“Nick!” I stop, which is a bad idea, because he runs right into me, and I can feel the press of him against my back, his shoulders shaking with laughter. He steps away after a second and I swat at where I think he is in the darkness—my hand hits air, hits air, then lands on his chest with a hard thwack. He’s still laughing, but he traps my fingers between his and, before I can say a word, drops a soft kiss on my knuckles.

That kiss steals my breath. I don’t think he even notices.

“First of all, are you saying you’re not gunning to be my Squire? Insulted. And second—nope, sorry, this hand is mine now—I hate that other Pages are targeting you because of me. And third, I don’t know what your feminine wiles are, but I’d be willing to assess them. To see if they could, indeed, seduce me enough to make me bond myself to you forever.”

I freeze with my hand on his chest, clasped between his fingers, while my mind stumbles and trips over all that he’s just uttered.

“Bree? I was just kid—”

“Do you… want me to try for your Squire?”

Nick squeezes my fingers and sighs. After a moment, his lips brush over my knuckles again, but this time his mouth lingers, moving against my skin as he speaks. “You need to decide that on your own.” And then he releases me. When he speaks again, his voice is hoarse and low. “I’m gonna go check to see if they’re ready for the Pages at the trial site. Be right back.”

Then he’s gone through the brush, each rhythmic footstep like a heartbeat in my sensitive ears until they fade away entirely.

I’m standing there alone in the woods for five minutes, maybe more, rubbing my fingers over the places that Nick’s mouth touched, when I feel his eyes on my skin.

“I know you’re there.”

Sel’s coat flaps in the night air, but I don’t hear him land.

“Sense me, did you? Common trait of the Shadowborn to detect other aether users.” His deep, smooth voice bounces around me. On my left, my right, ahead. “Nicholas’s interest in you keeps you safe for now. However, you would do well to remember that getting closer to Nicholas also brings me closer to you. You’ll either slip and expose yourself, or I will expose you.”

I can smell his aether signature, whiskey sharp and a hint of burnt cinnamon that sends a shudder down my spine. He notices my response and chuckles from somewhere above me. I hate that I don’t know how long he’d been nearby. Did he watch me and Nick? Listen to our conversation? Suddenly, I’m furious. First the racist shit at the Lodge and now this Merlin bully?