The Spell of Rosette - Kim Falconer [71]
‘You’ve been watching?’
‘I’m always watching, Rosette.’ He rubbed his chin. ‘The point is, boosting is hard work. Drains the resources. You’re also fatigued with a sense of culpability. Do I have to remind you why we don’t want apprentices using magic on the practice field?’
Apprentices? Her heart lifted until she saw the expression on his face. This was a scolding, not an award.
She folded her hands in her lap and looked down at them, responding by rote: ‘Initiates and apprentices do not boost because it is dangerous to themselves and to others; we don’t have the control or the experience to execute that calibre of magic whilst wielding a weapon.’
‘So you do know the rule.’
‘I know it.’
‘And can you admit to me you could use some healing?’
‘I’ve had ointment from the healer.’
‘That wasn’t what I asked.’
She exhaled. ‘A healing would be appreciated, thank you. Either that or a long, belated holiday.’
‘Not so bull-headed as I thought,’ he mumbled under his breath.
‘Excuse me?’
‘It’s just a healing, Rosette, not a challenge. I want you at your peak tomorrow.’
‘What’s happening tomorrow?’
He didn’t answer.
Scylla jumped back up to her perch in the rafters, seemingly uninterested in what was happening at the table. She did, however, give a little purr as she leapt. An invitation? It must have been, the way Drayco sprang after her.
‘First the exhaustion,’ the Sword Master continued. ‘We need to get rid of that.’
‘Do your best.’ She laughed, but it sounded nervous to her ears.
An’ Lawrence stood behind her chair and tingles shot up her spine. He reached out with both hands, letting them hover above her shoulders, moving them slowly down to her elbows, her forearms, and over her long slender fingers. Waves of energy coursed through her and though he never touched her body, she felt instantly revitalised.
‘That’s good.’
‘Now the wounds,’ he said.
Rosette had no idea how much time passed. She opened her eyes to see An’ Lawrence slicing bread at a high table near the fire. He must have lit more candles, as the room seemed brighter now.
‘You’re back,’ he said.
‘I feel…’
‘Yes?’
‘I feel…totally refreshed!’
‘That was the goal.’
The proximity to him, the resonance of his voice and the crackle of the fire, the flickering candles and the smell of food made her senses quiver. Energy surged through her body as she watched his movements, his presence, his mindfulness of her. It felt wonderful. He felt wonderful…only one thing seemed not quite right.
It was a niggling thought, a perturbing sliver in her mind. In all this rush of energy and power, she could tell he withheld something. Maybe it was a plan or an intention. Maybe he had a hard-on for her and didn’t want her to know. Maybe not. All she knew for sure was that he kept a secret. It reminded her of the way she felt around Clay.
‘Thank you, Sword Master.’
‘My pleasure, Rosette—that’s some nasty bruising around your shoulders.’
‘Zero,’ she said and pressed her lips together.
‘Fast, isn’t he?’
‘Like a striking snake.’
‘Tomorrow, I’m going to teach you how to outmanoeuvre him.’
‘Tomorrow?’
He nodded as he placed the steaming bread and a plate of butter on the table.
She frowned. How could she learn that in only one day?
‘You’re very receptive,’ he said.
Was he kidding? With his touch who wouldn’t be?
‘Thank you,’ she said around a mouthful of hot bread. ‘Is there honey?’ She was starting to think of him sexually and wondered if he felt the same.
Forget it. You’re here for something else. The reply from her familiar came like a blunt arrow, jarring her out of the fantasy.
Drayco, I was just…
The Sword Master has news. You have to pay attention.
Do you have a direct line to him now?
Scylla speaks with me. I like her.
That’s nice, Dray. Keep her talking.
A link to the Sword Master’s thoughts via his familiar would certainly be handy. She paused. Unless it went