Page 37 of Forbidden Obsession
Muffled voices drift toward me from farther along, and I head straight for them. No time to back down now. My magic is being tested to its limits. Maybe I should have practiced these darker skills more often, but who would have thought I’d need them?
First, I spot a set of guards and behind them a small group of nobles, perhaps even royalty. I study their finery, their jewels, their posture. I don’t know enough to tell the difference between the royal family and the richest of nobles, but these people look like money. But which one should I aim for?
On silent feet, I creep closer. In the center of the group stands a young lady with shimmering purple hair. Not plum, like Jindal’s, but more lavender or maybe amethyst, with a bejeweled circlet around her head boasting pure, clear quartz crystals.
She’s petite, smaller than the rest of the group yet somehow standing out as the most prominent member. Perhaps it’s the way the others circle her, chattering at her like she can listen to six people at once. All the while she keeps a pleasant but bland expression on her pretty oval face.
Her wings are a dusky gray-blue, the color of storm clouds, and her dress is a bold sapphire that complements them beautifully. Everyone’s eyes are trained on her, but hers…are trained on me.
Uh-oh.
Panic shatters my fragile calm. How can she see me? She’ll know I don’t belong here. If she sounds the alarm, I’m done for. Already my spell is unraveling as her pale pink gaze breaks my concentration.
She shakes her head, a minute movement directed straight to me, then glances purposefully to her right.
I follow her gaze to a set of stairs. Empty, at least at the moment. It’s clear she wants me to take them, but what’s unclear is why. I’m afraid of walking straight into a trap.
Still, she could have outed me easily just now and didn’t. At least not yet. And out of all the people I could have found to speak to, she is certainly the biggest jackpot. For this must be Princess Suvi, even more beautiful than Falen described. She’s the right age, the right coloring, and definitely possesses the right effortless authority over the room.
I refocus on my magic, holding it together while dodging their group and making for the stairs. I can’t let the question go. Is she leading me into a trap? Could be. But my gut says no.
Her attention drifts back to the others. She nods and answers their inquiries, then somehow disperses them all with a slight gesture of her tiny hand.
I’m lurking halfway up the staircase. What should I do next? She looks right at me, rolls her eyes, and arches her brows as if to say, Still there? Shoo! Up the stairs!
I scurry up the rest of the way and wait in a well-appointed antechamber full of places to sit and expensive-looking decorations to ogle. Delicate little tables with spindly legs and fancy knickknacks sit atop them, tall vases with fresh flowers inside, and colorful artwork in ornate golden frames. The casual wealth of this place is stifling.
She doesn’t make me wait long—thank goodness because my nerves are on a knife’s edge—and arrives with only one guard in tow, which comes as a surprise. She must not think I’m much of a threat. I mean, I’m not, or well, I don’t intend to be. But I could be, I think. Unless…
Is her magic stronger than mine? That would be a first. I’m almost excited to find out when I remember I probably should be scared.
She’s standing still on the threshold, watching me. I remember my manners and lurch into an awkward bow.
Her ringing laughter fills my ears. “Rise. And do tell me who you are and what you want before I call the rest of my guards back.”
Her voice is as lovely as the rest of her, lilting and sweet but somehow still brooking no argument.
Nillyslugs.How does one address royalty? I should have paid more attention to this lesson in school. “Erm, milady.” I deepen my bow and frantically consider my words. The urge to tell her the truth is overwhelming, so strong it can’t be real. Is that her magic? If so, it’s countering mine. “My name is of no importance. I’m here to learn.”
I risk a glance at her face and find an amused expression. “I said rise. You’re terrible at that anyway.” She flutters her hand at me and my unpracticed bow.
I straighten and send my magic scouring hers. Like two opposing currents, they meet, mix, and fizzle away, only to rise again as we rush to protect ourselves.
“I’ll make a deal with you.” Her unwavering gaze is both shrewd and curious. “I’ll hold back my magic if you hold back yours, and we’ll speak like two people whobothwant to learn.”
Too good to be true? I don’t care. I have to risk it. “Yes, milady.” With a relaxing loosening of my muscles, my mind also eases, letting the enchantments drift away.
“I’m Suvi,” she begins. “And you’re a mixling. The others are busy signing their names on an official registry, but you won’t even tell me yours. Why?”
It’s only fair she plays the first gambit. I’m in her home, invading her city, not the other way around. “I’m afraid of what it’s for. What if I don’t want to be called to fight?”
“You think it’s a draft? To recruit soldiers for an army?”
“Isn’t it? What else could it be?”
She gives a dainty shrug. “A list of those with human ancestry to be given more land?”
I arch my brows. No way am I dumb enough to buy that.
