I spun around to face him, “No, Salem. I don’t live at the manor, it wouldn’t feel right.”
“A Christmas present from me. Please.”
I opened my mouth to protest. I understood this was how they did things here but I hadn’t done anything for the people and it made me feel like I was using Salem.
“Salem, I don’t—”
“Nyx, I’ll make it right with Duncan, I promise.”
I opened my mouth to protest further, but he added, “Please?” He said the word so reverently and when I looked up at him he looked almost vulnerable. The exchange was so disarming I stuttered out an agreement and that’s when I saw the lip twitch. It was a small movement that made me realize he’d done that on purpose.
My eyes narrowed, “You manipulated me into agreeing.” I said, jamming a finger into his chest.
“It was. Now you know how I feel every time you ask me for something.”
“I don’t try and manipulate you. I just ask.”
“You ask with wide eyes and a look I thought only children had mastered.” He said, grabbing my hips and spinning me back around to face the shop. He bent so his lips were at my ear and he whispered, “Now, go look around.”
I ignored his jaw brushing my cheek bone and the way his warmth seemed to sink into my skin, by repeating, “don’t think about it,” in my head over and over before I took a shaky step forward.
As I roamed around the store, I decided I’d apply logic to my predicament. Right now, I was stuck here, and entertaining ideas about any sort of permanence while we were working on a plan to undo permanence was a new kind of stupid on my part. Yeah, he was hotness incarnate, and sure, with the way he was acting right now it almost seemed like there was attraction on his part too, but then I remembered being what happened in the hallway and that helped.
I passed by beautiful paintings, antique mirrors, even a few rugs that were wrapped up and standing against one of the walls. But my feet didn’t stop until I walked past a glass case full of jewelry. There were bracelets, earrings and necklaces, even a few rings. All of them were intricately carved out of a metal I didn’t recognize. It was silver, but it had a touch of mauve in the coloring. I looked over them, my eyes settling on one of the rings in the corner. The metal seemed to wrap up and around itself, small knots integrated in the piece. It was large enough I knew it was a man’s ring, but still, there was a beauty to it that I liked.
“Did you find something you like, miss?”
An older woman stepped from the shelves to my left, giving me a sweet smile. She was beautiful and she carried herself with grace. Her white hair was wrapped up in an elegant chignon, and her blue eyes were bright as she looked me over.
“I’m just looking, but thank you.”
“You’ve got a good eye, miss. Those are made from Sailedium. Quite, pretty aren’t they?”
“They are. Are they a set?”
“Oh, no. Just trinkets Duncan and I have put together over the years.”
“I’ve never seen metal woven together like this.” I said, my eyes going back to the ring.”
“Yes, it’s done in the River. As the souls pass through, the metal is twisted into a unique pattern and the metalsmiths would shape it into jewelry afterwards. The practice was outlawed years ago.”
“Why?”
“Some thought it vulgar to wear pieces touched by the souls. Most were destroyed in fires when it was outlawed, but the pieces are beautiful and a few remain.”
“Fires?”
She nodded, “Yes, fire is a purifying element. It zaps the magic and starts a chain reaction, burning the metal.”
A piece of soul touched jewelry. How fitting since I had a soul touched snake that I wore on my wrist every day.
“I’d like that ring, please.”
She smiled, “Of course. Let me go get the key from Duncan.”
I followed her to the front where Duncan and Salem sat talking.
“Duncan, I need the key to the jewelry stand.”
“You found something?” Salem asked, and I nodded.
“Sailedium jewelry.” The woman answered.
“Ah, a fine pick, miss.” Duncan said, grabbing the keys. “Mary,” he said, getting the woman’s attention and handing her the keys.
Mary put a hand on my arm, “You stay here dove. I’ll be back in a moment.”
“Salem tells me you don’t like our way of payment where him and his are concerned.” Duncan said, his eyes crinkling at the corners when he smiled.
“It’s different for me. I’m used to paying for things, so having people just had me items is odd.”
“Well, I can promise you we are getting the better bargain. Salem is a good man and he makes sure we are taken care of. We owe everything we have to him, so giving our wares to his lot is our way to give back to him.” He said, his tone matter of fact. “Still, it’s not a bad trait you’ve got, girl. His mother was the same way.”
I looked to Salem, who was watching me with a fascination I couldn’t read.
“I told Salem I’d do what I always did for her,” Duncan carried on, “I’ll mark down what price I would have sold it for and he can repay me with fixups to this old place.”
“I can live with that.”
“Good.” Duncan said, knocking his knuckles against the shop counter before his eyes moved to the side and he nodded, “Here we are.”
