There’s a fierce bang on the door, and a second later the door swings open. Kyor is already moving away from me, ready to defend us both, but he lowers his hands a fraction when he sees Benny standing there.

‘You okay, Rose?’ Benny asks pointedly.

I nod, but I know that my colour is still unnaturally high.

Words. I need to manage words.

‘Fine,’ I squeak.

Kyor grabs his shirt from the bed and looks back at me. ‘Think about it,’ he orders me, like I actually have the option not to.

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Chapter 45

Practice in the battle yard recommences two days later, when they find another siphon to help suppress people’s powers. The replacement, Roderick, isn’t anywhere near as strong as Zelle, meaning he can’t just stay in place but must constantly move around the yard, offering the other Rettlings inevitable opportunities to flex their magic whenever he is far enough away.

I make sure to stick close to Llinos and Benny, just in case Zara tries to pull one of her stunts. Jonas is also determined to make sure I’m protected, but his protective presence is stifling. Thankfully, one of the court guards came and called him away, and with reluctance, he went.

I finally feel like I can breathe.

I haven’t met Kyor for morning training since our moment in my room, nor do I know if he’s been there to meet me. Being alone with the prince right now feels like a bad idea. I need to focus on the Retterheld.

The sun beats down on us, just strong enough to ward off the morning chill. Benny is busy watching Grenda and Oke engage in a fight that has most people’s attention. Despite all his powers of observation, he’s still not got anything on Grenda. Whatever her powers are, she doesn’t need to use them. Either that, or she’s managed to shield them from his sight.

While he’s focused on figuring it out, Llinos and I are practising our sword skills. Or at least, that’s what we’re meant to be doing. She seems far keener on gossiping.

‘He hasn’t taken his eyes off you the entire morning. Are you sure you didn’t do more than stitch him up?’

‘You were out of the room for ten minutes,’ I reply, swinging my sword at her. If she’s not going to pay attention, I’ll at least use it to my advantage. ‘What exactly do you expect us to have done in that time?’

She arches an eyebrow. ‘I can think of a few things.’

‘Well, they didn’t happen.’ I glower. ‘None of them.’ Except in the vivid dreams that came instead of me.

I swing my sword again, trying to push down the memories of the way Kyor pinned me against the wall with his hips. The way he asked if I’d thought about him taking me. The way I can still feel his muscled form pressed against me, like it’s permanently imprinted on my skin.

‘Well, I think he definitely wanted something to happen.’ Llinos refuses to let it be, continuing to press as she sweeps my sword away from her with a gust of wind. Apparently, Roderick’s far enough away from us that she can use her magic, and she’s definitely using it to her advantage. ‘From the way he’s looking at you now, I’d say he still wants something to happen.’

‘He always looks at me like that,’ I snap back, refusing to glance in Kyor’s direction. ‘Remember the whole thing about blaming me for his mother’s death? The look you’re talking about is hatred.’

She snorts. ‘Nope, that’s not it. But even if it were, have you never heard of hate sex?’

‘Oh, for fuck’s sake.’ I groan. ‘And will you stop looking at him? He’ll notice.’

‘Too late,’ she mutters. ‘He’s walking over.’

Heat rolls into me at the thought, and when I speak, my voice is a little too high. ‘Gods, Llinos. Seriously?’

My back is currently to Kyor, and I try to keep it that way, continuing to strike at Llinos’s sword. But I don’t need to turn around to know when he’s there. My body can sense him. It’s a prickle on my skin and the clenching of my pulse. It’s like the very air wants me aware of his presence. Slowly, I turn around.

‘I’ll take over here,’ he growls at Llin.

‘She’s all yours,’ Llinos says with a smile. Traitor.

‘You want to fight?’ I ask.

‘You didn’t come this morning,’ he says, voice low. ‘Don’t trust yourself to be alone with me, Thorn?’

I swallow and lift my chin. ‘Of course I do.’

‘Good, then I’ll see you tomorrow. I’m not done making a warrior of you yet. Now, let’s make up for your absence this morning. No holds barred,’ he murmurs silkily. ‘Unless you’re going to turn me down. Again.’

From the sudden coughing fit to my left, it’s fair to assume Llinos has heard every word.

‘I knew something happened,’ she mutters, confirming my suspicion, but I don’t even glance in her direction. My gaze is locked on Kyor. On those blue eyes that have filled my thoughts way more than I want to admit.

No holds barred? Though he’s been training me in movements and stamina, in a true fight with him, he’d kick my arse effortlessly. ‘We both know you’re going to have me on my back in seconds,’ I respond, only for his lips to twist into a wicked grin.

‘Wasn’t that easy last time, was it?’ he replies. ‘Maybe this time I’ll get lucky.’

His every word is deliberate, taunting me, teasing me. I try to act unaffected, but my damn body is betraying the effect he has on me. The hitch in my breath. The tightening around my thighs. I just pray to Etta that his powers don’t allow him to see it.

‘I’ll make it real simple,’ he says. ‘All you have to do is draw blood. And I don’t care what part of your body you use to do it.’

He presses a finger to his bottom lip, instinctively drawing my eyes to it.

Fuck, this is torture. Not just because I’m about to get my arse handed to me, but also because there’s no denying how much part of me wants him to drive into me in a very different manner.

Still, I chuck the sword I was using to the side and unsheathe the daggers in my belt. If he wants to get close to me, then we’ll get close.

‘Your favourites. Good.’ He flashes me that smirk again before taking a few steps back and kicking off his shoes so he’s standing barefoot in the sand.

‘Why do you do that?’ I ask, curiosity getting the better of me. ‘Why fight barefoot? You’re more likely to injure yourself.’

‘No, I’m not.’ He presses his lips together. ‘Conductivity.’ His voice is nearly a whisper. ‘The earth’s charge is much easier to control when I know the terrain. And having control of static lets me do things like this.’ A prickle starts at the top of my neck, small at first, but then it grows, heating up as it slides downwards, tracing across my collarbone before splitting. Dipping. Trailing lines across my breasts before cascading further still. I can’t help but gasp, though the smugly satisfied smirk it elicits from him makes me wish I could have at least pretended to be unaffected.

He bends closer, his breath a hot whisper on the curve of my neck, making me shudder all over again. ‘Just so you know, Thorn, if you liked that, there’s much more to come.’

I swallow hard. We need to start this fight so that it’s over and done with as quickly as possible.

I step away from him, and the minute I move, the static on my skin stops. His eyes take on a whole new glimmer. Speed is possibly the only thing I have on him, but only for very short distances as I’m certain his stamina is better than mine. I wish that thought didn’t evoke an array of distracting dirty images in my mind.

With my dagger in hand, I lunge forward so clumsily he barely has to sidestep.

‘Fuck,’ I mutter. One nick, that’s all I need to make, and his entire bare chest is open to me. But it almost feels sacrilegious to inflict any wound on a body like his, especially when it’s clearly been exposed to enough pain already. No matter how good a shape he’s in, wounds take time to heal.