Braving the Elements(14)

In power level, anyway.
Consulting my inner guide, also known as that nagging part of me that always strived to reach Stefan and was always aware of his presence, I turned my body toward the center of the house. The sun peeked out from behind the horizon, splattering my face and lifting my spirits. I loved the darkness, but I also craved the light. The night called to my magic, the day to my spirit.
Focusing on that part deep inside me that connected with Stefan, I brought it out and held it up, analyzing it. Analyzing him.
He worried. Something troubled him. Fear ate at the corners of his brain, distracting him.
I opened a large white door, the wood swinging on silent hinges. He had just stood up from his seat around a large table, eyes expectant, knowing I’d be walking in. Everyone else at the table followed his gaze. He held his sword in his left hand.
“Sasha, you need to calm down. Whatever’s the matter, we can discuss it.” He sounded so calm. A human lunatic with a knife wanted to poke holes in his stupid body, and he addressed me as if I asked about a petition.
“Is her dagger white?” someone whispered. Another gasped.
“Is she Trek’s creation? Is he controlling her?” a lady trilled.
He had been in the middle of a meeting. I didn’t care.
I had the knife, the power, the anger, the angst…I just needed a way to begin the duel. Somehow olé didn’t seem appropriate. Maybe I should slap him with a white glove…
“Can we speak of this in private?” Stefan tried again.
“Why, so you can pat me on the head, put me in chains, and tell everyone what a great pet I am?”
“They’ve been calling her pet all week, Boss,” Charles mumbled from the door. “Should I remove her?”
“Try it, Charles. Try to remove his majesty’s pet. See what happens.” Pain threatened to consume me, wobbling my lower lip. A single tear worked out of my eye. Not the time for vulnerability!
“This clan knows I do not take pets. I do not adhere to that practice.” Stefan stood tall, that danged connection calling me. Begging me to step forward and merge my body with his. To find the peace I sought within his arms.
I took a step back, my heart dropping an inch. My chest filled with lead, covering over that connection. Hiding it.
Stefan took a step, a strange apprehension peeking through his controlled mask. “What did you just do?”
“I’ve thought about your earlier offer for room and board. Thank you, but I decline. I think I’ll take my chances on my own.”
The door slammed behind me. Charles stood in front of it with a grim face and sorrowful eyes. He shook his head. “I can’t let you run away, Sasha. You remember what happened the last time.”
“We can’t let the enemy get hold of you.” Stefan’s voice grated. “They’re searching. You’ve nearly died by their hand twice. It’s me you have the problem with. Come with me now, we’ll speak about this.”
“So I’m a prisoner, is that it?”
“This is your home, now.”
“Living with a bunch of people who think I am a possession does not make this my home. Tell me, Stefan, how would you feel if your home consisted of a bunch of people who thought you were no better than someone’s dog? A dangerous dog, at that. A prized trophy, guarded constantly. They probably think I’m a sex slave, too. Can’t learn magic, human, no skills—I don’t belong here. I hear it all the time. I didn’t belong in my old life, either. Not with my old family, not with my old boyfriend—what does that make me, Stefan?” Pain welled up from down deep. “Unwanted. How could this possibly be a home?” Will I ever have one? Will I ever fit?
Stefan stared at me grimly.
The lethal poise of the Boss’s body shook my confidence. Flouting his dominance in front of his subjects was definitely the stupidest thing I’d ever done, and I’d done some pretty eyebrow raising stuff. He wasn’t a guy I would fight and live long enough to gossip about. I needed to go, and I did not plan to let Charles the Double Crosser bar my way. Not ever again.#p#分页标题#e#
“Move, Charles, or I will move you.”
Pity overcame his expression. “This is best for you, Sasha. You have to see that.”
“This is the second time I ask. There will not be a third. Please move.”
“Sasha.” Stefan took another step toward me. His face held a command, stern and disapproving.
“Just beguile her,” someone said with exasperation. “Make her listen. Your plaything is out of control, Boss, excuse me for saying. She—“
Way wrong term.
I turned with a now-black blade, my other hand outstretched, pointing at a man with a round face and double chin. Black smoke surrounded him, binding him to his chair. Magic taxed my body, prickling my skin with heat. I was close to the cusp. I pushed my palm through the air. His chair flew backward, knocking a lamp and globe out of the way before hitting, then putting a hole through, the wall behind him.