Mary had returned, the ring in her hand. “It’s too big for your fingers,” She said, as she moved behind the counter and pulled out a small box, placing the ring inside before handing it to me. “But if you have a chain you can slip it onto it would be something you could keep on you.”
“That’s a great idea, thank you.”
“Don’t you mention it.”
We said our goodbyes and headed back out to the street. Salem was slipping the ring into the tank bag as Joshua pulled up next to us.
“We’re all set?” Joshua asked, and Salem nodded. Joshua gave a chin jerk and then pulled back on the throttle and took off, heading for home. I guess he still wasn’t happy about this.
“When is all of this happening?” I asked, for Jane’s sake I was hoping for sooner than later.
“Tonight.”
“And if it works, Jane will be free to come out of her room?”
“If it works, yes.”
I let out a sigh and nodded, “Good.”
“That eager to be rid of me?” Salem teased, and I bumped him with my hip.
“No. I’m eager for this to be over so Jane’s punishment can end and you can stop beating yourself up over this.”
The half-smile he’d been sporting faltered, and his eyes softened. He was thinking something, but he didn’t elaborate. Instead he asked, “Are you ready to go?”
“Just about.”
“There’s something else you need?”
I nodded, “I need the truth, Salem. Is this going to put anyone in harm’s way?”
“No. I promise nobody is going to get hurt.”
The conviction in the words was enough to make be believe him, but I pushed a little more.
“Then why are Joshua and Charon so against whatever this is?”
“They’re concerned because of its power. Because I have never attempted anything like this and neither has Tasha.”
“But it isn’t dangerous?”
“Dangerous, no. Just unpredictable.”
Something still wasn’t adding up. “If it’s just unpredictability, why did Charon say I wouldn’t agree with it?”
His jaw tightened and he sighed, “Because it does put a sort of risk on me.”
“What sort?”
He swallowed hard and then took my hands in his and met my eyes, “You have my word if I feel like it’s too much of a risk at any point, I’ll stop it.” The familiar buzz of his magic rushed into my hands and through my body. “Is that sufficient?”
“It’ll have to be.” I said, wondering to myself what he’d consider too muc
h risk. He let go of my hands and I raised one to his face before he could turn back to the bike. “But Salem, being stuck here with you is not the punishment you seem to think it is.”
One of his hands moved to cover mine, holding it in place and then he turned his head into it and kissed my palm.
My breath caught in my chest as warmth spread over my skin and it kept me warm the entire ride home.
We parked the death trap back in the garage and headed into the house. Salem asked Charon to have him and Tasha meet him in the study. When we were just outside it, he reached for the doorknob but stopped and turned to face me and nothing could have prepared me for what came out of his mouth.
“If this doesn’t work, I have a couple ideas we can go over, though none of them are as extensive a solution as this. But, I’ll do them if need be, because my feelings for you go beyond friendship, Nyx.”
My body went into shock. My brain emptied, I wasn’t sure I was breathing or my heart was beating and while I tried to process his words, his eyes swept over my face.
He grinned, “You didn’t think I returned your feelings?”
No. Of course not.
“You thought I was doing this out of guilt? To repay you for your help with the demon?”
I squeezed my eyes shut and shook my head, “I’ve told you before, you’re a good man, Salem. I only thought—” I started, opening my eyes just in time to see him moving in.
His lips brushed against mine, the kiss was soft, and once I’d gotten over the shock of it, I started to relax, my eyes closing for a different reason than they had before.
Like the one he’d planted on my palm earlier, this kiss brought a warmth that spread through my body. His hands moved down to my hips so he could pull me closer, pressing me up against him. My hands moved to his upper arms so they had somewhere to be besides squished between us and that gave him a few more inches to close.
Salem took advantage of it, closing off the newly made space and deepening the kiss enough that a small noise—one I refused to acknowledge as a moan—escaped my lips and then I started to lose myself.
I pushed my hands up over his shoulders, pushing to my toes so I could wrap my arms around his neck and Salem shivered. He elicited the same response from me when his thumbs grazed the bare skin at my hips where my shirt had ridden up and little shocks of static began to dance across my skin.
Salem’s tongue snaked out to run over my bottom lip, wrenching a sharp inhale from me before he pulled back and nipped at my bottom lip.
His arms wrapped around my waist and he pulled back, resting his forehead on mine as the two of us sucked in some much-needed oxygen.
I heard voices coming down the hall and Salem must have too. His grip on me loosened a bit and he gave me a look that I didn’t know how to read before letting me go, pulling my shirt back into place and then stepping back. Our eyes remained locked until the others rounded the small bend in the hallway.
