章 8: Chapter 8: A Silver Rose
A few days passed without talking to either Nikolas or Caspian. Sage went to her classes, focused on her studies, and ate in the dining room alone. She could feel Caspian’s heated stare on her at dinners but she ignored it. She had stopped being upset about the party a while ago but found she didn’t want to interact with him all the same. Sage did, however, miss Nikolas. But she would be damned if she didn’t get an apology from him first.
Sage finished her dinner and slid her bag onto her shoulder. She started towards the hall, making her way back to her room to study.
She felt the hand on her arm before she realized he was there. Caspian stopped her gently.
“I need to talk to you,” he said.
Sage was tempted to keep walking but the look in his eye said she didn’t have much of a choice. She let Caspian guide her outside until they were standing alone in the courtyard.
“Listen,” he started. He ran his fingers through his hair and Sage couldn’t help her heart from skipping a beat. Moon and stars, he was handsome. His busted lip had healed from the party and there were no signs there had been a fight.
“I wanted to apologize about the other night. I shouldn’t have instigated anything with the warlock.”
Sage studied Caspian for a moment. He seemed sincere, and she just wanted to move on from that night.
“It’s in the past,” she told him. She swore she saw his shoulders relax.
They started to walk, falling into step alongside each other. She struggled to stop herself from leaning in and inhaling the sweet spiced smell that surrounded him. Sandalwood.
“I’m sorry if Nikolas ruined the party. He can sometimes have a short temper,” Sage said to shatter the silence.
Caspian went stiff for a moment and Sage thought she had imagined it before he quietly said, “Has he ever hurt you before when he loses his temper? Like he did that night?”
Sage was taken aback by the question, surprised at the sudden anger in his voice.
“Moon and stars, no, he would never hurt me,” she told him. “The party was just an accident. Nikolas is my best friend. He has always been there for me. He thought he was protecting me.”
That was mostly true. Nikolas’s anger consumed him and he had never deliberately hurt her in the past. An accident like at the party? It had happened a few times before. . .
“Ah, from the big bad wolf?”
The anger had vanished, replaced by a gleam of amusement in his eye.
“Something like that. . .” Sage whispered, smiling.
They kept walking. Sage glanced at him but as she did, she lost her balance. Caspian caught her by the arm before she could hit the grass. He pulled her towards him and slid his arm around Sage’s waist as they stood there. Her heart raced as she looked up at him, expecting him to release her now that she had regained her footing.
“You don’t need to hold me like I’m going to topple over,” Sage said quietly. She did feel like she was going to topple over any minute but she didn’t want him to know that. Caspian’s hand was hot against her hip and sending sparks flying down her body.
“Oh, I just wanted an excuse to put my arm around you,” Caspian smirked.
“Right,” she mumbled.
Sage felt confused. She didn’t understand why the shifter had taken an interest in her. She didn’t want a hookup or to be a pretty accessory on his lap in the dining hall. Sage wasn’t sure what she wanted except to understand what Caspian’s motives were. She couldn’t be imagining this between them, could she?
Without thinking she blurted, “I’m not just another creature for you to flirt with, you know.”
He raised a brow at her. “Whoever said you were?”
She ignored him and continued, “And I’m not a she-wolf who will whisper sweet nothings in your ear, either.”
Caspian suddenly burst into laughter. His body shook as the noise made her heart clench. She didn’t know how much she had been craving that sound. To see him genuinely smile instead of the small smiles he gave Koa when she said something.
“You may whisper whatever you like to me, witch,” he said with a grin.
He pulled her closer until her chest hit his, and Sage suddenly felt dizzy. It was hard to resist him. Hard to resist that ache that took over her whole body that was only satisfied by his touch. Why did he have this effect on her? And why did he have to be a shifter of all creatures? She would have had more luck being with a vampire!
Sage watched as Caspian took her hand in his, bringing her wrist to his mouth. His lips burned her skin as he kissed it, his green eyes piercing through her. Her whole body heated like it was on fire.
The silence was deafening as they stood there. Sage’s wrist was still clasped in Caspian’s hand. He was watching her, reading her expressions, his own hidden behind a mask.
“What game are you playing with me?” Sage asked, her voice barely loud enough for her own ears. She couldn’t help the nervousness that sunk into her chest over the idea that he was toying with her for his own amusement.
Sage thought for a second that Caspian hadn’t heard her. He heard her, though. Of course he heard.
Caspian shook his head, stepped back, and released her.
“That’s what this is to you, isn’t it? Why else would a shifter take interest in a witch?” Sage demanded, becoming frustrated by his continued speechlessness.
“Did you have family in the Wolven Witch Wars, Sage?” Caspian asked suddenly.
“I don’t see the relevance–”
“Did you?” he said, cutting her off. “Because I did. My older sister was a commander.”
Sage had gone cold. She was angry he changed the subject but too stunned to speak a response. The way that he looked at her, like he was begging her to take the pain away, left a hollow feeling in her chest.
“Was?” Sage whispered.
Caspian gently rolled the sleeve of his shirt up to reveal the silver rose inked on his arm. It seemed to shimmer in the moonlight, the thorns casting a dark shadow across the petals.
“Was.”
And yet he couldn’t seem to stay away from her. Everywhere she turned, there he was. Watching her in the halls, teaching her combat, whispering in her ear at the party. Why? Why was he so enamored by the same species that was responsible for his sister’s death? He should hate her...yet some days, that was the last emotion she seemed to feel radiating from him.
It seemed to her Caspian was struggling being attracted to a witch just as Sage was struggling with being attracted to a shifter. That seemed to be answer enough to her question.
There was a pause of quiet and Sage wasn’t sure what to say next. She wanted to ask him about his sister but couldn’t find the words. Caspian beat her to it.
“May I walk you home?” he asked, offering his arm for her to take. Sage nodded.
They began walking again. Caspian took his time guiding her across the courtyard, through the long hall, and into the Witch’s Tower to her bedroom door. Sage focused on the strength of his arm, the gentle support he provided, and the way he was watching her from the corner of his eye. They didn’t speak another word until they reached her door.
“Sage,” Caspian turned toward her. He hesitated a moment but then said, “Are you okay? After the party and everything. . .I just wanted to make sure.”
“Are you, tough guy?” she responded with a grin.
“Better now that I know you aren’t angry with me anymore,” he said, running his fingers through his hair.
His words made her heart clench. Why had it mattered so much to him that she wasn’t upset with him? They barely knew each other yet he seemed to relax at her forgiveness.
He smiled at her and Sage felt everything else melt away. She didn’t know how to process what was happening between her and Caspian. She also hadn’t decided whether she wanted to explore it yet.
The way he smiled at her made her feel like she might not have a choice on that matter.
Caspian leaned forward and Sage’s breath caught.
“I plan to finish our dance one day, Sage,” he told her.
Sage heated at his proximity. She momentarily considered grabbing him and pulling him inside her room, crashing onto the bed, and becoming a tangle of limbs and tongue.
“Goodnight, witch,” Caspian said in her ear. He placed a soft kiss on her cheek.
Sage watched him turn and disappear down the dark spiral staircase. She stood there, left alone with just the scent of him lingering in the air and her cheek burning from his touch.
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