“We stray far from the purpose,” said Varen, his tone and stare quelling. “Given the facts before us, I concur with Councillor Danfey. Binding is a sufficient punishment. This time.”

“Binding for how long?” said Shari. She sounded disappointed, as though the shedding of blood would have cured her of megrim. “This was no harmless prank.”

“Until we are satisfied that the lesson has been learned,” said Varen. “I see no need to place a limit on its term.”

At that, the girl stirred. “You’d bind me for life?”

Varen’s lips thinned into an austere smile. “That will be your choice, Mage Lindin. Not ours.”

“Have Morgan do it,” Venette suggested. “We’ve all of us done a judicial binding. We shouldn’t deprive him of the experience.”

“Agreed,” said Varen, and resumed his seat. “Morgan?”

Stupidly, he felt as though Venette had somehow betrayed him. He looked at her, and she looked back, her neatly plucked eyebrows arched, a challenging glitter in her eyes. So. Though he’d surely tried, he’d failed to hide his visceral reaction to Barl Lindin. And Venette, who’d appointed herself matchmaker for Maris Garrick, had decided to take it as a personal affront.

Curse you, Venette. I do not deserve this!

His turn to suffer the glare of full scrutiny. He could no more refuse to do this than Sallis Arkley could admit his unseemly prejudice and hypocrisy.

“My lord,” he said, nodding to Varen, and pushed out of his chair.

To her credit, the girl stood her ground as he approached. She didn’t even lean away from him as he took the crystal eagle from her and put it on the Council table, then settled the fingers of his left hand gently on her face.

Her eyes are so blue. I could drown in them, like a lake.

“This will hurt,” he said, keeping his tone impersonal. “Do not fight me. You’ll only make things worse.”

She said nothing, only stared at him with her blue, blue lake eyes.

The judicial binding incant was one of several severely restricted magics to which he’d been made privy after his swearing in as a councillor. Once he’d learned its sigils and syllables he’d pushed it far to one side, along with the rest. Its imposition was rare. He’d never thought the day would come when he’d be called upon to use it.

I do not want to use it now. Barl, I am sorry.

And why that should be, he couldn’t begin to understand. Nothing about this Barl Lindin, or what she stirred in him, made any sense.

Fingertips touching her cheekbones, her brow, he lowered his eyelids to mask her from his sight. He couldn’t watch while he hurt her. He wasn’t that strong.