Page 99 of To Crave Madly
I knew he was trying to be helpful, but I really wished he would stay away. My traitorous body still reacted to the way his breath caressed my cheek, to how wonderful he smelt and the warmth radiating off his body. I took a step away from him and muttered a thank you. His brow descended and an angry look appeared in his eyes and it took all my willpower not to reach out to him and comfort him. It wasn’t my place to do that. Hell, I wasn’t sure we were even friends anymore.
From deep in the room, a booming voice started to list the names of our group. There wasn’t a person standing in livery shouting the names, so it must be generated by magic.
“From the safe haven of the Conclave, His Majesty, King Cassian the Third of Kaldtsted…”
Shut. The. Fucking. Door.
What?
Since when was Cassian a King? I turned around and spotted the man in question and he looked like he was chewing glass. I guess that was a secret he didn’t want to share with the world. But if he was a King, why was he here? Where were his people? Unless…
His eyes met mine and I gasped. So much sorrow and pain burned in his gaze as he held mine and I realised, he must have losteverything. There was something darker there lurking in their depths, something that I could see haunted him. Despair.
Tears welled in my eyes and I took a step towards him, but he shook his head and looked away, shattering the connection that tied us together for one grief-filled moment.
“…Miss Lori Enya Alexandra Monroe, Neophyte Initiate to the Arcane Forum. Torsten, first of his name, descendant of the House of Cain. This concludes the entourage.”
I had only just come to realise, the quiet chattering I had heard on our arrival had ceased and now everyone was looking in our direction. You’d think I’d get used to all the staring and finger pointing, but it still pissed me off. Still made my hackles rise and anger spark to life in my chest. I wasn’t an exhibit in a zoo or a curiosity for them to indulge themselves with. I was a person with real feelings, and I could be hurt like everyone else.
Jasper squeezed my hand on his arm, and I turned my attention to him. He smiled down on me warmly and, in that moment, my heart swelled with joy and love. I was so happy that he was here with me.
“You’ve got this,” he said softly, and my spirits bolstered over those three little words.
“You’re right,” I said resolutely. “Let’s go get ‘em, tiger.”
There was a quiet chuckle from Jasper as we started to move through the room, but it wasn’t long before we were approached by the man I could only assume was Fenris’ father. He had the same mop of brown hair and their eyes were the same colour, but they didn’t have the warmth that radiated from Fenris’. They were much colder, and the lines about his face were harsher, and I immediately knew this man was a nasty piece of work.
I could feel Fenris tense behind me and again there was the instinct to reach out to him. I really needed to curb that instinct or it was going to lead to some serious heartache.
He went to Cassian first. I suppose manners dictated you greeted the highest rank in the party first. I still couldn’t get over the fact that he was royalty. That was a definite curve ball to the man of so many mysteries. Ha. I kissed a King. Shame it didn’t turn him from a toad into an actual person.
“Your Majesty.” Fenris’ father dipped into a low bow and a flourish.
Cassian let out a derisive snarl and walked away before the man stood back up. My heart sank for him. He was going to be reminded all evening of the life he had chosen to leave behind and I knew he was going to suffer for it all night.
Fenris’ father stood back up and faltered, clearly not expecting the empty space he was presented with. He sputtered for a moment but recovered quickly and turned his attention to me.
Here goes. I plastered a sweet smile on my face and held my head up high.
“Miss Monroe, I am so delighted that you joined us. I am Octavius Crowe, Arch-Mage of the Arcane Forum, and we welcome you here tonight for the Neophyte Initiation.”
“I am honoured to be included in your festivities this evening. Thank you for allowing Elissa and Fenris to tutor me. I know how privileged I am in having two such wonderful mages to impart their knowledge.”
Octavius flustered and I could see his mind struggling to form a sentence that didn’t acknowledge my words about his son. What a total dick.
“Yes, well… I am sure you would have learnt something from each of them.” He smiled tightly.
“I did. You should be proud to have such wonderful mages in the Arcane Forum.”
His brow descended and his eyes narrowed. “Of course. I would expect nothing less from the two most powerful households within the Forum. I can only hope you find yourself worthy of being a part of it.”
So that’s how it was. I would only be considered worthy if they deemed me powerful enough but I knew I carried a rare type of magic so I would definitely be worth something. I just needed to discover exactly how much.
“I am eager to see what you think,” I replied demurely. It really was killing me playing nice. “I am sure you won’t be disappointed.”
He smiled derisively. “That remains to be seen.”
A trickle of fear ran down my spine at his words and I struggled to pull a sentence together that didn’t involve swear words or insulting him to his face. But before I was given a chance to come up with a witty retort, Octavius was taking his leave.
