“You’re trying to tempt me into making a misstep, just like you warned me before. Once I try to escape, you can torture and kill me without breaking your word.”
“Yes, and I have every confidence you’ll miss that step and soon.” Rowan leaned out the window and whistled three short notes. It was one of the codes used between Kade and Rowan. In this case, Rowan was ordering his brother to send the guards away for a while.
“Consider me sorely tempted.” It didn’t seem wise to keep talking about being Rowan’s mate. I knew how the man’s mind worked. If I came on too strong, Rowan would take that as a sure sign that I was Viktor’s spy.
Rowan folded his arms across his chest, a movement that made his leathers creak. “You should have been gone by now. Why are you still here?”
My mind reeled through this statement. The fact that Rowan had changed from his royal garb now made perfect sense. “You expected me to transport away from here. That’s why you changed clothes. You were planning to track me.” It was a good plan. By following where I went, Rowan could probably get better information than interrogation. And afterward, Rowan would be free to interrogate and kill me at his leisure.
Rowan crossed the room in a few quick strides, pausing to stand right before me. I could feel his warmth radiate over my body. “Why are you still here, Necromancer? The wards aren’t strong enough to keep you.”
There was no point in lying. Rowan could easily cast any of a dozen spells to make me tell the truth. Since he was asking the question, he was waiting to see if I’d volunteer an honest answer on my own.
“I’m here because I’m your mate, and yes, I’m a Grand Mistress Necromancer as well. I went to see Mlinzi and Walinzi to ask them where to find the Sword of Theodora. They took all the Casters’ memories of me in exchange for information on where to find the Sword.” I met his intense gaze straight on. “I’m not your enemy.”
Rowan tilted his head. “That didn’t answer my questions about the wards.”
“No, it didn’t.” I hated to share the truth here, as it made me even more vulnerable. I didn’t see any choice, though. “Mlinzi and Walinzi took more than the Casters’ memory as payment. I can’t recall a single incantation.” I shook my head. “I can pull in power, but not cast a spell.”
Rowan stared at me for a long moment. “I don’t believe you.”
Those words shouldn’t have hurt as much as they did. After all, Rowan couldn’t help that his mind had been wiped of any memory of me. Still, there had to be a way to convince him. I tapped the ring on my finger. “See this? It used to be a mating band. Now it’s a totem ring from Mlinzi and Walinzi. You have a matching one.”
Rowan’s gaze flicked to his hand. “I have a ring with an orange metallic sheen. Unlike yours, it has no carvings of monkeys on it. I fail to see how that proves anything.”
I lifted my hand, palm forward. “Then touch me with intent. Your energy will flow into mine. That’s mate power, and it doesn’t require an incantation in order to work. Give me a chance and you’ll see—we’re true mates.”
Rowan stared at my palm. The moment hung in its own little eternity. It took all my strength not to simply grasp his palm, but that’s not how shared power worked. Rowan needed to want our magick to combine.
My hand began to tremble. “Please, Rowan.”
Another long moment passed. Rowan’s gaze locked with mine, and pure rage lit up his eyes. “I won’t deny you’re casting some kind of spell on me. My thoughts keep pulling me to you. It isn’t right.”
“It’s the bond.” My voice broke with grief.
“No, it’s a spell. Another invention of Viktor’s, no doubt. I wish I could interrogate you myself, but that won’t be possible as long as I’m under this enchantment. But don’t worry…Your master will not infiltrate my mind like he did so many of my senior Casters. I will not be led away from my people.”
“I don’t want that, Rowan. I’m here to help.”
“What you think you want is of no consequence. I’m sending some of the palace mages to interrogate you, and they’ll cast Thought Blade spells. You know how those work, don’t you?”
“You wouldn’t.” Thought Blades were an excruciating way to die. You relived every agony of your life at once until both your mind and body fell apart.
“I won’t. But my mages will soon enough.” His voice lowered. “Even so, you won’t be here when they arrive, will you? That story about not being able to remember incantations; I don’t believe it for a second. Go on, escape. I’ll find you and your master Viktor, no matter where you hide.”
“No, please.” My thoughts raced through everything I knew of Rowan. There must be some way to convince him. Sadly, I couldn’t think of a thing. “Thought Blades are vicious castings. The palace mages will ruin my mind.”
“Do you know what Viktor did to our families? Many of the Casters he lured away went insane, thanks to his experiments. The lucky ones died. You have no right to complain.”
I scrubbed my hands over my face. “I know.” When my hands dropped, Rowan had moved closer to me than ever before. If I went on tiptoe, I could brush my lips against his.
“And that’s what makes you so dangerous, Necromancer. I believe that you do understand.”
At those words, my heart cracked. In our quietest moments, Rowan told me how I was the only person to break through his lonely life as ruler, sharing his heart and burdens. Hope sparked in my soul. Perhaps some part of Rowan knew who I truly was. The weight of my mate’s responsibility and loneliness seemed to age him before my eyes.
Suddenly, a flicker of movement happened in the periphery of the room, catching my interest. In the open window frame, two large green eyes were staring at me from outside the window. Jicho. The boy had somehow climbed up the outer rock wall and was waiting to come inside. He couldn’t stay there for long before the guards spotted him, even if they had been sent away.
Rowan noticed my gaze shifting. “What are you looking at?” He started to turn around, and if he did, he’d see Jicho. No doubt, Rowan would put his younger brother under lock and key, and not let Jicho speak to me freely. Rowan had made that more than clear before when Jicho first approached me at the Caster festival.
I needed to distract Rowan and fast.
Moving quickly, I wrapped my arms around Rowan’s neck and pulled him in for a delicate kiss. It was nothing more than a feather-soft touch, but I felt the warmth of Rowan’s mouth through every part of my being. He stepped away from me as if I’d stuck him with a dagger.
“You…I can’t…” Rowan shook his head and sped from the room. The moment the door slammed, I felt as if part of my life had been torn away. I’d pushed too hard to force that kiss. Now Rowan would see that as further validation that I really was some sort of spy from Viktor. Damn.
“Elea,” whispered Jicho. “Help!”