Page 11 of Desire

“Don’t make me call for one of the others,” I said.

Brandle was silent for several heartbeats.

“It feels as if you are forever retreating from me, Kellen.”

I let loose a very Eloise-like snort.

“I’ve kissed you, slept on you, and admitted more truths to you than I have my own mother. I am not retreating, Brandle. You’re simply a bullish lout who is refusing to allow me to set my own pace.”

A bark of laughter rang out from above.

“And Eadric agrees,” I said.

“We all agree, Lamb,” Daemon said. “But it’s not kind to say it to the lout’s face when he’s trying to confess his feelings for you.”

“His feelings? In a dark cellar? I should hope that’s not what this is,” I said.

More laughter drifted from above.

“Go,” Brandle said. “I will fetch what we need.”

When I emerged from the cellar, the cottage was empty and the rest waited in their same positions outside.

Eadric held up his hands pleadingly. “I wanted to comply and remove my pants, Sparrow, but they said they would cuff me if I did.”

I shook my head at them all and went to switch the cloth covering Liam’s eye. Garron’s stitches from his previous injury were bleeding lightly where he’d strained them too much. The skin around Darian’s eyes was starting to darken near his nose. He truly had my pity, and I didn’t scold him when he tugged on my shirt and pleaded for a hug. Eadric playfully opened his arms and asked for his due several times as well.

“Affection-starved scoundrels,” I said under my breath as I prepared the midday meal. “Shouldn’t you focus on what you’ll do when they return?”

“Ifthey return,” Edmund said. “We moved them deeper into the trees, closer to the path leading back to Drisdall, and left them with a lit fire and a supply of wood to keep the beasts at bay until they stop bleeding. It will take a few days for them to return. If at all.”

“Truly?” I asked.

Edmund nodded, and I surprised him by cupping his face and kissing him on the lips.

“That is welcome news,” I said with a smile.

Edmund didn’t grin in return. His gaze shifted from my eyes to my mouth and back again.

“He’s thinking about that copper,” Eadric said.

“He should be thinking about Darian’s broken nose,” I said.

A smile briefly tugged at Edmund’s lips. “I’ll prove myself a man of control. For now.”

“Thank you,” I said, escaping his hold. “Drink your tea. I think I’ll read for a bit.”

I heardsomeone by the door but didn’t lift my gaze from my book.

After reading for hours, I understood how little I knew about what I could do. And how unique I was. Many of the things the book warned could tax a beginner I could do with little effort—such as checking the weather.

It was going to rain again before dusk.

I wondered what excuse they would use to remain outside.

Another novice spell, to heat water, I could cast by simply thinking of the spell rather than speaking it aloud. Again, I felt no tiredness. I even went outside to check the grass and the trees. Nothing was dead.

Why, then, had things died when I was twelve? What had I done differently?

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