She needs to understand the reason why she now hates me.
Chapter 7
Morgana
“I’m fine, Leon,” I grumble as he spirits me through the corridors of the Lyceum. “Really.”
“You’re injured,” he growls, glaring down every inch of the hallway—scanning for danger, I guess.
“Yes, but I can stillwalk.Don’t get me wrong, these cuts hurt like a bitch, but I just need to see a healer, and I’ll be right as rain. They must have some here, right?”
“The healer can come to my room, where I know it’s safe,” he says.
A day ago, him bringing up my safety would’ve pissed me off. But after the events of the last hour, I’m actually glad for the way he’s taking charge. I’m not too proud to admit I’m shaken up after the attack.
And even though it doesn’t make a bit of sense, it’s a relief to have him here. I still don’t trust Leon, but I feelsafewith him.
Which is stupid, because I know it doesn’t matter whether I believe him when he says he’s doing things for my own good—or thinkhereally believes that. It doesn’t make what he’s done okay. But part of me—my gut, not my mind—wants to just relax into his arms now, finding the solid warmth of them a balm against the ache and sting of my cuts.
And that allows me to voice what I’ve been afraid to consider until now.
“Do you think my aunt sent that fae after me?” I ask quietly.
“I don’t know,” Leon says. “It’s possible.”
At first, I’m surprised by his honesty, then I feel a pulse of gratitude that he’s given me a straight answer. If nothing else, Leon has always been frank with me about the level of danger I’m in. He won’t coddle me by pretending everything’s okay. Maybe he keeps other things from me, but at least he’s willing to be open about discussing the challenges I face.
“She’s used agents of the Temple to target me before.”
“True, but this is different. The Lyceum is one of Filusia’s most sacred institutions. I wouldn’t expect a Trovian ruler to have this kind of reach.”
He must sense my worry when I don’t answer because he glances down at me.
“Wewillget to the bottom of this, Morgana.”
His thumb brushes against my elbow, and I suppress a shiver. I’ve been avoiding being close to him like this for good reason. It’s partly why I got so mad during our training the other day. I could feel him testing my boundaries, trying to tease a physical reaction out of me—and I knew it would work. My body remembers all too well how good Leon can make me feel, even as my heart remembers exactly howbadhe can make me feel too.
Still, I don’t argue when he takes me to his room and lowers me onto the bed before sending for a healer. As we wait, Leon doesn’t try to make conversation, but he watches me so intensely I feel self-conscious under his gaze. It’s like he thinks I’m going to disappear right in front of him.
“Why did you ask Damia if she recognized that fae?” I ask when I’m unable to bear the weight of his stare on my skin any longer.
“Damia’s family are Morelium. She was raised in their community, but she’s been estranged from them for years.”
“I see. And that’s why she ended up in your unit? Alastor said something once about how other people in the army didn’t want her fighting with them because of her family.”
“Damia is in my unit because she’s one of the best soldiers I know. But yes, her name earned her a certain amount of prejudice. The Rhymises are a strong, noble family, but they keep to themselves, and their extreme views make them hostile to outsiders. It means they are not well-liked among the nobility.”
“But she can’t help who her family are,” I say more forcefully than I mean to. Maybe I’m so outraged on Damia’s behalf because I can relate. I wouldn’t just beostracizedif the Trovian people knew I was a solari. I’d be sentenced to death. Which thenmakes me think about how Bearer Sophos knows about my celestial powers…andthat he made it out of Otscold alive.
The whole country probably knows what I am by now.
“The irony is, the whole reason Damia’s family disowned her was because she enlisted,” Leon says.
“The Morelium are anti-army?” I ask.
“They were against the war. It pit Filusia directly against their fellow Ethirans. They wanted Herrydan on the throne as much as the Temple did. I think that’s why Damia did it. Leaving wasn’t easy for her, and she needed to shut that door for good. It set her free.”
I nod, my image of the cold, intimidating Damia shifting a little. I can relate to doing drastic things for freedom.
