Page 29 of Deadwood
The prickle of my magic through my veins was nothing compared to what his eyes on me felt like. His curious gaze heated my core and sent shivers over my skin all at the same time. He was…entrancing. Nearly making me forget we were standing among other company.
“I was under the impression you left yesterday,” my father said, snapping me back into the now. But even so, my focus stayed glued to Bowen. His hair was as messy as every other time I’d seen him, as if he ran a hand through it one too many times quite often.
Bowen’s hard gaze trailed down my body, catching on the crates behind me, before moving to my father. With his inspecting eyes now off me, I sucked in a breath. It was almost as if a weight had been lifted off my body, but still, I felt a ghost of the pressure.
Bowen folded his hands behind his back. “I decided to stay another night.”
My father tried his best to cover up his irritation as he stiffly returned to sitting on his throne. “Well, you must be on your way, then. Better to make the journey in the morning, and it’s nearly past that.” He was being oddly polite, but I could tell in the way his words were clipped that he was hiding how he truly felt, fighting the urge to kick Bowen out. Aside from the clear vexation in his tone, that same waver from before trickled in, proving he was, even in the tiniest amount, intimidated by Bowen. But why?
Bowen silently eyed my father, then moved his gaze back to me. “I was busy looking for something, but I’ve found it.”
“Glad to hear it was not truly lost, then. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we have other things to attend to,” my father said, doing his best to politely urge Bowen to leave.
More likeIhad work to complete.
If Bowen had any idea of what was going on when he walked in, he didn’t show it.
“What are the crates for?” Bowen asked, surveying the space.
My father’s cheeks instantly reddened when Bowen very clearly didn’t take the hint.
“My daughter is double-checking inventory.”
My palms grew clammy when he failed to sound convincing.
“Of seven crates full of fire magic,” Bowen said blandly. “And a multitude of empty ones?”
My father’s jaw pulsed. His composure would soon crack, though Bowen surely saw through it already. “She is assuring the stock is all accounted for before her trip.”
Bowen arched a brow in question. “You don’t have workers to do that for you?”
I wanted to ask,Yes, Father, why amIthe one counting inventory?But I thought better of it, knowing the consequences of speaking out of turn.
“I do not trust them. Now, if you will excuse us?—”
“You may be right in that traveling so late in the day might not be wise. Perhaps I’ll stay another night,” Bowen interrupted.
If I wasn’t so tired, I’d be amused by Bowen toying with my father like this. He was bold, that much was certain.
My father’s lips rolled together, likely thinking on how to respond to that. “I will have to insist you leave today.”
Bowen meandered toward the crates—towardme—with his hands still lazily clutched behind his back. “Is that an order, King Tenere?”
“My daughter is leaving on her journey with her betrothed tomorrow. We will need the castle clear, as I am sure the grounds will be quite hectic leading up to their departure.”
It was the poorest excuse I’d ever heard.
If I was questioning it before, I wasn’t any longer. Bowen and my father clearly didn’t get along. But what game was Bowen playing here? My father wasn’t the bear he wanted to poke.
Bowen stopped directly in front of me, and I dared not move for fear that if I did, I’d get another dizzy spell. My father would have Bowen’s head if he put a hand on me in his presence, even if it was to save me from falling.
His intense gaze searched my face, lingering on the bags under my eyes. It was no secret that I was exhausted. On a good day, using my ability drained me, but with little sleep and more work, my magic was taking every bit of life from me today.
He unfolded his hands, only to reach past me to grab an empty vial off the table.
“You are to leave this instant,” my father said hurriedly, hands fisting at his sides. I could practically feel the fumes blowing out of his ears from the rage he tried to keep tightly contained.
Even so, Bowen took his time. He held the vial up to inspect it, twisting it in his fingers. By the look in his eyes, it was clear he knew as much as I did that I wasn’t simply counting inventory like my father claimed.
