Page 43 of Godsbane
Words stick in my throat like thick honey. I can’t speak, can’t move, can’t tear my eyes away from his unyielding stare. The longer he holds it, the closer I get to the cliff’s edge, the precipice overlooking the depthless ocean where I am destined to drown.
Magic unlike any I have ever felt rushes across the top of my skin and skates down my chest, power swelling into a wave that threatens to break over us both. Together, in this moment with his power commingling with mine, we feelinfinite.
And, for the first time, I wonder if the fall might be worth it.
My body screams in protest as I push myself onto my elbows on the rocky ground. Cal is noticeably absent from our makeshift camp, the thin bedroll I sidled up against also gone. I ignore the way my heart aches at the memory of his eyes, of the distressed sound of my name on his lips, and of the feel of his fingers lightly resting on my arm as he fell asleep. I sit up and audibly groan at the strain.
The attack yesterday, the amount of magic I used to cover it up … it’s been a long time since I’ve expended that much energy. We’re two weeks from the full moon and the Ascension Vote. If things go awry and we have to resort to Cal’s plans to kill our adversaries, I need to be ready.
My last training session ended in a brawl rather than a lesson. I brought fury and a blade into the ring, and I lost both my cool and the battle for Quinn that night.
I will never forget the look on Nick Adler’s face when I showed up and challenged him, not to win her hand for myself—gods know a love like that is forced into the shadows in Corinth—but to win it for her. One of our many archaic traditions that both Lords Bartlett and Adler would have been forced to honor.
“I would say ‘good morning’ but it doesn’t look good from where I’m standing.”
Cal waits at the edge of the trees, arms crossed over his broad, shirtless chest. Droplets of water coat the inky sea beast, gleaming in the early morning sun like scales.
“What is it, princess?” He moves towards me, squatting deeply until he’s eye-level with my still seated body.
“I want you to train me.” Cal’s eyes light up, making me instantly regret my word choice. “I lost my last fight and I don’t plan to lose another.”
“Considering you’re still breathing and he’s not, I’d definitely say you won, princess,” Cal jokes.
“Not him,” I correct. “He couldn’t have used that sword to cut himself out of a burlap sack. He was easy. My next fight won’t be. I need to be able to take down a formidable opponent. Someone with power.”
“Power?” he asks slowly, repeating the word and letting it settle between us.
“Marks won’t touch you with a blade,” Cal says definitively.
“Why? Because you’ll protect me?” I scoff.
“With my life, Ivy.”
Cal stands until he’s at his full height, seconds that feel more like minutes stretching between us. Only when he’s sure that I’ve felt the full weight of his words does he arch his full lips into a playful smile and extend his hand to help me up.
“Come on. You’re going to want to clean up before you get dirty again.”
“I don’t plan on spending much time on the ground,” I quip back, taking his hand to rise to my feet.
“I’m going to ready the horses. Can you wash up quickly?” Cal asks.
“Can you find a shirt?”
“I could…” he teases, tossing my saddlebag towards me, “but now that I know it bothers you, I probably won’t.”
“Wouldn’t want to deprive the ladies of Gathe of a good show, now would you? Might as well put your body on display when we ride into the city. Do a little fishing … see if anyone bites.”
Cal closes the distance between us in two long strides, stopping only when his body is inches from mine.
“My body isn’t for their eyes … and I’m the one who bites.”
The captain lays a cotton towel on top of the bag in my arms. His eyes trail over me as he takes slow, deliberate steps backwards, further fanning the flames of the fire he’s just ignited in my core.
Thank the gods that whatever water awaits me in the nearby stream will no doubt be ice cold. This is dangerous territory, and I’ve just asked him to train me, to pin me down on the ground, his hips touching …
Get it together, Ivy.
Cal’s back is to me as he tightens the saddle on my mare.
