Page 230 of The Lands Defying
I wear the dress he gave me, self-conscious about being naked but Darius left a cloak for me to wear.
I knew it was because he wanted to make me comfortable, but I know he also would rip the eyes out of any male seeing me like this.
“Are you taking me somewhere secluded to kill me?” I ask, and he huffs out a laugh.
“No, I would never kill you, Rhea.”
“Oh I don’t know, you looked very angry when we first met.” And he did.
“You had just killed my men and tried to kill me, of course I was angry.” He has a point. “But I wouldn’t have killed you.”
I look at him, but he doesn’t meet my gaze. “Because of my sparkling personality?” I ask.
“Because you are you,” he says. He does look at me then, and the emotion filling his eyes has my heartbeat playing in my ears.
I duck my head and smile, swinging our hands between us and I’m sure I hear him mutteradorableagain, but I can’t be sure.
When the moon is high in the night sky, I pull my cloak around me tighter as Darius stops. I look around the glade we aresurrounded by, smiling at the peeking wisps through the trees ahead.
“Are you going to tell me why we are here now, more training?” I look down at my bare feet. “I’m a bit underdressed for that,” I laugh, but Darius doesn’t.
“Put your magic to the ground.” He nods to the grass tickling our feet.
I swish my foot through the stalks. “Again?” I smile.
“Yes.”
I crouch down so fast, nearly ripping Darius’s shoulder out of his socket when I forget to let go of his hand. He chuckles, letting go and in my excitement, I don’t realize he’s moving away from me.
My power is to my palm in the next instant, more controlled, more willing and vibrant, and I smile, closing my eyes and feeling the ground.
“You planted more seeds again, that’s why you haven’t been around?” He doesn’t answer, but that’s okay.
I keep focused, feeling them all one-by-one and giving them a bit of magic. I feel them growing, reaching, opening through the ground to bloom under the moonlight.
I still have my eyes closed when Darius says, “that’s enough.”
I peel my eyes open, grinning at the flowers and picking one, bringing it to my nose and taking in its sweet scent. Finally, I look to where Darius stands in the middle of the lesia flowers. He has made me so many, but somehow, this meadow feels different.
I rise, slowly taking a step but he shakes his head to halt me. I stop, my brows furrowing as I play with the stem in my hand.
He looks up to the moon, his body looking tense for a moment until he eventually takes a deep breath and lets it back out.
“When I first got close to you,” he begins, his voice soft. “I thought I saw moonlight in your eyes, I thought I saw my soul.”Now I’m the one taking a deep breath at his words. “Who knew this little female—”
“I’m five, seven,” I butt in, and he peeks at me, smiling and shaking his head.
“Who knew this female,” he says again, giving me a look to not interrupt. “Who is smaller than me, would hold so much power. Who would become more than I could have ever imagined.”
His eyes drop to my toes, running up my legs and to the cloak wrapped around me. He gestures for me to drop the cloak, and after a moment’s hesitation, I untie it and let it drop to the floor.
He makes a frustrated sound in the back of his throat as he looks at me, taking in my body beneath the sheer dress. When I take another step, he shakes his head again.
“You want to know what I see when I look at you?” he asks, and I swallow roughly.
“You are always looking at me.”
“How could I not?” he replies instantly, and my cheeks warm.
