Page 156 of Emylia

Instead, I turned on my heel, storming away.

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ChapterThirty-Two

Still fuming, I changed into my night attire and finally laid down. I’d spent my entire day avoiding mom and Sebastian, locking myself in my room, and pretending no one else existed.

I’d gone over the conversation with Sebastian a million times until it was firmly burnt into my brain. I understood where he was coming from and the need to protect me. If it was the other way around, I would do anything within my power to keep him safe. Even withholding the truth.

It was the emotional turmoil that left me drained, begging for some reprieve from sleep. Before I had a chance to close my eyes, there was a soft knock on my door.

Taking a deep breath, I chucked my blanket off, taking the several steps to my door. Swinging it open, I wasn’t surprised to see Sebastian standing in my doorway.

Even with everything broken between us, I knew he’d stayed–just beyond the walls of my room all day, still protecting me. Guarding me in silence. Honoring the space I’d desperately ached for. Still, somehow, unapologetically mine. Even from a distance.

I remained silent, crossing my arms over my chest, staring him down.

“Wanna talk?” I didn’t answer. “I come bearing gifts.”

Sebastian raised a fur-lined blanket in an offer of truce. It was my favorite blanket, the one we had cuddled up in when we were kids, the one I still used when I was upset and needed comfort. He hadn’t forgotten.

“Please.”

My heart softened. I almost melted into the blanket, relishing the soft lining of the inside, my limbs tingling with the warmth. I walked back over to my bed and sat, draping the blanket over my crossed legs. Then, I gestured for him to take a seat next to me.

There was only one small candle lit in my room and the shadows were long and foreboding, reflecting my mood from today almost perfectly.

“Look, Em, I’m so sorry...”

“No.” I couldn’t let him continue, I just couldn’t.

Sebastian looked at me like I’d lost my mind. “No?”

“You aren’t the one who needs to apologize; I am. I know you’re just trying to protect me. I get it. I have a habit of flying off the handle when I’m feeling hurt. Or betrayed. Or just pissed off to be honest.”

“No shit.” Sebastian opened his mouth to say something more, before clamping it shut. After several seconds he tried again, “You’re not just messing with me right now, are you?”

Honestly, I couldn’t blame him for jumping to that conclusion. “I swear, I’m not.”

Crossing his arms over his chest, Sebastian rested against the side of one of the carved bed posts. “You do know I was just trying to help, right?”

I’d had all day with only my own thoughts to sift through. I knew Sebastian to his very core; there wasn’t a single vindictive bone in his body. Without question, I knewhethought he was acting in my best interests. Regardless of how I felt about his decision to keep crucial information from me, I knew with every fiber of my being,hethought he was doing it for therightreasons.

“Of course.”

“Okay, since I’m not in the bad books anymore, can I talk to you about something else?”

Oh Gods, that was an open-ended question, one I wasn’t sure I wanted to be entangled with. “Okay,” I drew the word out.

“I’ve had all day to myself–to sit and think.”

“That’s rarely a good thing.”

He rolled his eyes and chose to ignore me. “Maalikai likes you. As much as it kills me to say, the guy’s clearly head over heels for you. And before you say anything–just shut your mouth and listen for a damn second.” I was half a breath from cutting him off, but the look in his eyes made me pause. I nodded, silent. “This is… so damn hard to admit, but I’ve seen the way you look at him. A spark I’ve never seen before. Like you’re finally letting yourself feel something. Something that makes you feel alive.”

“Maybe that’s just my magik?” My voice dropped–low and vindictive, laced with every sharp edge I could summon.

I didn’t mean to lash out–the venom came from the storm beneath my skin, from the power I couldn’t cage nor harness. I held up my fingers, lightning twisting up my palm and dancing at my fingertips, power crackling between them.

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