ensure you stayed with me. But that would only make you despise me. I don’t want that.”

Shock froze my thoughts, and a confusing rush of emotions tumbled in behind it. Anger that he’d considered playing games with my freedom, relief that he hadn’t, and a wild sort of hope. Hoping for what? I wasn’t sure. He waited, expectant, and I fumbled for words. “What do you want?”

He gripped my hands in his. “This started as a punishment, but I soon realized you hadn’t acted out of malice. If I’d been a better man, I’d have set you free then. But I didn’t want to. You do something to me. I need to make every bit of you mine. Stay with me.”

His words lit a fire inside my stomach, but I tried to keep my head. I mustn’t let myself want it. A lifetime as his consort, kept in luxury, devoted to giving him pleasure. However much the idea tugged at that dark side of me, I couldn’t accept it. Because one day, he’d do what was expected and take a wife. A suitable wife. A mage to have children with and pass on his pedigree bloodline. Then what? Would he house me in separate rooms, far from his true family? Drop in now and then to satisfy his more sadistic desires? Nausea rose at the image. What a waste of my life.

“I can’t. I need my own life, and you’ll have to marry.” I voiced the simple truth. “I can’t share you.”

“You won’t have to.” He shifted, and the sunlight played across his features, highlighting the rich color of his eyes. Briefly, I imagined waking up to that face every day, forever. It felt real, all of a sudden. A possibility. Despite my best efforts, hope trickled in. “I don’t want anyone else. I dated before you. Took women in my circle out to restaurants and dances. They flirted, and flattered me, and not one of them caught my attention.”

“Because you couldn’t order them to their knees whenever you wanted?” I’d intended a teasing tone, but it came out with a bite. His cruel words from the night of the parade still played in my mind.

The immediate denial I’d expected didn’t come. Instead, his forehead creased, and he paused before responding. “Of course not. That’s not all of it. I’d be lying if I claimed not to enjoy the control I have over you, and the way you respond to it.” He brushed his thumb over my lips. “It’s electrifying. But there’s much more than that. You’re so good. You saved my life after everything I put you through. And you’re so sharp. Even on your first day, when I did my best to intimidate you, you surprised me with your wit. And you keep surprising me.”

The words flew out of him fast, as if he’d been holding them back and the dam had broken. “When I thought you’d betrayed me, it sent me into a blind rage. I lashed out. But then afterward, alone in my room knowing you were crying in yours, I felt worse than I’d ever felt. Like I was torn in two. It took every bit of restraint I had not to come to you. And when I found out you were innocent—” He closed his eyes, lips pressed into a thin line.

“I realized I didn’t care what the Assembly would say, or the priesthood. I’d resolved to talk to you, but then everything went to shit.” He gripped both my hands in his, fingers wrapped around mine. “We fit together. I’ve been in love with you for weeks. I just didn’t want to admit it to myself.”

Shock cascaded through me as I tried to process the words. They made sense, but my mind refused to absorb them. A muscle twitched in his cheek, and he looked away from me. He was anxious. The realization broke my paralysis. “You love me?”

Words I hadn’t dared imagine hearing, even in my happiest moments. Words I never thought could come from his lips.

“Yes. Stay with me, and you’ll never want for anything. I’ll take care of you.”

Happiness surged through me, and a desperate desire. Oh, how I wanted to say yes. His thumb slid over my skin in tight circles as I battled for rationality. With Leo, need always obliterated my good sense. But this time, I had to think. My life depended on it.

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