Every morning, we woke, broke our fast, and started our research. We each shared the chores—neither of us was overly fussed about meals or cleaning, so it all worked out.
We both made good time combing through the books on magic that the mage had left behind.
Seranni was a balm I hadn’t known I needed. Her presence softened the edges of my solitude, giving me something to look forward to each day.
And though I knew she would leave eventually, I couldn’t help but hope she might stay just a little longer.
Seranni looked through each book I gave her, translating and explaining as she read. Sometimes, she made notes, while I wrote down whatever seemed useful in a little book of my own. In the evenings, Seranni worked on her own research while I hunted and then cooked our supper.
Tea and personal conversation lubricated our discussions about magic, and we spent many hours trying to understand the arcane enchantments and spells that were inscribed in the books that covered nearly every room of the tower.
I was hopeful that I would find something useful soon. I had found a spell to transform substances from one form to another, it was only a matter of time before I found something that could alter living creatures.
I had shown Seranni the telescope on top of the tower, where I still spent some sleepless nights gazing up at the stars. She’d been so excited, pointing out constellations and explaining their significance to her magic.
Unlike the Four Kingdoms, magic in Telluria had come from the old gods, she had explained. The magical beings tied to nature—powerful, generous, capricious, malicious, by turns benevolent and malevolent—had granted magical powers to humanity in a fit of boredom. The descendants of those men had become the magic users of Telluria today.
It was a pretty story, and maybe it explained how magic had come to be in Telluria, but it was no help in understanding the mage and his doings. But I enjoyed hearing Seranni tell me the story in the gathering dark, as we both lay under the stars, safe under our blankets.
And so, the days would have continued to pass peacefully, if it hadn’t been for the day I found the damned book.
The notebook was small and unassuming, a simple leatherbound book filled with the scribblings of the damned mage. But it looked important, so I handed it to Seranni. She’d flipped through the pages and beamed from ear to ear, laying a hand on my arm and squeezing hard as she thanked me.
That night, I dreamed of her for the first time.
Worse, it was as if the first dream had unlocked others—I began to dream of Seranni every night.
I told myself it was only a natural reaction to her nearness, that I had been locked up without companionship for eighteen months. It was only to be expected that I was…eager.
The last woman I had been with had been Nina, back in Kalinovo. We’d spent an enjoyable evening together before I’d shipped off for war, and that memory felt very distant now, hundreds of miles and so many months away.
It would have been one thing if I dreamed of Seranni because of my raging lust. But mixed in withthosedreams were others. Dreams where I held Seranni close and whispered in her ear, making her giggle. I had never heard her giggle, but in my dream, I was able to make her laugh, and when she smiled at me, I felt like my heart would burst with emotion.
I hid it from her as best as I could, and I would like to think I succeeded. And even that would have been alright, if only I had gone to bed early the night before, when the full moon had hung low in the sky. I remembered Seranni telling me that the old gods were most active on full moon nights, and it made the magic that ran in Telluria more potent, as well.
We were sitting at the kitchen table, like so many other days we had spent together, researching the the mage’s magic books. The fire was burning merrily, and with our bellies full with the warm stew we’d just had for supper, I had fallen into a meditative trance, not caring when my mind drifted and I had to read the same sentence twice.
The cozy silence seemed to be getting to Seranni too, she gave a tiny yawn, grinning when I raised an eyebrow at her.
“Been sitting too long,” she said, and she got to her feet and raised her arms above her head, giving her body a luxuriously large stretch. My blood zinged through my veins at the satisfaction on her face—and thesoundshe made!
My mind whirling and my face burning, I turned back to the book in my hand.
“Did you find anything interesting?”
I bit back a groan and shifted in my seat when Seranni leaned closer to look at the book I was reading. This close, the beast within me could feel the shadow of her body heat, and a hint of roses made its way to my sensitive nose.
Was it the oil she used to tame her riotous hair? Her soap? Whatever it was, I wanted to bury my nose in her neck and take long, drugging breaths of it.
I wanted to kiss her neck, to feel the salt of her skin under my tongue—to nip at her flesh and feel her moan burn through my skin—
I pushed away from the table, and the sudden rattle of the ink bottle and the quills made Seranni look up at me in surprise, her eyes wide.
“Kael?” she asked and when I remained silent, she bit her lip, nearly making me groan aloud.
“Thirsty,” I grunted out and made my way to the kettle boiling over the fire. Turning away to hide my reaction to Seranni’s nearness, I took a few calming breaths. Clearing my throat, I willed my body back under my control. I was more than a beast, dammit.
And Seranni deserved more than the lust of an unthinking animal. She was here trying tohelpme. Did I have no shame?
