Page 69 of Crave Me

She straightened and gave me a look. “I’ve hung out with you every day this week, Nyx. Pretty sure that makes us friends.”

“We both know I’m an assignment,” I told her.

“Yes, but you’re an enjoyable one.” She shrugged. “Beats the hell out of paperwork.”

“I’m not sure if that’s flattering or sad,” I deadpanned.

“Definitely the latter. This whole territory shift has Vesperus drowning in relocation requests. He’s been working with Niamh most of the week on it.”

“That’s one of his territory advisors, right?” He’d mentioned a few of them by name, telling me a bit about each of them. “The one from Ireland?”

Cara nodded. “Yeah, but we call them sovereigns. And she’s been here since their meeting last week. He’s working on her reassignment.”

“Because he doesn’t need an advisor in that part of the world since it’s no longer his territory.” Yes, he’d spoken about that as well. “I’m glad she can help with the paperwork.”

“Have you met her yet?”

“No. She’s not been staying here, and Vesperus tends to keep me away from his work.” I looked over Cara. “He gave me a babysitter as a distraction.”

She laughed. “I’m not a distraction. If you want to see him, we can do that before you change clothes.”

My brow furrowed. “Change clothes?”

“Yes,” she confirmed. “You said you wanted to go somewhere and appear natural in this territory. To do that, you need to dress for the climate.” She made a show of gesturing to her sweater and jeans.

“Hmm.” I no longer liked my plans for today. If I had to dress to impress, then I wasn’t sure I wanted new friends.

“Come on,” she encouraged. “We’ll go check on Vesperus and his mountain of paperwork. If Niamh’s there, you can make a new friend. Then I’ll try to help you find more in the city.”

I could hear the teasing in her words, but I shrugged, agreeing to her plan.

It meant more exploring in the end, which could help me try to pinpoint my errant magic while continuing to evaluate the territory.

“All right.” I started toward Vesperus’s office, aware of its location, when a tingling sensation shot down my arm.

I frowned, pausing midstep, and glanced at the goose bumps pebbling along my skin.

Have you decided to return to me?I thought at my errant magic, my gaze searching for the source.

But my medallion wasn’t in the palace, just nearby.

Close. Very close.

I shifted directions, heading toward the back of the house through the kitchens and out the doors to the park area.

“Nyx?” Cara’s voice reminded me that I wasn’t alone. The other woman stood just a few steps behind me on the patio that wrapped around the back of the estate.

“Oh.” I blinked at her. “My magic is calling for me. This way.”

I didn’t explain more beyond that, too eager to follow the familiar strand.

“Calling for you?” Cara repeated as she fell into step beside me on the path.

I showed her the bumps along my arm. “Yes.” I picked up the pace as the enchantment tugged on my spirit, the urgency seeming to increase.

What’s wrong?I asked it.Why are you yanking on me like a leash?

It responded by sending another jolt of electricity across my being. The panic in that stroke had me hurrying, my feet moving across the stone path at a jog that Cara easily maintained alongside me.