Page 53 of A Legacy of the Light

He holds my gaze a little too long to be casual, winks, then pulls away completely.

He. winks.

Is this what swooning is? Because I think I’m swooning.

Mother of God.

He walks swiftly back to the ring he occupied, giving me a different view of his perfectly cut physique.

Fuck me sideways.

His back is just as good as the front, and ripples as he walks away from me.

Why is it suddenly so hot?

Reyne snickers next to me.

“What?” I whisper at her.

“You’re staring.”

“Am not,” I say, pouting.

“Are too, lass,” she comments, then shrugs nonchalantly and turns to get a drink for herself.

“I was looking at his . . .” I don’t even know how to finish that sentence. What was I looking at?

Reyne smiles at me knowingly over her shoulder.

The sense of being watched, and not in a good way, crawls over my skin. Lurking behind the stone pillar, a pair of dark beady eyes watch me. Hume’s lips curl into a smile and he stares at me, a knowing look crossing his face. Tavish might not have noticed how I react to him, but the king’s advisor certainly did. Shit.

“Ignore him,” Reyne says and pulls on my elbow.

“Why is he so creepy?” I whisper as we get back to our training ring and carry on with the circuit.

“That’s just Hume. He’s a creepy guy. Everyone knows it, we keep our distance from him. He tends to spy on things and reports them to the king.”

That must be how King Raghnall knew about breakfast then. But how did Hume find out? The thought annoys me as we carry on working out.

I’m mid-lunge, holding weights, when she asks me, “what do you think of our fair prince, then?”

“What do you mean?” I gasp out between reps.

“What’s your impression of him?” she presses.

I stop my lunges and look at Reyne, a faint blush still high on her cheeks from her earlier sparring.

Making sure Hume has cleared off before I reply, I say, “He seems . . . nice. He’s been kind, and patient. And he hasn’t tried to kill me, so that’s a win.”

Reyne laughs. “Why would he want to kill you?”

“I don’t know,” I gasp out, having resumed my lunging. “A strange human woman is suddenly in his house. He has a big sword. Just seemed like he might use it.” As the words come out of my mouth, I glance over at him and my eyes wander down his torso again.

Reyne smothers a laugh with her hand. I turn to look at her and realize what I just said and how I was looking at him.

My cheeks redden and I can’t help but laugh along with her.

“I’m sorry,” she giggles.