Page 82 of The Half King
“Just do it,” Daerick prompted.
“Fine.” Kian heaved a sigh and then told Cerise, “You might want to scoot back. This won’t work if you’re too close.”
“Is this part of the test?” she asked.
“Not yet,” Daerick said. “More like test preparation.”
She scooted back and put more distance between them.
Kian tossed the pebble to her. “Now I command you to pick up this rock and throw it as hard as you can at Lord Calatris.”
“Wait,” Daerick objected. “She’s supposed to throw it at you.”
Kian’s lips twitched in a grin. “Aim for his face. Really give it your all.”
Even as Cerise rolled her eyes at their immature banter, she found herself leaning forward and retrieving the pebble. She didn’t know what had prompted her to do it. She hadn’t meant to. The act was reflexive, like surrendering to a yawn.
“Try to resist,” Daerick said, watching her intently.
She set her mind to a different task: tossing the pebble into the fire. She drew back her arm and took aim at the burning pit, but something stopped her from finishing the motion. It was as though she had forgotten how. Then she unconsciously began rotating toward Daerick. She fought with all her strength to turn away from him, but her body wouldn’t obey. The experience was unlike the magic Father Padron had used to force her to drink when she had been sick. She was free to breathe and blink and do anything she wanted…except refuse the king’s order. Her muscles tensed, and with all her might, she hurled the pebble at Daerick’s face.
Daerick ducked aside, and the pebble bounced into the distance. He let out a low whistle while Cerise and Kian stared at each other in disbelief.
Shewassubject to his command.
But as impossible as it seemed, the bond of obedience began to make sense. She recalled the strange feeling that had come over her earlier—a disconnect between her mind and her body, as though she were a puppet with a hand inside her chest.
“That’s why I said all of those things,” she realized. “When we argued, you ordered me to tell you what I was thinking. I didn’t want to, but I couldn’t stop myself.”
Kian’s lips parted, and he sat still and silent while all of the color drained from his face. Then he pushed up from the ground and strode briskly away from the fire.
Cerise followed him and pulled him to a stop. “What is it?”
“Did you…” he whispered, staring blankly ahead. “Did you really want me?” He turned his gaze to hers. “When we were at the boulder…I wasn’t compelling you, was I?”
“What?”She placed a hand on his cheek. “Of course not. I’m the one who took you there. I told you what I wanted. You let me set the pace the whole time.”
“Are you sure?” he asked, terror in his eyes. “I want your love, not your obedience.”
“And you have it,” she told him. “I know what compulsion feels like. It feels wrong and unnatural, and those are the last words I would ever use to describe what we did together. I’ve had enough shame from the Order. I don’t need it from you, too. Please don’t take the most beautiful moment of my life and turn it into something ugly.”
That seemed to reach him. His gaze softened. “Do you swear that I didn’t force you?”
“My king,” she said, “you were mine to command, remember?”
He sighed in relief and took her hand once again. “And I forevermore will be. Nothing can happen between us unless you command it.”
“All right,” she said. “If that’s what you want.”
“It’s what I want,” he told her.
And with that, they returned to the fire.
Daerick had finished his tea, but he turned his empty mug over and over in his hands. He glanced at Cerise, his gaze somber. “You have to be careful. More than careful…obsessively vigilant. Whatever gifts you have, you need to learn to control them. Because if you slip up and use magic around the wrong person…”
“He’s right,” Kian said. “No one can find out.”
“Especially not Father Padron,” she added. A shiver rolled over her when she remembered his warning.Betrayers will suffer until the end of days.
