use her fucking powers alongside me.
I took her out there to show her the atrocities coming our way.
Now, she and I hurry back to the castle. The icy weather is terribly invasive tonight. Torches around the grounds steal the darkness, and we enter through the rear doors, the guards bowing as we pass.
Licia stares at the area like she's never seen a castle before... I guess if she's worked in the kitchens, she wouldn't have ventured to this part of the court. Guards and my advisors have their eyes on Licia, but they don’t say a word. Beyond Kade and myself, no one is privy to her powers, and I intend to keep it that way until I have her working alongside me. I don't trust many in Midnight Court. I grew up seeing the backstabbing, and given the chance, most in the court would eliminate my father and me. There's only one way to deal with the wolves... remind them of their place and never let my guard down.
Candlelight sweeps across the hallway as our footsteps thump against the rug. Licia hasn't said a word since I took her out to see the hobgoblin camp. Her reaction is exactly what I expected. Most townsfolk don't understand how much worse it can get, the true brutality of what we’re dealing with. Death is the easy way out.
Once we reach my bed chamber, I shove open the doors.
Licia pauses to look at me, then she glances into the new room.
"You can't be trusted, so you will spend the night in my chamber."
She hugs herself tighter, and I want to laugh that she thinks I will force myself on her. But I don't put her at ease. I prefer to have her scared rather than have her become complacent and think she will get her way.
Adrenaline rushes through my veins at the vulnerability in her expression, and it's opening up hundreds of questions I want to ask her... but only one slides forward.
"Have you decided?" My words roll out like thunder, my patience a thin thread now, and she rewards me with a sneer.
She doesn't respond right away, but studies me as if trying to read my thoughts. I doubt she'll like what she finds. All I can picture now is making her submissive and forcing her onto her knees as she takes me into that pretty little mouth of hers. Her gaze trails down my body, her mouth tightening. Those lips don’t leave my thoughts as she merely watches me.
"M-maybe t-tomorrow you can help me understand how many of those camps we're dealing with?" she asks like somehow we have the luxury of time.
Her question takes me off guard, and my whole heart pulses to hear she might be coming around. Still, doubt lingers that she's wasting time, and that stiffens my spine.
I reach over to grab her arm, for no reason other than to drag her into the room so we’re not standing in the doorway, but she flinches at my touch.
The hairs on the back of my neck raise because I’m letting myself get too close to her. People will always let me down, so I swallow the frustration burning through me.
I head out of the room and at the doorway, I turn to face her once more. "Sleep well, because tomorrow you will show me your powers. Whatever it takes! Oh, and if you’re thinking of using your powers to escape or harm me, the guards have been instructed to kill you on sight. And that goes for your housemates as well," I growl and pull the doors to close them as her eyes widen with trepidation. I shut her inside with a final thump and lock the doors.
I stand there for a few moments, my heart exploding with fury, and it takes everything to stop myself from charging in there. She drives me to insanity, and I refuse to let her control me.
Except, I can't move away. Maybe I don't want to when all I can think about is how delicious she smelled when I cornered her against the tree... like candied apples.
"Is everything alright?" Kade asks from behind me.
I take in a sharp breath and turn to my second. "I'm great."
But he studies me; he knows me better than even my father. "What happened to you? There's a different look in your eyes."
Stepping away from my room, I join Kade on a walk down the hallway where guards and others pass us. "I took her out