Page 28 of Born of Starlight
It was my new favorite expression of hers. My mind wandered to other ways I could relieve her.
I needed to get a fuckinggrip.
“You have a bathtub?”
A lump grew in my throat at the thought of her disrobing entirelyin my cabin. Given the circumstances of our meeting, I would have thought she’d barely want to step inside my bedchamber.
“Yes. There’s running water—you’ll have to heat it with magic.”
I’d meant for her to wash her face, but I wouldn’t deny her a bath. I’m not sure I could have denied her anything.
“Good. Emmerick, guard the door.” She swirled a finger at me. “He’s odd.”
Her stoic bluntness and utter disregard for propriety had me choking on a laugh.
“Right,he’sthe only odd one…” the boy grumbled.
Asterie disappeared behind the door to my bedchamber. I could only imagine every detail of what was happening behind that door. The boy Commander sat at the kitchen table and cleared his throat. A distraction for my own good.
The boy was massive, both in height and weight. He looked every bit like a Constable should. His face still held youth, but a few smile lines told me he was likely to be nearing thirty. After moving to the hearth and brewing the tea, I set a cup in front of him. He grunted his thanks.
The boy sniffed his tea for poison—smarter than he looked. I smirked.
“What is your name, Warlock?”
“Fenris.” I accentuated the syllables like he should know them,Fen-ree. Evidently, neither of them was polished on their history of the realm. There was something comforting in the knowledge that they had no idea who I was.
The bath began to run, and I forced myself to focus on spinning a spoon in my tea. “You’ve traveled a long way to find me.”
Emmerick took a sip. “I’ve traveled farther.”
I pointed toward the bedchamber door. “Has your friend? She looks…tired.”
And absolutely breathtaking even still. But I left that observation out.
“She’s never left the towers. Lived a pampered life up there—I bet this journey hasn’t been easy on her, though she hasn’t complained once, which is a relief. She barely sleeps because of the nightmares—” Emmerick grabbed his throat as though the flow of his words caught him off guard.
I smirked.Ah-hah. It has kicked in.
The first time the strange enchantress has left her tower.Interesting.
Emmerick glared as he set down his tea. Of course, no harm would come to him—but I didn’t swear in blood that I wouldn’t mark the tea with a truth charm. They were staying under my roof, after all.
“I’m sorry—I wanted to ensure that I’m safe. Am I safe?”
Emmerick gripped his knees with paled knuckles, his taupe face growing red with fury. “Yes, you are safe. The Queen would like you to arrivealive. I, on the other hand, couldn’t care less either way.”
I smiled. “Do you want to hit me right now?”
“Very much so.”
“Do you think I want to hurt you?”
Emmerick paused. “I’m not sure.”
I shook my head. “I don’t. I charmed my tea too.”
“When will it wear off?”
