Page 19 of Dance of the Phoenix
The pain that followed told me I needed to start counting.
Gritting my teeth against the pain, I opened my eyes to slits and looked at Ragnor. For some reason, he seemed to move closer ... which shouldn’t have been possible. I’d just stopped time, after all. He was supposed to stop along with it!
“Aileen?” Ragnor suddenly said, his hands landing on my shoulders. “What’s wrong?”
“I ...” I said, and the pain grew stronger. “I’ve just s-stopped time, b-but y-you’re moving!”
I managed to look up to see Ragnor’s face, and his eyes rounded with shock. Slowly, he turned his head from side to side, looking around him, before his face slackened as realization brimmed in his irises. “Release the magic,” he commanded.
With pleasurewas my mind’s response before I thought as forcefully as I could,Resume!
Immediately, the pain disappeared. A shuddering sigh left me, and I staggered back, almost falling before Ragnor caught me around my waist and helped me stand straight.
When my eyes met his worried ones, I gave him a reassuring smile and said, “The pain is gone. I’m fine.”
He nodded somewhat stiffly and reluctantly let me go. “What’s not fine is what we’ve just discovered,” he said, the worry still written on his face.
Confused, I said, “The only thing we discovered is that for some reason, my power doesn’t work on you. Which doesn’t make sense,” I added, frowning as I began to pace back and forth, agitated. “Back in the Auction, when my powers first presented themselves, no one moved, including Atalon and you, and it was like I was the only one in the world.”
“Atalon?” Ragnor asked, bringing my eyes to him. His were narrow as fury rose to his face. “What does he have to do with it?”
I froze in place. I’d just realized I hadn’t told him about what happened with Atalon back in the cell my former Lord had locked me in. The fact he knew everything there was to know about my past thanks to his own Sacred powers. And the really crucial fact was that, back in the gala event, when I stopped time, Atalon had managed to move then and take me to that cell right under Ragnor’s immobile nose.
“Okay, so,” I said carefully, walking toward him, “remember how back in the gala all hell broke loose?”
His face was set in a menacing scowl when he rigidly said, “Kind of hard to forget, yes.”
Feeling like I was approaching a wild predator on the hunt, I kept my eyes on him and said, “I stopped time right before then. That’s how Atalon managed to grab me and run; he somehow moved while time stopped, just like you did.”
His eyes glowed neon. “Why didn’t you tell me that before?” he growled, baring his teeth.
Wincing, I stopped right before him and cupped his face in my hands. “I’m sorry,” I said softly, scanning his face. “It didn’t come up.”
His hand was suddenly on my throat, curled around it from behind in a possessive hold that made me tense. “I thought we were through with secrets,” he said, our noses almost touching when he brought us close with his second hand slithering around my waist, plastering my front to his. “I thought you didn’t hide anything from me anymore.”
I could tell he wasn’t talking just about this, but the other secret too. And yet I decided to pretend we were only talking about Atalon. “I didn’t hide it on purpose, Ragnor. It’s just so many things have happened, I didn’t really think about it.” Or the fact Atalon knew everything about me, including my ugly past with Logan, which I refused to share with Ragnor. I bet that would make him feel just peachy if he knew.
But hewouldn’tknow. There was no reason for him to. Atalon would be dead in less than a month anyway, and he would take mysecrets with him to the afterlife. And Logan pretended I didn’t exist, so there was no danger on that front either.
Perhaps I would be able to get away with never telling Ragnor about this side of me.
Ragnor’s eyes dimmed a little, and to my shock, he put his head down on my shoulder and hugged me tightly. “It’s fine,” he said, and his voice sounded deeper yet somewhat weaker. “Just ... I wish you would trust me, Aileen.”
My heart lurched in my chest. “I trust you, Ragnor,” I said quietly, hugging him back. “I do. Believe me.”
He tensed. “Then why are you lying to me?”
Panic roared to life inside me. But before I could think of some excuse, something to say to divert the conversation away, Ragnor did me the favor by raising his head and stepping back, releasing me from his hold. His gaze was flat when he said, “In any case, your explanation about Atalon only cements one thing.”
With my lips dry and heart racing, all I could do was ask, “What thing?”
He gave me a somber look. “Your power only works on those who are not aware of it. Which means keeping it a secret isn’t just a temporary necessity, but the forever kind.”
Chapter 9
Aileen
I cried out as pain blasted through my entire body, until I screamed, “Resume!”
