Chapter 8
The molten ball of panic lodged thick in Alegan’s throat. All he managed were a few ragged breaths as Catli looked on, a warm, patient expression dancing in the light of the two candles left to burn before they had gone to the pool. No matter how hard Alegan tried to swallow down the obstruction in his throat, words escaped him.
“Relax,” Catli murmured. “Take a moment.”
A hysterical giggle came out of some dark part of his body. There was no reason to be calm. Catli shouldn’t be, certainly. A magical duel in the morning. Over him? The whole idea was preposterous from start to finish. People died in fights of power.
Catli must have seen some change in his face, because he stepped forward and slid an arm around Alegan’s back. He fell, limp with worry, into Catli’s chest. Meanin
