Page 126 of The Freedom You Seek

“Who’s the bossy one now?”

“Dion!”

A soft chuckle rang through the room. “Here, better?”

I glanced at the seemingly solid wall of darkness surrounding me that Dion had conjured, and satisfied, I unlaced my own filthy dress. We’d encountered a river I’d jumped into yesterday before going to sleep, but I hadn’t had a chance to clean one of the three dresses I owned before we’d shadowwalked to Amalach.

“Wait, Dion. You can’t see through the darkness, right?”

“Mmh.”

“Dion, you have to tell me your full name.”

“How is that connected with my hypothetical ability to see through my own magical shadow veil?”

“Because my scolding will have a much bigger impact if I use that instead of anickname.”

“Very funny, Nayana.”

“So, your name?”

“It’s Dion.”

“I know that.”

“Then why do you ask?”

One of these days, I was going to murder him—and it wasn’t the first time I’d had that particular thought. “Just don’t watch me changing.”

I grumbled when I realized that I’d been playing myself. Because of the magic walls around me, I couldn’t even see for myself if he was watching or not. Dion hadn’t used my Potential this time, and my theory was that I’d only be able to see through his darkness when he did so. Sneaky bastard.

Scowling, I made sure my back was turned to the insufferable man and quickly changed into the turquoise dress. It hugged my curves and was too long for me, but I could easily fix that.

“I’m done. You can drop the wall.”

The darkness disappeared, and I sat down on the bed to cut off the excess material of the dress with my dagger.

I ordered myself to be on my best behavior, but watching Nayana change was too much of a temptation to let pass. Of course, I could easily see through my own magic, something I was sure she would learn in the future as well. Amplifier might not be able to wield, but there were enough other facets of magic that they could master in time, even things I couldn’t do. Her talents would grow, I was certain.

As I allowed my gaze to roam over her body after her dress and chemise fell, my eyes got stuck on the gruesome pattern on her back. I could barely suppress a snarled growl when I spotted her scars again. I wanted nothing more than to rip Nayana’s father apart and then see him healed, just to torture him over and over again. And one day, I would just do that. For me, that was non-negotiable. Soleth Ortha was officially living on borrowed time.

Her scars spoke of pain and suffering, but also of endurance and resilience. The landscape on her skin told me of winters of mistreatment, and it was breaking my heart. Thinking about her abuse tinted my world red, and I swore to myself once more that no one would hurt her ever again. She was mine to protect, and I would never lether down. The gods alone knew how much this compulsion would grow after the binding, and the thought was unsettling if I was honest.

As I’d repeatedly told Nayana, I wasn’t good, far from it. I didn’t uphold high moral standards or cared much about how people fared in general. But I wanted her to be the exception to all the cruelty in my life, so even if I’d never be good, I craved to bethe best for her, at least. Naya was burning so brightly, even if she couldn’t see it herself yet, and I’d destroy anyone who dared to douse her flames.

Her voice cut through my pondering. Naya was clothed once more, and even though I didn’t say it aloud, historic fae fashion looked good on her. The color perfectly complemented her gorgeous cerulean eyes, which I could happily spend my whole life admiring. Shit, I had it bad. I took a step toward her when I spotted a strange irritation on her skin. “What’s that, Naya?”

As I approached her, my attention focused on the red blemish under her left collarbone, which was peeking out from under the neckline of her dress. She normally wore the more modest cuts that humans preferred, so the amount of skin she was showing was somewhat dizzying. Good thing we were the only ones around, or else I’d give in to the compulsion to find her a cover-up so no one could stare at her exposed cleavage—except me, of course.

“I guess it’s an insect bite. Started to itch some time back and still does so from time to time. Since it doesn’t grow or get worse, I’ve stopped paying attention to it.”

I leaned closer, and a cloud of herbs, lemon, and freshly cut grass surrounded me. I took a deep, cherishing breath.Her scent and the proximity to her skin did their best to erase my rational thoughts, and I simply forgot why I had come so close in the first place.

“Do you see something?”

“Oh—wait. Well, your skin looks somewhat irritated.” A cold shiver ran down my spine as an unwelcome suspicion entered my mind. Surely, the placement was a coincidence, wasn’t it? “How long did you have this, Naya? When did you say that you saw it first?”

“If I remember correctly, I noticed it shortly after we’d parted with Rewi and Bryon.”