Page 107 of The Last Remaining Light

Korvel nodded and gestured toward a terrace. “I’ll join you.”

That was not a request, and before she could deny him accompanying her, he had his hand flat on the small of her back. She wanted to squirm beneath his touch; it had taken every bit of restraint not to.

The secluded terrace gardens remained mostly empty beneath the starry sky and warm lantern-light. Frost coated the covered marble pathways, while winter roses of deep crimson climbed dark iron trellises overlooking the lower city far below.

Elowynn had enjoyed the gardens here, but they were not as humble and modest as the ones from the abbey. Those ones always felt comforting and familiar. Organic. Tended by a gentle, loving hand. The gardens in Veylspire felt artificial for all their elegant terraces. They just weren’t the same.

She crossed toward the stone railing, grateful for distance from the suffocating noise of the ballroom. Behind her, Korvel remained quiet for several moments, his hand still on the small of her back. He eventually removed it and placed both palms along the stone rail, curling his fingers around it.

His tense voice broke the silence. “You embarrassed Council Archivist Renwald tonight.”

Elowynn glanced at him, unbothered. “Did I?” she asked innocently.

His expression darkened. “You know you did, Elowynn. You contradicted him in front of three Conclave sponsors.”

Turning away, she merely shrugged a single shoulder. “Well, he was wrong.”

Korvel exhaled through his nose, slow and measured. “That is not always the point,” he ground out.

Elowynn turned fully toward him, her body shivering from the cold air biting at her exposed skin, but she paid no mind to it. Korvel hadn’t bothered to offer his coat to her.

“No,” she said calmly. Confidently. “I think perhaps that is exactly the point.”

He leered at her. “You enjoy this too much.”

“Enjoy what?” she asked, tone light.

“Making powerful people uncomfortable.”

Elowynn tilted her head before a breathy laugh escaped her. “Only the arrogant ones, Korvel. They walk around behaving as though they have the right to make decisions for everyone else. Power does not make people correct. Hearing the word ‘no’ and being knocked down a floor or two from their high terrace is not a terribly bad thing. Taking it humbly and showing people that they can make mistakes too? That is admirable. Arrogance is not.”

His jaw flexed and for the first time all evening, his polished mask slipped. “You think this city admires you because you are brilliant,” Korvel said on a hiss. “But admiration becomes dangerous quickly in Veylspire.”

A single nod was offered as she remained composed. “I am aware.”

“No,” he snapped at her. “You are not!”

The sharpness in his tone had startled her and Elowynn widened her eyes a fraction as Korvel stepped closer. Tension rolled visibly beneath his composure now.

“You keep provoking people who could destroy you,” he said. “Vaelor. The Conclave. Council officials.” His voice became dangerously low as he stared up into her eyes. “You behave as though the consequences simply don’t apply to you.”

Elowynn’s expression cooled, her ire evident in her sapphire gaze. They brightened to a gentle glow with her resentment.

“And you behave as though I should be grateful to you for warning me.”

That had been the wrong response.

Korvel reached out and grabbed the upper part of her right arm hard enough to bruise, his fingers digging into flesh. A gasp escaped her and pain shot through her shoulder as he yanked her closer, an easy feat as she was not physically strong. A downfall, it now seemed.

Elowynn exhaled a heavy breath that puffed white in the cold hair, and she was breathing hard through her nose. Her eyes were wide as she stared at the shorter Astrari.

For one terrible heartbeat neither moved.

Korvel’s own breathing had gone uneven, his grip tightening more. There was fury and indignation in his gray eyes.

And suddenly Elowynn saw everything clearly.

Possession.