How utterly fascinating. Octavia had never met a witch before. The other species who lived in the Rose Empire didn’t exactly spend a lot of time with dragon shifters.
Maybe a witch could’ve healed her ankle properly after her fall. Octavia had tumbled out of a tree as a child, and since she hadn’t been Mature, her foot had never properly healed. She had learned to live with it, though. The injury didn’t mean she was different from anyone else. She just walked a little slower than others.
“What are you good at?” Leaning on her walking stick, Octavia threw propriety aside for the sake of curiosity and new acquaintances.
Besides, if Flynn were going to kill her, he’d probably have done it by now. Villains with murderous intentions didn’t go around holding conversations first with the women they intended to decapitate, right?
Octavia didn’t think so.
She wasn’t letting her guard down as much as accepting her situation.
Flynn raised a brow. “Well, if you must know, I’ve been told I’m an excellent kisser.”
“What?” Octavia sputtered. Her heart pounded as the walls of this too-small shack seemed to mock her with their closeness. “I… What?”
How in Kydona’s holy name did they get from magic to kissing? She had no idea, but now that he’d said it, she couldn’t get the image of them locking lips out of her mind. The visual was all too clear, and by all the gods, it wasgood. She could visualize the whole scene, from how his slightly taller frame would lean over hers, crowding her space. His hands would come up and cup her jaw, gently but forcefully moving her into his favorite position before his mouth lowered and he…
Octavia’s cheeks heated, and she shook her head. “I meant with your magic,” she said a little too briskly.
She probably should’ve been more specific. She wouldn’t make that mistake again. And now, as penance, she was stuck with the image of them kissing in her head. Even though she tried to banish the thought, it was surprisingly stuck in her mind. Her lips tingled, and she couldn’t help but stare at his plump, kissable mouth. It wasn’t like she’d never been kissed, but it had been some time since she’d had some… attention.
As if the witch could read Octavia’s mind, he chuckled. “Apologies, Octavia. Perhaps you should’ve been a little clearer with your question.”
“Maybe you should have been a little less obtuse,” she retorted. The mix-up wasn’t entirely her fault.Hewas the one who’d jumped to kissing.
A laugh was his only response. The booming sound filled the small cabin, and she was horrified to discover that she really liked it.
That only served to frustrate Octavia further. She glared at him. “Well? Will you tell me what kind of witchly magic you are good at?”
“I could,” he said coyly, “or I could show you.”
Her heart skipped a beat as his words echoed in her ears. What kind of things did he want to show her? She wasn’t sure, and honestly, she didn’t even know why she was still entertaining this conversation. She should insist he leave, taking his magic and his good looks with him, but she was curious and no longer alone. Octavia’s mother, Yvette, Kydona be with her soul, always told her daughter her curiosity would get the better of her one day.
She was right.
Octavia nodded, attempting to be as nonchalant as possible despite the fact that her heart was now making a valiant effort to beat its way out of her chest. “Okay, show me.”
Without warning, Flynn closed the distance between them. He reached for Octavia’s hand, and she… let him take it.
A jolt ran through her at their first touch, but she didn’t pull away. Yes, there was definitely something wrong with her. Octavia had always craved touch and enjoyed the safety of letting someone else hold her, but this felt different. More. The witch’s hand on hers made her feel whole in a way she hadn’t for decades.
Throwing caution to the wind, Octavia leaned into the handsome intruder’s touch. It was not her finest moment, but she was having plenty of those today. She’d just chalk the entire meeting up to a bad decision when it finally ended.
Flynn made a sound of surprise, and then his grip tightened around her fingers. Did he feel it, too? She didn’t ask.
The witch closed his eyes, and his lips moved silently. Sky blue ribbons left his hands. They swirled around them, and then, energy coursed through Octavia’s veins. It was like she’d swallowed lightning, and it now lived within her. She widened her eyes. Blue sparks jumped off her skin, and a sheen of the same color surrounded them.
“What is this?” she asked in wonderment.
The witch’s brown eyes opened and met hers. For a moment, everything else faded. The rain falling outside, the thunder, even the racing of her heart. It was just the two of them and the way he looked at her.
Who was this man that he made her feel this way?
As if he, too, realized they were staring at each other, Flynn cleared his throat and shrugged. “It’s a shield. I’m partial to them, and the magic comes easily to me.”
“It’s beautiful,” Octavia breathed. Her hand rose, and she caught a stray ribbon floating in the air around them. The magic sent a jolt through her, but it didn’t disintegrate. Instead, it shimmered and seemed to do a little dance in the air.
Flynn smirked. “It likes you.”