The Heart Forger (The Bone Witch #2)(57)
The Deathseeker paused.
Emboldened, I pushed on. “And even with that, I still want you to like me. If not as a friend, then as allies working to make sure Prince Kance is safe. So yes, I’m selfish. I’ve always been selfish. That won’t change anytime soon. And you may not like me, but you’re my bodyguard now. And if the only way I can stop you from throwing away your life is to compel you and everyone in Ankyo, I will if I have to!”
The hall was silent by the time I was done. I was not making any new friends with my words, but I was too focused on Kalen to care. I wove Heartshare briskly, and his eyes widened.
“This is the rune Polaire cast over Mykaela.” My voice was quieter, reassured that no one else could see. “It’s used mostly for healing, but it also grants one person control over another willing spellbinder. The only way I can think for you to forgive me is to put myself in the same position I put you in.” I guided the rune toward him; it hovered over his heartsglass. After a moment, he accepted, the rune flaring around him before disappearing.
“I’m not going to dispel it,” I continued, “which means you can choose to take control anytime you like. Go ahead. I’ll submit to whatever you want.”
The Deathseeker stared at me, and his silver heartsglass shifted to a bright, brilliant red. Why was my offer making him madder?
“This is the least sincere apology I’ve ever heard. Did you think I was going to take you up on your offer? To do what? Clean the barracks for me?”
My cheeks burned. “I’m trying my best! I don’t know any other way!”
“Do you know what I really want, Tea?” He stepped closer. “Do you want another look inside my head?” He forced my chin up so I couldn’t look away.
This was different. He was different. He was using me as an outlet but for an anger that was, oddly enough, no longer directed at me. “If you knew what I was thinking, would you still be so willing?”
We were still, him and me, staring at each other, my breathing embarrassingly loud. What does he mean?
“I don’t need the rune. If you promise to stay out of my head,” he continued, in a lower voice, “then I will obey Kance and protect you with my life. That’s all the apology I want.”
His animosity had retreated. There was a strange gravity to his words.
“I promise, with all my heart,” I said softly. “I’ll never do that to you again.”
He placed a hand on top of my head—easy to do given his height but annoying to be on the receiving end of given my temperament. He drew closer again—too close—and my heart sped up.
“Apology accepted. For now. Inept as it was.”
He walked away. This time, I didn’t chase after him. He didn’t reject the rune but neither did he take me up on my offer.
The spell continued to hover between us, along with all my other unspoken questions. But though I tried to lift my fingers to dispel the rune, I couldn’t find the courage to carry out the act.
? ? ?
The room allotted for me at the palace was three times as large as my old room at the Valerian—staying at my asha-ka would not have been prudent. As I walked in, I was stunned to see it filled with beautiful hua of every fabric and color. My dresser overflowed with countless zivars where all kinds of gemstones shone. From within the hidden depths of my mind, the azi stirred, curious at the glint of jewels. Zoya was in the room, a dreamy smile on her face.
“What’s going on?” I sputtered.
“As part of the delegation into Daanoris, the empress said we must look the part—which, by Kion standards, is to be as ostentatious as possible. We shall all be the poster girls of hua excessiveness before this is over.”
“There you are!” A loud, booming voice was the only warning I received before I was swept into a bear hug by Rahim. Chesh popped up from somewhere behind him, grinning, and with her was Likh, who had shed the customary black clothes he had been given and now wore something more familiar to me: a hua of amber and blue, with beautiful koi swimming down the folds. Councilor Ludvig accompanied them, smiling.
I squealed happily and turned, trying to wrap my arms around Rahim’s massive shoulders. This was proving difficult because he refused to relinquish his bear hug. I settled for clinging to one giant forearm instead. I extended my other hand to Chesh, who wasted no time hurrying in for a hug of her own. “I missed you guys.” It hadn’t been that long since the last time I’d been in Kion, but after our escape, it felt like years had passed.
“We were so worried!” Chesh stroke my hair. “We heard about what happened to the prince. I’m glad you’re here!”
“The empress, she says it is dangerous for you to walk in the Willows still,” Rahim proclaimed, still holding me in his death grip.
“Fah!” I said. “What do elders know? They go around, grimacing in their dull hua and their shades of blech. Shall they decide who I can and cannot take in as clients? Even if Empress Alyx did not insist, I shall dress you well and spit in their faces! Pshah, like so! And so here I rush, armed with my best designs. You represent the ateliers of Kion and must have only the best to show! I can’t possibly afford all these!” I protested.
“The empress is footing the bill,” Chesh pointed out. “She insisted we provide you with the highest quality silks that Rahim possesses, as well as the best of the zivars in my inventory. That goes for you too, Likh.”