Page 45 of Bound By Wishes

Caleena placed her hand on my arm, the tender touch doing unspeakable things to me. “Did she do this to Razoul as well?” she asked.

“No,” I answered sharply. Anger I had buried years ago leaked to the surface, flooding me with a surge of raw, seething emotion. It overwhelmed me, breaking through the barriers I had painstakingly built to contain it. “He wasn’t important. As the heir, I was her pawn.”

“What about your father? He allowed this?” she asked, her grip on my arm tightening.

I stood straighter, venturing to the balcony. “My father died when I was young, forcing me to become the youngest leader in our family’s history.” I inhaled deeply, hoping thesweet citrus fragrance of the garden below would help calm me. “Because I was so young, my mother seized the opportunity to rule through me. When I came of age, she refused to relinquish that power, clinging to it with an iron grip.” My magic surged within, and the marble banister I gripped cracked beneath my palms. Tiny shards of marble splintered and crumbled, falling away to reveal jagged edges and the raw, unpolished stone beneath.

Caleena’s hand traveled down my arm until her fingers intertwined with mine. Her delicate touch made me lessen the death grip I had on the banister.

“Are we going to look for the book tonight?” she asked softly, changing the subject, her gaze drifting to the dark sky.

When I glanced at her, I swore I saw stars twinkling in her eyes. Her presence soothed the beast raging within me, her touch a balm to my fury. As I looked deeper into her eyes, I felt the storm inside me begin to calm. Admitting the truth about my past had been a weight lifted from my shoulders, and I found myself breathing easier.

I slid my hand from beneath hers, still not comfortable with my raw emotions. “No, Razoul is not in court tonight, so it’s too dangerous venturing into his chambers,” I explained. “Besides, I want to know what Razoul dug up at that site.”

A smile brushed across Caleena’s lips just as wicked as it was sweet. “Good, because I’m dying to find out what’s in that crate.”

I motioned her forward. "After you, sayyida."

Caleena hesitated at the doorway, warily glancing toward the door. "What about the guard?"

"Don't worry your pretty little head about him, sayyida," I replied.

Her eyes widened with concern, and she peeked cautiously around the door frame. "You didn’t hurt him, did you?"

I walked past her. "Not this time," I said with a sly smile.

“I’ve never been this way before. Do you know where you’re going?” Caleena hissed behind me.

“You keep forgetting that this is my palace. I know exactly where I’m going,” I grumbled.

I glanced back at Caleena, whose gaze darted back and forth nervously. The hallway was cloaked in darkness, only occasionally illuminated by flickering torches mounted on the walls. The flames cast ghostly dancing shadows that seemed to reach out like grasping hands stretching from the walls. The air was cool and carried the faint scent of old stone and distant incense. The torchlight caressed Caleena’s face, highlighting the tension etched across it.

“You can hold my hand if you’d like, sayyida,” I coaxed, unable to hide the playfulness in my voice.

“When pigs fly,” she hissed, her eyes flashing with defiance.

I stopped in my tracks, glancing over my shoulder at her. “You know I can make that happen, right, sayyida?”

She stepped around me, purposely brushing her shoulder against mine as she passed. “No need to go to such extremes,” she said with a smirk. “If you wanted to hold my hand, all you had to do was ask.” Her eyes twinkled with playful mischief, causing something in my gut to tighten.

She continued deeper, the hallway narrowing until we reached a locked gated archway. Iron bars stood tall,blocking her from going any further. “What now?” she asked. “Are you sure it's in here?”

I placed my hand on the tarnished bars, the metal turning to sand as it crumbled beneath my magic. Soon all that was left of the door was a black pile of sand. “No,” I answered smoothly. “But this is where I would put something I didn’t want anyone to find.”

“How do you know about this place?” she asked, glancing skeptically into the never-ending darkness.

“My brother and I played down here when we were younger.” I took a torch from the wall and continued down the old rock stairway that descended into the dungeon. The narrow steps were uneven and worn, and the air grew cooler and mustier with each step. “It was no fun to play where we were supposed to,” I continued, allowing childhood memories of my brother to surface only for a second before I crammed them back down with all of my hatred.

Caleena gasped, and I heard the sickening sound of her foot slipping on the damp stone. Magic seeped from my pores, and I moved with unnatural speed as I dropped the torch and caught her, pulling her securely against my chest.

Her body pressed against mine, her breath quick and shallow as I steadied her. My heart raced as I carefully guided her back to a safer footing, the adrenaline and magic still coursing through me from her near-death tumble. Even with her now on solid ground, I refused to relinquish my hold. My fingertips dug into her sides as I drew her closer.

She was so fragile and tender. One wrong move, and she could have been lost to me forever. Just imagining it filled me with a sickening dread that twisted my insides. I was supposed to be unshakable, hardened by centuries of powerand control, yet the thought of losing her left me vulnerable in a way that terrified me.

We were enveloped in utter darkness, the torch's light swallowed by the depths of the abyss. The only way I could be sure she was right in front of me was by the warmth of her body pressed against mine and the gentle whisper of her breath against my chest.

I reached up, combing my fingers through her soft hair. “Are you all right?”

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