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She scoffs, rising to her full height. “I didn’t ask for your welcome. I certainly didn’t ask for you to get so handsy.”
Unsteady on my feet but rapidly gaining control, I step towards her, closing the space between us. She doesn’t retreat when I push the toes of my boots against hers. “Handsy? I hate to think what your experience with the boys in Dalery was like if you think that was handsy.”
I immediately regret my words and the implication of them.
To my surprise, she laughs. The validation of that laugh alone will be enough to get me through many lonely nights.
The laugh is gone as quickly as it came, replaced with a disarming glare. I get the distinct feeling that she has never allowed herself joy in life.
The slump of her shoulders reminds me that she is still surrounded in grief, and it must be especially hard to be here in Ytopie without Max to enjoy it with her.
“Where’s Tulip?” I ask, changing the subject.
She shrugs and flicks her hand toward the Palace. “In the sleeping quarters set up for us in the Palace. I needed some fresh air.”
Viola is giving me nothing to work with as far as conversation goes. I ache to know her, to give reason to this draw I have to her but I will never get there if she maintains this rigidity.
I’m coming up blank on what to say, stumbling over the words in my brain to draw her into a conversation with me. Just when I think I’ve lost her, her nostrils flare. “You smell like liquor.”
I flush, glad that the darkness will hide the red rushing through my ears and hairline. “Ah, yeah. I had a few. I felt the walls of my place closing in on me and needed some fresh air so… here I am.”
She nods decidedly. “Take me somewhere with alcohol.”
I smother a cough of surprise. “The tavern is closed, so it would have to be my place.” A casual shrug and movement towards the streets ahead is the only response she gives me. I move to take her elbow to lead the way but the glare she returns to me could melt the skin from my bones.
After unsteadily climbing the stairs to my home, sobering with each step, I open the door and Viola steps inside without hesitation. My heart warms with the knowledge that she does not consider me a threat since she willingly came home with me.
Or maybe she is just really good with those knives.
I snap, fire flickering to light on the sconces along the walls. She flinches. Sheepishly, I apologize. “I didn’t think about how new magic must be to you…” With a shake of her head, she fights to regain her composure.
In the light of the flames, I can take in more of her features than in the courtyard. Her skin is weathered from time in the sun, freckles dusting her body like specks of magic, swirling with her warm flesh. With limbs that are muscular and thick, she stands out from the spoiled women of Ytopie in more ways than one. She has ample curves, but they are earned, not blessed, and that makes them even more attractive. I find my eyes trailing across her chest, her breasts small but shapely.
I wonder what they would feel like in my hands.
She complemented the silky gray shirt with rigid black linen trousers and boots. It was an understated outfit that lets the brutal beauty she possesses shine.
She runs her fingers through her dark wavy hair and for a brief moment, I catch a flash of her smooth neck beneath her ears. Every move she makes draws me deeper into her.
“I’m glad you use flames if I’m being honest. I cannot stand the buzzing of the lightning lights.” I look at her with shock.
“You can hear the magic?”
She nods, raising an eyebrow at me. “Can’t everyone?”
I make my way to the cart with liquor on it, and busy myself pouring us drinks. “No, not everyone. I mean I’m sure if they tried, they could, but most don’t think about it. In fact most of them think I’m insane when it comes to my disdain for it. I like to think I’m just more attuned to other magics.”
“Well, I’m glad I’m not alone in it.” She treats me to a half smile then accepts the glass I hand her.
She doesn’t ask what’s in it or even smell it, just tips her head back and drains the glass.
I shouldn’t be attracted to that.
Shouldn’t, but I am.
Viola doesn’t even cough as she takes in the heat of the amber liquid, and I feel my carnal attraction to her grow. “What did you mean, that you’re attuned to other magics?” she asks.
I gesture to the plush sofa in my main room and bring the bottle of liquor with me as I take a seat. She snatches the bottle from me and tops off her glass. “The magic we use isn’t just magic of our own seasonal discipline,” I explain. “Some of us Seasonale can combine multiple disciplines together for larger, more complex spells. It takes training and not everyone can combine our magic with other disciplines.”
