Another growl rumbled from him as he walked over to the balcony doors. With a wave of his hand, they swung open,
bringing in the cold, fresh air and rain once again. His fingers curled and crackled with what looked like black flames. I’d
never seen him do that before. I couldn’t take my eyes off him.
“My brother won’t hurt me. This letter was probably scripted by my uncle. I’ve already assumed he was there with him,” I
paused, choking back a lump in my throat, “Norok and I have a close bond. He most likely just wants to know I am safe and
well. I should write to him.”
As I got up to head towards the small writing desk across the room, a blast of black flames flew in front of me. They
missed me, but blocked my path.
“YOU WILL DO NO SUCH THING!”
Rolling my eyes at his voice, I sighed deeply. Our pleasant evening was gone. My husband was now replaced by the thing
inside him. I tried not to let the sudden wave of emotions crush me. Instead, I threw the letter in the fireplace and sat down.
I needed to do better. Keep my feelings in check as every time Nicholas had some form of outburst, I returned it with anger
or fear. I needed to be smart. Eventually I would get a letter to my brother, one way or another. Nicholas would become angry
once he found out, and I would deal with it then. Rationally. Calm and collected.
“So, then what do you suppose we do?”
My next movements had to be calculated. I wanted him to calm down, return to the kind gentle husband from earlier. We
still needed to have a discussion of what our next move should be. A calm discussion. I didn’t want an all-out war over who
could claim me. I just wanted happiness and peace.
Narrow mindedness, I knew that deep down, but I would never give up hoping that would happen one day.
It took him a minute to calm down and the flames that danced at his fingertips died down. Food arrived shortly afterwards.
He took the seat beside me and rubbed his forehead with his thumb and index finger.
“You will continue your training. Vanessa would like to train you tomorrow. Her skills are rather unorthodox but you will
gain great knowledge from her. As for your brother’s ideal threat, leave it to me. I promised you I won’t harm him and I meant
that. But if it comes down to you, or him and my blade, you should know I will always pick you.”
Twisting his body towards mine, he took hold of my hands and looked at me with his exhausted blue eyes. A sigh rumbled
through his chest, he looked as if he would fall asleep standing up.
My breath caught in my throat as Nicholas dropped to his knees before me. “You are my Annwyl, I know I have a lot of
trust I need to build with you as I have already burnt many bridges. But, know this, no one will ever lay a hand on you unless
you say otherwise. Just please, do not send any messages to your family. Trust me to sort this out.”
“Nic,” I murmured, “Get up. I told you to never bow to me.”