Owen. Thank gods. “Owen,” I gasped. “I couldn’t take the chance the king would follow me to the elevat—”
“I know. I know.” And without another word, he scooped me into his arms and raced us up the stairs. Considering I had been in heels and he had been in boots, he was still faster, even carrying my weight.
As soon as we were in Krew’s wing, I lit the fire. It blazed a bit more than I had wished, but at least I hadn’t lit the entire castle on fire. Because right now? Right now, I felt like letting the entire castle burn.
I knew Krew and Renna had been acting. It had been exactly as they had told me it would be. But the fact remained that I was never supposed to have actuallyseenit.
And I was so sick of being in this castle and having to see someone I cared about in the arms of another. Real or fake, it played on all the insecurities I’d had with Keir. I was also so damn tired of being a pawn in someone’s master plan. I didn’t know which made me more infuriated, to be honest. I was just irrationally pissed off at everyone and everything.
I needed to use magic. A lot of it. I was frustrated and so tired of these schemes and plans at every turn. There should only be one plan: take down the king. The rest of them didn’t matter, and particularly if they harmed others in the process.
I sat on my bed feeling utter defeat. We’d had this grand plan to get me out of the ball early, and though it had technically worked, it had also backfired in the worst way. As all our plans around the king did.
I was not just playing the part of the jilted lover, I’d become her. And while I was feeling sorry for myself, I was angry that yet again I was to be a dirty little secret.
Owen was blurry before me. “Jorah.”
It sounded like he was so far away. So very far away.
“Jorah,” he snapped.
I gave my head a shake, realizing the reason I hadn’t been able to hear him that clearly was because of the buzzing of my magic. “What?” I croaked out.
“You need to use some more magic. Make a dome. Put out the fire and restart it. Make a sound barrier. Move a book around. Something. Anything. Please.”
I didn’t know much, but I did know that when I was this upset, this was not the place to use my magic. I would break something. And the king wasn’t yet asleep so Owen couldn’t just jump off the balcony with me either. Not yet anyway.
I looked at my palms to find them glowing brightly. All of my skin was for that matter. I was brighter than the first star that graced the night sky. The buzzing wasn’t yet pulsing with every beat of my heart though, so there was at least that. I had no desire to use my magic, but I had no desire to push it away either.
“Jorah,” Owen begged.
The door slammed open and Krew and Renna came in.
Seeing them together after everything I had just been forced to see made my anger go nowhere. Rationally, I knew the entire thing was innocent. But I was really tired of the king’s attempts to rattle meworking.
“Jorah,” Krew said as he rushed toward me.
But then he was being shoved away from me. Not by my magic. Or any magic of any sort. Just by the brute force of Owen.
Krew cocked his head and moved to shove back, his magic lighting up his veins just as mine were steadily glowing now. “She ismy wife.”
Owen’s own magic began snaking along his veins. “Then try acting likeher husband.” He stopped to purse his lips. “You only go near her if she wants you there. I have sat by Keir doing this to her too many times to count. Real or not. So give her a gods damn minute.”
“I know,” Krew bit out, voice going emotional. “You know what I feel for her. It wasn’t real.”
Owen leaned in. “Well then you were the absolute fool who forgot to consider in this plan how your father might delight in torturing her with it.”
Krew’s head snapped back before moving his eyes to mine. “Jorah.”I’m so sorry.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. This wasn’t okay. I wasn’t okay. And I wasn’t going to just pretend otherwise. I felt an exhaustion bone deep. As if I hadn’t even slept a full night upon arriving at this wretched castle. After overdoing it last night and the nerves of the day, having to keep my magic at bay for the whole disaster of a night, having to physically touch the king, I was shot. Emotionally. Physically. Mentally. All of it.
Owen didn’t remove a finger from where he held Krew back from me. “Jorah, honey, do you want me to let him go or do you need a minute?”
I kept my eyes closed. “Just need a minute.”
Owen let go of Krew but stood between the bed where I was and where Krew stood. Owen had been with me through far too many of these situations. He knew exactly what I needed. Space.
“She needs to use her magic,” Renna said gently.
