Soul Seekers03 - Mystic Read Free

upright, making an exaggerated show of breathing heavily and gritting my teeth. And just as I’d hoped, an instant later he’s right back beside me.
    Patience . You can do this . It’s like Paloma taught you: Think from the end.
    “Don’t push it, Daire.” Axel’s fingers grab hold of my shoulders as he lowers me back toward my pillows. “Just because the fever broke doesn’t mean that you’re healed.”
    I nod as though I wouldn’t dream of questioning his wisdom, the irrefutable truth of his words. “I guess I’m just feeling a little restless,” I say, aiming for chagrin and hoping I’m not overdoing it. “I’m not used to being bedridden and weak, and that makes me a pretty poor patient.” I make a guilty face. “It’s just that, if I’ve any hope of leaving this place, I’ll need to work on regaining my strength. The longer I lie here, the more my muscles will deteriorate. So, maybe I could try to walk for a bit. What do you think?”
    I hold my breath and shoot him my most hopeful look, aiming to convince without coming off as rehearsed.
    When he doesn’t reply fast enough for my liking, I struggle to sit up again. Grimacing and gritting until I’m propped flushed and breathless against the headboard, begging, “Please. I need to get up and move around—take a short walk. But I need your help. I can’t do it alone.” I force myself to swallow the lie, but the bitterness sticks to my tongue. “C’mon, Axel, didn’t you promise to heal me, rehabilitate me? Isn’t that what you said?”
    His brow knits, his lips pull into a frown, and I know that I’ve won. That he sees what I want him to see—me, clammy, breathless, and pale—making demands that betray my abilities.
    I suck in a lungful of air, curl my fingers around the side of the mattress, and attempt to swing my legs over the edge. The sight of it causing him to say, “Clearly nothing I say will change your mind.”
    “Clearly,” I whisper, indulging a small, secret smile when he secures an arm around my waist and eases me to my feet until my body is wedged hard against his.
    His touch providing a reassuring strength that leaves me uneasy, reminding me of the moment he saved me. The way his lips pressed hard against mine as he snatched me from the fingers of death—restoring my life with a kiss.
    The question is why?
    Why me?
    And, more importantly, now that he’s saved me, why is he hiding me?
    Not a single person has dropped by the whole time I’ve been here. And often, when he thinks I’m asleep, I watch through slitted lids as he peers through the curtains, fingers twitching nervously at the thought of being seen.
    While there’s no denying the amount of care and devotion he’s paid me, his reluctance to answer my questions leads me to believe his motives aren’t nearly as pure as they seem. That they have less to do with his inner moral compass, and more to do with the simple fact that, for whatever reason, he couldn’t bear to lose me.
    Like he has a personal stake in my being.
    Like I mean far more to him than I rightfully should.
    A suspicion that leaves me uneasy.
    My heart belongs to Dace. And if what I suspect of Axel is true, then he’s turned my life into a debt I can never repay.
    “Do you think you could manifest a cane?” I ask, and despite having seen him work his magick plenty of times, I still stare in unabashed wonder when a beautiful, carved-ivory cane instantly appears in my hand.
    “I hope no elephants were injured in the making of this?” I grip the handle hard, testing its strength by shifting my full weight upon it.
    “It came from the ether just as it will return to the ether as soon as you’re through with it.” He loosens his grip on my waist and allows me some space, while he hovers nearby, ready to catch me at the first hint of trouble. “So, now that you’re up, where do you go from here?” His eyes glint in a way I can’t read.
    Is it amusement? Pride? Is it possible that he’s