Page 38 of The Dark Mage
Ren’wyn didn’t know what felt worse: that she had failed to notice the thread of broken magic earlier, or the way it clawed at her once she finally recognized it.She berated herself silently.Stupid.A worthless addition to this team.Her primary purpose was to notice magic, and she had failed.She had chosen to work with Axel to observe the community, and at her first opportunity, she’d fallen short.The oppressive magic pressed against her in the same way as her father’s sharp words, Erst’s abuse, and Esrin’s betrayal.
Pushing her dish away, she rose abruptly.Fael immediately followed.
“I’m fine,” she lied, plastering a smile on her face.“I’m just tired.Don’t get up on mypart.”
She didn’t want to talk about the magic—or the pain it had unearthed.Not wanting Fael to pry or reprimand her for her ignorance, she headed to herroom.
At the door, she breathed a sigh of relief and reached for the knob, only for Fael’s arm to slip under hers and push the door open.He followed her in, and she turned to face him, hands on herhips.
“You aren’t fine, and stop trying to lie to me,” he said, cutting her off before she could order him out.“I thought we knew each other better than that.I feel your distress like a stomachache.I see it in youreyes.”
Warmth bloomed in her chest.He saw her—and he stayed.Her angry words dissolved, replaced by sadness and embarrassment.
“Please,” she said bitterly.“Please, I know how stupid I am.How foolish I must look.I’m not worth anything to you if I can’t notice magic right under my nose.Shit, I’m such an idiot.”
She covered her face, crumpling inward.Now came the moment when he would mock her or tell her how disappointed he was that she could never do anything right.
But instead, he pulled her hands away from her brimming eyes.All she saw in his gaze was concern—and something she couldn’t, wouldn’t try toname.
“Are you hurt?”he asked gently.“Did it hurt you, Ren’wyn?”
“What was it?”she whispered, fear tightening her grip around his fingers.
He ran a hand through his hair, frustration evident.“I don’t know, but it felt wrong.Like…”
“Broken glass,” she finished for him, and he nodded.
“I would have investigated, but…” Now it was his turn to look embarrassed.“I was afraid I was going to boil over wanting to protect you.I thought you might be in danger, and I had to get you away.Then it left, and now… I’m not sure what to do anymore.”
“Travel to Trisin?”she suggested, though all of her protested the thought.
“I won’t leave you alone after that,” he replied with enough venom to make her heart thump.“What if it isn’t attached to that apothecary?What if he did something to Axel?I can’t take that risk, and I don’t want you to face anything alone.”
She was stunned.Leaving her was a risk?That meant she was worth something to him.She was worth something.
“Aren’t you going to scold me for being distracted?”she asked.
“It was hiding, Ren’wyn,” he said, tipping his face toward hers, his familiar heat a balm to her lingering fear.“I felt it beneath your shadows, masking itself from you with your own power.You did nothing wrong.I’m glad I was there.Even if you had missed it, why would I scold you?You’ve done so much for us, and everyone misses things.That doesn’t mean you deserve a scolding like a child.”
She looked away.If he really knew her, he would never say that.She was a mess, a wreck—and she was lucky he hadn’t noticed.
“What do we do, then?”she asked, crossing to the window, craving the sight of the open night sky.A headache throbbed behind her eyes, and she wanted to curl up under the covers to escape.
“We wait,” he responded, walking up behind her.“I think we should see what happens.We don’t know if the magic was tied to a person—and if it was, whether they noticed us.I can’t be sure that following it won’t end in disaster or if the apothecary will take it back to Trisin.Or if he even knows about it.”
Ren’wyn nodded absently.Fael approached her, close enough that his breath fanned across the back of herhead.
“I promise to stay by you and protect you,” hesaid.
A beat of silence followed, the promise making her shoulders drop in relief.
“That maid is watching,” he whispered in her ear, the scent of him all around her—stone and smoke and something entirely, undeniablyFael.
Through the window, a maid’s silhouette was visible in the darkness outside.But Ren’wyn’s mind blanked.Every part of her came alive as Fael’s heat soaked into her back, chasing away her fatigue.Her stomach clenched, warmth spread through her limbs, and her fingertips tingled.He was everywhere.
“No one needs to expect anything out of the usual.We had a lovely supper, and I came upstairs to join you after being gone for two days.A perfect excuse for some gossip,” he whispered.
His voice brushed the skin between her neck and shoulder.She knew the light behind them illuminated everything for the maid, so she turned and pulled his arms around her waist.His eyes had darkened, but he kept their bodies apart as he threaded one hand into herhair.
