I’ll simply have to dig deep and find the energy to carry on alone.
The thought has scarcely finished zipping through my head when someone taps on my door. It isn’t merely that no one else here would knock so delicately. I feel Sabelle on the other side of the portal, worrying.
“You shouldn’t have come,” I say through the door because I know if I answer it, I’ll touch her, take her.
“Are you planning to leave me in the hall?”
“I won’t risk calling Mathias’s attention to you.”
She sighs. “He knows you’ve Called to me. My feelings, in his eyes, are irrelevant. Besides, he wouldn’t risk attacking me in a Council elder’s home.”
A “normal” wizard wouldn’t dare such a feat. Mathias? I fear he’s capable of anything.
“Let me in.” Her voice is a cry against the wood.
The sound rips at my guts. “Sabelle…”
“The clock is ticking down. Let me help you. You need energy.”
My princess. Always wanting to help others, always selfless. Though I hate the fact she’s laid with Lucan, she’s not the sort of witch to sit idle and watch another’s pain without lending a hand.
“I’ll be all right.”
“You’re exhausted. Let me in.”
“Sabelle…”
“Let me touch you. Please…” Her voice cracks, squeaks in places.
I hear tears in her soft words. They wrench my heart.
“I’ve gone mad with worry, watching you fight Mathias,” she continues. “That black Devouring Shadow spell frightened me nearly to death. Mathias looks so sure of himself, and I know memories of Gailene must be haunting you.”
Damn, the woman knows me far too well.
I grip the knob. “Sabelle, if I let you in, you will not leave untouched.”
“I hadn’t planned to.”
With a growl, I rip open the door. Sabelle stands there in simple clothing, her face a tapestry of emotion: concern, love, fear, joy. Everything I feel for her—have felt from the moment I set eyes upon her—rushes through me all over again. She scrapes away all my defenses, the bluster and snarling I use to keep the rest of the world at bay. Only she sees the man beneath, the one still hurting from his sister’s loss. The one who loves Sabelle more than his own life.
She flips long golden tresses over her delicate shoulder and scoots past me into the bedroom. The sight of her—whole, safe, choosing to be here with me—nearly brings me to my knees. “Mathias is busy shagging that brainless witch Rhea. Eleven minutes left.”
The bent fucker will return to the challenge ring brimming with energy. I can all but hear Sabelle’s unspoken insistence that I need energy. She’s right; I do…but not if it risks her safety.
“Yell at me,” I demand.
She scoffs, shutting the door behind her. “Little good that will do, as you’re well aware. You promised to touch me. I’m waiting.”
I close my eyes and remember the precious times I’ve possessed Sabelle. The first sweet moments of her trembling welcome in MacKinnett’s guest house, deep in the midst of danger. Our shared joy upon my release from the hell of Mathias’s dungeon. The poignant moments in my bed upon the eve of what was to have been her mating to Lucan. Each time, I find myself wanting her more than the time before. And now, with exhaustion blunting my battle instincts and blurring my mind, I need her more than ever.
Except I’m sure Mathias will only home in on her more. If I leave her untouched now, Mathias might be convinced my Call to Sabelle was motivated by ambition, not love. I’d prefer to keep it that way.
I draw in a shaky breath. “Please don’t tempt me.”
“But I love to.” She saunters closer, cupping my cheek in her palm. Even that light contact is electric, filling me with need and yearning. “I love you.”
“Our feelings mean nothing until this challenge is won and Mathias is vanquished.”
