Page 58 of Demon Bound

He raised his hands to her face, holding her cheeks. She stared at him, taken aback by the touch. The skin of his flesh-and-blood hand was furnace-hot, and the other felt cold in comparison, pricking her with tiny tingles of energy. His luminous eyes darted around her face, studying her, searching for something. If he’d been any closer, it would have been a kiss or an embrace.

His thumbs stroked her cheekbones, just once. Raiya was frozen.

Azreth’s eyebrows came together. And then he let go of her. Raiya watched as he got up.

“I’m sorry for disturbing your rest,” he said, then left her alone in the room again.

Chapter 18

In the morning, Raiya found Azreth waiting for her outside the door to her sleeping quarters. Had he been waiting there all night?

“Good morning,” she said.

“Good morning,” he replied perfunctorily. “I need to speak with you.”

She held her breath, thinking of their meeting last night. “About?”

“When will you be ready to try another counter-enchantment?”

She relaxed. This was more familiar territory. It was easier to think about enchanting puzzles than to try to sort through her feelings toward him. She started walking toward the dining hall, and Azreth followed. “I didn’t think you’d be so eager after what happened last time.” Frankly, she was deeply embarrassed by the incident. The idea of trying again made her feel nauseous.

“I must be freed from the binding. There is no alternative.”

“I’m not sure that enchanting is the way out of this. We might need a real mage who can cast real spells.”

“Enchantments are real spells.”

“It went very poorly last time, Azreth. It was irresponsible of me to even attempt it.”

“Do you think I’m not strong enough to endure it?” He frowned, tilting his head at her. One of his horns scraped the ceiling as he moved, and he ducked, casting an irritated glance upward. “I have been in worse pain before.”

She lowered her voice. “It’s not that. All of this is just educated guesses. What if something worse happens next time? What if I… damage you somehow?”

“Another scratch on a broken sword is of little concern.”

She frowned at him. “You’re not a sword.”

He moved to stand in front of her, blocking her path. “I would like you to try again,” he said. He paused, then added, “Please.”

Raiya gave him a skeptical look.

“Last time, I could feel something in your enchantment pushing against the binding,” he said. “It didn’t work, but it was close. We are on the right path. You will succeed if we keep trying.”

“You can’t be certain of that.”

“I have paid more attention than you think I have. I know you know things. I know you’re good at this.”

She would have thought he was just trying to flatter her, but he said it almost accusingly, like he thought it was something she was trying to hide in order to get out of work.

“We will try again,” he said firmly.

Raiya hesitated, still surprised by his confidence in her. “I’ll… do my best, then.”

Azreth nodded approvingly. “We must leave this place. You should get all the information you can now. Take whatever books you can carry from the library, and we’ll leave tonight.”

“That’s stealing.”

“Yes.”

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