Page 28 of A Kingdom of Magic and Rain

“Are you okay?” He sat up straighter, reaching for me.

“Yes.” I evaded his touch and stepped away from the table. “You fell asleep reading. Quilliam is in his cage. I finished the painting.”

“I did? You did?” He glanced at the easel. He looked a bit disoriented, having just woken up, and I took advantage of his distracted state to make my escape.

“Good night,” I muttered, slipping through the door.

“Emelin?” I stopped and forced myself to look at him, even though my face felt like it was on fire. One side of his mouth turned up. “Good night.”

I stared at him a moment longer before I walked out.

November 30th

“Don’t move,” I instructed Gray before I turned back to the canvas.

Portraits were not my strong suit. When I had decided to practice, the lord had graciously agreed to pose for me. After dinner, we found ourselves in the library, much to Tom’s dismay. The adviser had been dismayed often in the past week since Gray had been spending more and more time with me, as much as his schedule allowed. Aside from morning coffee, the library had become our usual meeting spot. Gray often read to me or played with Quilliam while I painted. At times, we both read our own books in silence, enjoying the quiet companionship.

The lord hadn’t mentioned what I had shared with him about the wards and acted as if nothing was amiss. He also hadn’t mentioned that night in the library when I had almost kissed him. I hadn’t broached the subject, either, relieved that we were able to carry on as if nothing had happened. Gray was my mentor, and I wanted him to remain only that—at least for the time being. I needed to focus on my magic instead of how his enticing mouth would feel on mine.

I blinked and shook my head to clear my thoughts. I stared at Gray’s near-perfect features on the canvas. In the painting, as in real life, he was leaning against the bookshelf, reading the tome in his hand. When I glanced at him, he was watching me.

“Your gaze needs to be on the book,” I said, blushing.

He cleared his throat. “You’re right, I’m sorry.” He looked down at the pages.

I studied him for a moment, taking note of how the yellow glow from the lamps gleamed in his dark hair and reflected in his silver eyes. With those nuances in mind, I turned back to the canvas and applied a few brush strokes. When I glanced back at the lord to pick up on more details, he was watching me again.

“Sorry,” he muttered as he looked down at the book, a smile playing on his lips.

I smiled, too, and it was hard to drag my gaze away from him and focus on the painting. As I was about to add another touch of color, commotion sounded in the hallway.

“You can’t barge in there,” came Thea’s rushed words a second before the library door flew open.

“Lord Gray,” said the man who had walked in. He was a border guard, judging by the armor. “There’s been an incident on the border.”

My breath left me as the brush and the palette I had been holding slipped out of my hands. They hit the floor with a loud clatter.

“Emelin!” Thea exclaimed as she rushed to my side.

“I’m all right.” I bent down to pick up the items.

When I rose back up, Gray glanced at me, and our gazes locked for a split second before he focused on the guard.

“What happened?” he demanded, his features instantly taut with unease.

“There’s been”—the guard glanced at me—“a sighting.” He swallowed thickly. “I jumped on my horse and rode here as soon as it happened.”

“Thea, please ask Killian to prepare the carriage for me and Tom,” Gray ordered.

With a nod, Thea left my side and strode to the library’s entrance. She halted by it and looked back at me as if expecting me to follow. When I didn’t, her brows pinched in a scowl a moment before she swept from the room.

“Thank you, Briar. You can ride back and tell the others that we will be there as soon as we can,” Gray said calmly to the guard.

“Will do, my lord,” the man replied before he turned to me. “Your Highness.” He bowed to pay his respects and left the library.

The moment he was gone, I stepped out from behind the easel. “I want to go with you.”

“That’s a terrible idea,” Gray threw over his shoulder as he headed for the exit.