Page 57 of A Baron of Bonds
“No, I have been back there only once.”
“Why did you choose your study for the desk then?”
“It was the biggest desk I could find in the Fortress. There are several more rooms that could have acted as my study. One of them is the library the channelers use now. But that study—the desk was so long and wide that when you came to me each day, it was the best barrier between us. The sun would stream through the window and light your face, and I cherished every second of it. If it weren’t for that desk, I would have been too tempted to reach for you. Many of those days, I could barely look at you for fear of what I might say.”
“You’re still healing,” I murmured as I traced a finger down his cheek.
He grabbed my hand and kissed the inside of my wrist. “I’m still healing.”
I wanted to pull him closer, bring him to my chest and let him hear my heart. I tucked my arm under his neck, and he moved his lips to mine.
Fire rose from the embers always lit within me, and I wondered if I’d ever get enough of him. I wondered as his fingers trailed across my breasts, down my side, and over the curve of my hip, if I would ever not want this—if I would ever not need this.
I didn’t think so, but I still had more to tell him.
“She was angry with me. She was angry with you.”
Rev stopped his trek and pulled his head back to look at me.
“The Blightress somehow knew what you had done. She called it your betrayal. And she claimed…she claimed the power of the Baron of Felgren was once hers.”
His eyes furrowed. “Hers? She said that a Baron’s power comes from her?”
“Yes. And she said she wants it back.”
He exhaled fully. “Fuck.”
“Yes, fuck.” I repeated. “Have you heard anything like this? Do you know the origins of the power of a Baron?”
“All I know is how it transfers. The moment Heimlen died, I felt it come to me. It came in a voice on the wind that had no gender or substance other than extreme power. It was incessant, constantly nagging in my head as I carried you back to the Fortress.”
“What did it say?”
“It asked if I would accept the power of the Baron of Felgren.”
“What happened when you said yes?”
He paused, uncertainty flickering across his mouth. “I felt as if I could make the world shake. The power…it was intense and terrifying. I spent years after discovering what I could do with it.”
“You know, Baron Revich, I think you’re much more powerful than you ever let on.”
He chuckled. “I currently have no need for this much power. It couldn’t give me in all those years the one thing I wanted, so it has its limits.”
I frowned. That was true, but the Blightress had been able to wake me. She had been able to connect to my mind and help me remember, so if his power was hers, why couldn’t he do the same?
“She also said that she gave some of herself to me. She could sense that I was growing in my mother’s womb, and I reminded her of something she had lost.” I bit my lip, realizing what Ihad not yet processed. “Do you think that means I only have this power because of her? I can only feel the pulse of the Blight because I am a part of her?”
“Regardless of where your power comes from, it is yours alone. You wield it, you harness the strength to use it. She owns no part of you, Karus, and you owe her nothing.”
I wasn’t sure he was right, but I knew one thing for certain. “I won’t let her take it from you. I don’t care if a Baron’s power was somehow once hers, she can’t have it back. I promise, Rev, she won’t hurt us. I won’t let her.”
“No, she will not. I don’t know what the Queen will have to say tomorrow, but let’s keep this to ourselves until we know more. We need to get back to Felgren, but we can stay here for as long as you need.”
“Thank you. After we hear what the Queen has to say, I will give my goodbyes.” I followed our breathing again, inhaling through my nose, filling my lungs with the warmth between us. “I want to go home,” I exhaled.
“You have been missed. Clairannia, Figuerah, and Moira especially are still worried. You’ll probably hear more scolding before the week is done.”
I twisted my face in another grimace.