Nobody was allowed in Salem’s study besides him, Charon and Tasha, which left Joshua and I pacing outside the door.
Thirty minutes into waiting, I asked Joshua for more details on what was happening behind the door, but he said as much as Salem had.
The longer we waited, the clearer it became Joshua was more worried about Tasha’s involvement in this than he was about Salem’s safety. He kept muttering that she wasn’t ready for a spell this big. I had wondered for a while if he liked her but now it was painfully obvious.
“Does she know how much you care about her?” I finally asked. Leaning back against the wall and sliding down to a sitting position. Joshua stopped mid step and looked away from me, but not before I saw a blush creeping into his cheeks.
“She cares about you.” I pushed, having seen it to be true.
He said nothing for some time and when he finally turned to look at me, I thought he’d comment, but the door opened and he spun around.
Tasha walked out looking a little pale, but not any worse for wear.
“It’s done?” Joshua asked, shedding the tension he’d been holding onto since the door closed.
“Without a hitch. You’re good to go now, Nyx. Back to coming and going as you please.” She smiled warmly, her voice sounded happy and I took those as good signs.
Charon exited next, followed by Salem. Both of them looked fine.
“Jane?” I asked, and Salem nodded.
I smiled at him and he returned it before hitching his head towards Jane’s room in a silent dismissal.
I ran to Jane’s room and threw open the door.
Jane, who was lying on her bed, sat up and when she saw me tears sprung to her eyes.
“Nyx!” She cried, scrambling off the bed, and running to me.
I sank to my knees as she barreled into me her arms going around my neck as she said, “I’m sorry. So, so sorry. I just wanted you to stay.”
“It’s okay, Jane. Salem fixed it. I’m just glad he figured it out so quickly. I still have a few more days with you.”
“He did it?”
I pulled back from her, wiping the tears from her face as I nodded. “Yep.”
Even with ruddy cheeks and puffy eyes, the way she smiled and her eyes lit up were so telling to how bad she felt for what she’d done. “I missed you.” She said, “I missed you reading to me and feeding Fitz. I missed everything.”
“I missed you too.”
I read to Jane every night I had left. We made it through book three of the series I’d bought her on my last night there. I tucked her in, kissing her head before I let myself out and shut the door behind me.
The day after the spell, the tension in the manner had eased considerably. Tonight, dinner had been back to normal with laughing and joking between bites of amazing food.
Salem had made himself scarce the past few days, only showing up for meals and then disappearing again. He hadn’t been cold or dismissive, the opposite if anything, but he seemed more tired than I’d ever seen and in all the time I’d spent here, Salem had always been in control. He never ate like he was starving, he never looked like he’d spent a week with five hours of sleep under his belt, and he never moved like he was pushing ninety. At least, he hadn’t until now. I’d noticed it over the last few days, and I was worried.
I mentioned it to Charon last night and all he said was, “It’s to be expected after a spell like we accomplished.”
It was an explanation, if a vague one, and it hadn’t done anything to beat back my worry, which is how I found myself pacing in my room, trying to talk myself out of the thoughts that had wormed their way into my head an hour ago, and failing miserably.
Fitz was curled up in his tank next to a small bowl of the chocolate pancakes he liked so much, but his eyes on my movements.
Sighing, I stopped my pacing and looked at Fitz.
“If he wanted my company he would have come to find me, Fitz. He knows he’s taking me back tomorrow.”
Fitz’s tongue flicked out but of course he said nothing.
“But what if he’s not okay? Something is definitely up with him and I’m worried it has something to do with the spell.”
I looked to Fitz again, who just stared at me.
“I don’t think everything has to do with me, Fitz. It could just be he’s content with how everything worked out, but what if the spell did something to him?”
Fitz was still staring, and I realized, he had fallen asleep.
I let out a breath and got ready for bed. Showering, slipping on pajamas, and going as far as climbing into bed. But sleep didn’t come. It didn’t even skirt the outside of my consciousness.
Rationally, I knew it could be a bunch of other reasons, but it didn’t help.
My paranoia won out and I threw my blankets off and slipped out of my room. I was headed down the hall towards the men’s rooms when I ran into Joshua. He surprised me by pulling me into a hug before telling me he was leaving on business again.
I challenged him to a chess match the next time
I visited and he agreed.
When I got to Salem’s room, I knocked and then waited. It was long enough I thought about running away like I was a child playing a warped game of doorbell ditching, but the door finally opened.
“Nyx?” Salem asked, surprise obvious in his tone, before I saw it on his features.
I opened my mouth to respond, but nothing came out. This was what my mind had been trying to tell me as I’d knocked.
I hadn’t even thought of a way to approach this with him.
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