Verveville's Curse

Chapter30

Willow’s pov

This game hadn't ended yet, he thinks he could just shoo me away? No!

I had never wanted a man this way, not that I could remember if I had but this was all new for me.

The moment I woke, Kaida’s voice echoed in my head like a challenge. “If you want him, fight for him. Stop letting him push you around like some little girl who doesn’t know her own mind.”

She had been right. For days, Kael had been avoiding me, burying me in cold silence, offering nothing but clipped corrections during training. I had begged myself to forget the kiss, to stop replaying the way his mouth claimed mine like he was starved, the way his resolve always left me feeling hollow. But forgetting was impossible. It burned in me now like a fever.

If he thought he could kiss me and then throw me aside like I was nothing, he was wrong. Today, I would remind him that I was not a ghost to be dismissed. I was here. And I wanted him.

The decision was made before my feet touched the ground. I showered quickly, steam wrapping around me like a cocoon, and when I stepped out, I stared at my reflection with new eyes. If Kael wanted distance, then I would give him the opposite. If he wanted cold, I would burn him.

I chose the red dress deliberately. It was soft silk, clinging to me in ways that felt almost scandalous, sliding against my skin like liquid fire. I lined my eyes in black, painted my lips in a shade deeper than blood, and left my hair tumbling free down my back. I wanted him to look at me and remember that he was not untouchable. That no amount of denial could erase the hunger I had seen in his eyes.

Kaida had told me there would be a meeting with the overseers that morning. A gathering I was not expected to attend. But expectation was something I had no patience for.

When I entered the council chamber, the atmosphere shifted like a gust of wind. The long wooden table stretched before me, overseers in dark robes and simple tunics clustered around it. Conversations stilled. Chairs scraped lightly.

All eyes turned toward me.

Some narrowed with annoyance, most notably Axel, who looked as though I had spat in his drink. Others widened with something I couldn’t quite name…admiration, intrigue, desire.

But only one gaze mattered.

Kael.

He sat at the head of the table, broad-shouldered and commanding, his presence filling the room before his voice even spoke. His eyes swept me from head to toe, a deliberate, punishing drag that sent my pulse scattering. His jaw tensed, his hands curled against the arms of his chair. For a fraction of a second, his composure fractured, and I caught the hunger I had been searching for. He swallowed it down quickly, but I had seen it.

I walked forward, each step deliberate, my heels clicking softly against the stone floor. I did not slouch, did not falter, but lifted my chin like I had every right to stand among them. When I reached the long table, I chose a seat close to him, so close my skirt brushed his thigh as I sat down.

Kael’s voice broke the silence, low and sharp. “What are you doing here?”

I did not look at him. Instead, I folded my hands neatly on the table and offered the room a smile. “Do not mind me,” I said. “I only want to learn more about Aetheria. Think of me as a student. Please, continue.”

A ripple of discomfort moved through the overseers. One or two exchanged glances, hesitant. Axel leaned forward, his voice taut. “This meeting is not for outsiders. She has no right to sit here.”

Before Kael could speak, I turned my head just slightly toward Axel, smiling with enough sweetness to sharpen the sting. “If I am to live here, surely I should know how it is governed. Unless you are afraid of what I might learn?”

Axel’s mouth twisted in fury. His hand slammed against the table, but Kael’s voice cut through the tension. “Enough! She stays.”

The weight of his authority silenced the chamber. Axel’s glare burned into me, but he sat back stiffly, his lips pressed into a thin line. I ignored him.