Page 106 of Tethered In Blood

Garrick let out a low whistle. “Damn, Sinclaire. I didn’t know you could be so possessive.” Oberon shot him a harsh warning glance. Which part had irritated him more? The teasing or the implication?

He was doing his job as my guard. And that man was a threat. It was the same as that knight in Silverfel.

Stay focused, Eden.

“What I’m saying is, if heisconnected, then he knows more about you than he should now, Sinclaire.” I gestured toward the window, toward the market where the half-elf had been. “That was a test, and you knew it.”

Oberon’s entire frame wound tighter. His fingers twitched, his muscles flexed, and the rise and fall of his chest became too slow. Too controlled.

I hesitated. “He knows how to pull your Fae instincts to the surface now. How to make you lose control. That’s what he wanted.”

Oberon took a step forward. Then another. My pulse quickened as he drew closer to me. The weight of his presence turned into a thunderstorm before the first strike. “You knew,” he gritted out, his voice gravelly. “But you let him linger around you.”

I flinched.

“You let him fucking touch you.”

My breath hitched. “I didn’t—”

“You care that he knows I want to rip him limb from fucking limb?” Oberon interrupted. His silver eyes burned into mine. “He knows you have fucking stitches in your back, Herbalist.” His voice dipped to a lethal cadence. “He knows you're weak right now.”

Weak?

The word dug into my ribs, cutting through whatever raw exhaustion had dulled my edges. I snapped my gaze to his, my glare sharp enough to rival him. “I can handle myself, Sin—”

“You mean like you did when you blushed at him?”

I scowled. Heat rushed through my veins. “I can’t help that,” I snapped, my voice rising. “Maybe it’s just nice to feel wanted sometimes, Sinclaire. Like I’m more than a damaged liability!”

His nostrils flared, but I refused to yield. “What in the five hells does it matter to you if I blush anyway?” I argued, stepping closer. My hands shook at my sides, and my pulse thumped against my chest. “It isn’t hurting the mission so long as I’m getting the information we need!”

Oberon’s eyes narrowed. “Would you sleep with him for that information, too?”

I stared at him, eyes wide and jaw slack. The room felt smaller. Garrick pushed off the wall beside us before my vision tunneled to the man in front of me, to the sharp cut of his jaw and the heat still burning in his silver-rimmed glare.

The way he said it, the sharp bite behind it, wasn’t just anger. It was ugly and aching.But what for?

My fists clenched at my sides.

Breathe. Don't react. Don't let him see how his words hit deeper than they should have.

A palpable silence rippled through the room as we glared at each other.

“You guys have serious sexual tension.” Garrick’s voice cut through the suffocating air, casual as ever. I whipped around and shot him a glare so sharp it could have skinned him alive. My heart was still pounding, and my blood was still boiling from Oberon’s words. Garrick only smirked and leaned against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest.

“Gods,” I dragged a hand through my hair. “This is not—”

“Oh, it is.” He gestured between the two of us. “I mean, I was going to wait for the grand confession, but at this point, I might have to speed things along.”

Oberon growled, a deep, guttural sound that made even Garrick hesitate for a breath before his smirk deepened. “Oh, you two are oblivious.”

I gritted my teeth as Oberon continued to stare at me. The muscles in his arms clenched, and his veins pulsed with whatever Fae essence surged through him.

Snatching my journal off the table, I stormed out, slamming the door so hard behind me the walls shuddered. My hands shook. My breaths were shallow. I wasn’t even sure where I was going, only that I needed to get out, needed space before I broke apart in front of them. Before Oberon saw any more from me.

Weak.

The word bounced around in my skull.

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