Page 97 of Ruled By Magic

“No. We can sleep.”

“Let’s go then.” I gripped his hand. “Night, guys.”

Curled together in bed, Leo wrapped his arms around me. He held me with a desperate grip. “I’ll kill him,” he promised. “He’ll never hurt you again.”

I relaxed. Leo’s solid presence enveloped me in a blanket of calm. “I’m okay.” A vicious smile tugged at my lips. “He wasn’t expecting me to stab him. He thought I was useless.”

Leo laughed. “You showed him. I’d better behave.”

“You had. Plenty of wine bottles at home. And now you’re speaking to your dad, I’m sure he’ll send more.”

He stroked my hair, and we lay in silence for a few minutes.

“Out with it.” I tried for levity, but the words came out flat. “I know there’s something.”

Leo sighed. “I was going to wait until we’d slept, but surely you’ve guessed. With Adante exiled, the king wants to name me as heir.”

I took a deep breath. Of course I’d known. I’d just hoped it was anything else.

“It’s impossible, though. How could it work? You can’t run two territories so far apart.”

“That’s the thing. The Atarans have a blueprint for a permanent portal. It’s not been done, but they’re confident it’ll work. With that technology, we might as well be next door. And Liv—” He rubbed his hand over my back. “Think about it. With Ataran tech, we could bring Dexia into the modern world, relevant as a global power.Ifwe manage to break away from the priests.”

We.

He said it casually, but I loved the implication. The decision was to be shared. He wanted my opinion, cared about my thoughts.

But what did I think? Everything in me rebelled at spending more time in Atar, a place of fear and humiliation.

“Zantus, I hate this place,” I said.

“I know. Me too.”

“But maybe things can change? The way they treat non-mages here is disgusting. Even worse than at home. Those girls in the palace—”

“Oh, I don’t know. I’d like to see you in one of those outfits.”

I laughed and pressed my forehead against his chest.

“How long do you have before he wants your decision?”

“A week.”

Not much time to consider something that would affect our entire lives.

“The other concern is Adante,” Leo said. My stomach twisted at his name. “If I don’t take on Atar, who will? I’m sure he’s got allies. If one of them ends up in charge, what’ll happen? We could end up with the full might of Atar against us.”

A good point. Damn it.

I shifted so my back pressed against Leo’s chest. He brought his arm around me and I sighed, eyes closing despite all there was to consider.

Leo kissed the top of my head. “Wherever we are, I’ll never deny what you mean to me again.”

His words cut through my drift toward sleep. “What?”

“I’m never doing that again. I don’t care if it’s politically expedient. From now on, you stand beside me. Where you belong. I love you.”

Pure joy rushed through me. I curled both hands around his. “I love you, too.”

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