“Alice and William are already outside, loading up Jonas’s car.”

Sel’s voice stops me short. He’s draped across the couch in all new attire. A black duster jacket with the collar flipped up and sleeves long enough to cover his cuffs. Black pants and what look like brand-new boots.

“Oh,” I say warily. I expect another Liege would be on the way by now, ready to pick Sel up and fill him in on their most recent intel about Nick. “Is, ah, Gill sending another car for you?”

“No.” He rises from the couch in that fluid, single-motion movement of his, and stalks toward me, hands in his pockets.

That’s odd. “Why not?”

He gives me a strange look. “Because I never asked her to.”

I blink. “I thought—”

“For as long as I can remember, my life has been pledged to keeping Nicholas safe.” He holds my gaze as he steps closer, examining me like I’m a frustrating puzzle. He pauses just in front of me, and tiny sparks scatter across my cheeks. I can smell the soap radiating from his skin.

I nod, heart thumping. “I know. I understand.”

“No, you don’t.” A quiet fire blooms across his features, turning them all burning. “You don’t know what it feels like when the fabric of you, the very core of your being, has been modified to keep this person safe. So much so that when he’s in danger, it feels like I can’t breathe. That’s how invasive the Kingsmage Oath is. It has to be, because keeping the king safe means keeping the Lines safe.”

I don’t know what to say, because he’s right. I don’t understand this feeling. I don’t know that I want to.

“Nicholas is gone because I failed to protect my charge, among my other sins.” He frowns, guilt and conviction at war on his face. Conviction wins out. “But I would be failing the Order’s true mission, the spirit of the Oath, Nicholas, and you if I didn’t stay by your side to protect you now.”

I shut my eyes. Shake my head. That dizzying feeling swarms in my stomach at the passion in his voice.

“No,” he chides, and lifts my chin with a finger. “Come back from wherever you go to hide. Look at me.” I open my eyes to find him looking at me, uncertainty pulling at the corners of his mouth.

“I’m not hiding,” I insist.

His thumb passes over my chin. “Do you want me to go?” I look away, but his voice draws me back. More insistent this time. “Bree. Do you want me to go?”

My voice is quiet, but sure. “I don’t want you to suffer because you aren’t fulfilling your Oath.”