Page 55 of Muse

Briar spotted me down the wide halls, and she gave me an excited wave. I waved back to her when I saw a tall blond man standing behind her, watching with the brilliant blue eyes of a wolf. Eyes that I knew all too well.

It was Baxley Cole, my ex-paramour and fellow muse. Briar had warned me that he would perform with her, so I'd known I'd likely have to see him. But it had been so long, and the shock of seeing his intense eyes made my blood run cold. I was so relieved for Soren's hand, ushering me along.

“Since it’s only the two of us, they gave us the smallest room,” Soren grumbled.

It was dark when we entered our practice ballroom, but with a wave of his fingers, the candles were suddenly alight. It couldn’t have been much larger than his living room, but that was all the space we needed.

I started stretching and closed my eyes, attempting to get into the right frame of mind. But when I did, Baxley's eyes were all I could see.

They were what I remembered the most from our last night together, even though it had been two years ago.

Chapter 34

Baxley and I had been performing together in what was my highest placement yet – an anniversary party for a wealthy duke and duchess in the southern gardens of Calida. Given the nature of the conduction, the whole event was romantically charged.

Initially, when Baxley and I had been chosen for it, I thought it would be perfect. The two of us stayed in a guest house with four other muses for an amorous occasion at a beautiful locale. Adora had come with me, of course, but lodging was not provided for her, so she stayed at an inn nearby.

As soon as we'd begun practicing, things had gone horribly wrong. Baxley was the only male muse, and he was paired with a gorgeous female muse, Valeria. They spent the days together, making eyes at one another. When I tried to talk to Baxley about it, he accused me of being the one who was flirting with another muse.

All of it came to a head the night of our conduction. The performance had gone well, or so it had seemed to me. Thechoreography called for me to end sandwiched between two other muses in a romantic but chaste embrace, more implied sensuality than anything else.

In fact, Baxley’s final pose was far more explicit, with him and Valeria in a kiss.

I hadn't enjoyed seeing him and Valeria that way. Jealousy twisted sharply in my heart. But I knew he was right. This was just a conduction, meant to put the right kind of magik into the ether to ensure that the duke and duchess who had hired us would have a long, happy marriage.

When the conduction ended, I looked over to see Baxley embracing Valeria with his lips grazing hers. A nauseated wave of jealousy bubbled inside me, but I shoved it down. This was our last night in the southern gardens, and then everything could return to normal with Baxley.

We had performed in a pavilion, and I walked off to greet Adora. She’d only had a moment to tell me about a few missteps I’d made, and then I felt a hand on my upper arm.

To others, it must have looked romantic, or at least friendly, because Adora only smiled when she saw Baxley put his hands on me. But I could feel it before I heard him speak. His anger was palpable in the way his fingers dug painfully into the tender flesh of my arm.

“Can I borrow her a moment, Lady Adora?” Baxley asked, speaking so sweetly to her as his other hand pinched into the fat of my waist.

“Of course,” Adora said, smiling brightly up at him and batting her long eyelashes. “You’ve both certainly earned a break after that splendid conduction.”

“Thank you,” Baxley said, and he pinched me harder.

I didn't say anything. I must have been smiling as he led me away because everyone only smiled and offered us vague praise as he steered me away from the crowd to a hidden area in theshadows of an outbuilding. The sound of music and laughter barely carried over to us, and we were completely hidden away from prying eyes.

We were alone.

“You sure had everyone fooled,” Baxley snarled, and he let go of me with a shove, so I stumbled forward, barely managing to stay on my feet. “Your mother thought that repulsive display was beautiful.”

"Baxley, I'm sorry, but I don't know what I did wrong." Tears were already forming in my eyes because I never meant to disappoint or upset him.

“Liar!”he snapped at me. “You are a liar and a harlot! The way you threw yourself at those other muses! It was disgusting and embarrassing. Were you trying to humiliate me, or did you just want to disrespect the duke and duchess who have been so kind to you?”

“No, Baxley, I never did –” I started to defend myself, but the anger in him only grew, with his eyes blazing.

“I saw you!” he screamed in my face, and I felt his spittle on my cheeks. “Don’t you dare lie to me!”

I tried to back up, but there was nowhere to go. My back pressed against the wall of the outbuilding behind me.

Baxley was right before me, his body brushing against mine when he took a deep breath. His hands were balled up at his sides. He was nearly a foot taller than me, so he hunched over so his eyes would be level with mine.

They were so beautiful. His eyes were the bluest blue I had ever seen, and the way they sparkled when he told me he loved me, I nearly melted on the spot.

But now they were so cold and sharp, cutting into me with the sheer rage coming from them.

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