Corrupted: An Epic Dragons and Immortals Romantic Fantasy (Fallen Emrys Chronicles Book 1) by E.E. Everly (motivational books for men txt) 📕

I clasped my hands together over my heart. Why?

He’s terribly guilt ridden. He feels it’s his fault.

Please tell him it’s not. I would have left Gorlassar eventually. He was just the catalyst.

“You’re easy to sneak up on when you’re distracted,” a voice whispered in my ear.

I jumped and slammed the body of the voice against the wall.

Caedryn chuckled and half grunted as I pinned him. “I was going to say, you’ve become careless, but you still have great reflexes—for a warrior.”

“I’m so sorry.” I backed away, releasing him. Remembering our pinkies and their nighttime indiscretion, I tucked my hands by my sides.

“Were you talking with Seren?”

“Yes.”

“I miss talking with Neifion. I long for a bond such as that. And the ease of travel.”

I stepped farther back and studied Caedryn. What was he thinking? Did he know how I woke? Had he placed his finger beside mine on purpose? Heat burned up my neck, but I resisted rubbing what I was sure was bright red.

“How did Seren choose you as her rider?” He straightened his tunic.

I smiled. “Mother said Seren arrived after my birth. She waited outside the residence like a guard dog. Seren felt my essence when I drew my first breath.”

Caedryn snickered. “I like that. Seren is so meek. I thought, since she chose you at such a young age, she would have tempered some of your fire.”

I scowled at him. “Didn’t Neifion temper your conceit?” Annoyance crept under my skin. I wasn’t sure where it stemmed from. Did I feel violated by his touch? Was I aggravated that he wasn’t affected the way I was? Maybe he did know about our fingers’ nighttime cuddle. Maybe he was embarrassed. The incident was my fault; I’d crawled into bed with him.

Caedryn stepped to his left, and I mirrored him, keeping a courteous distance since I had just shoved him against the wall.

“Neifion was like me. Sensitive, perceptive.”

Without intending it, Caedryn and I paced in a circle across from each other, with carefully placed steps.

“You mean self-assured and smart-mouthed.” I winced when I realized how harsh that sounded. Why does everything Caedryn say push me? I should leave before I say something I’d regret.

“More like self-aware. I’m highly aware of my flaws.”

“But you don’t change them.”

“I’ve lived too long to change now.”

I smirked. “So you’re rigid.”

He sighed. “Niawen, I’ve been straightforward with you. I’ve made painstaking efforts to get you to realize I’m not some prince.”

Prince? Where did that come from? “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I know King Sieffre has two sons who’ve been very attentive to you.”

His words just fell from the sky. I wasn’t expecting that response. “How would you know that?”

“My particular skill set involves knowing.”

I paused in my circling to narrow my eyes at him. “I know what you’re doing. You’re trying to drive me away because of last night.” Because of how I crawled into bed with him or because of how we woke?

“I’m helping you understand I’m not someone worth saving.”

“We’ve been over this.”

“Let me have my say. While I offer my home to you, I don’t want anything from you in return.”

This was about our night together. “Just my presence.” Did he think I wanted a relationship? I certainly wasn’t looking for a prince. I wasn’t looking for anyone. Even if he was oblivious about our fingers, he assumed the night meant more to me.

Caedryn smiled. “I’ll concede that. Yes, your presence might be all I require.”

I stepped closer, and Caedryn stepped back, into a chair, and fumbled to the side until he was clear. I didn’t laugh, but his movements were comical—Caedryn cowering from my advance, as if he was afraid I was going to touch him again.

“Anything else you want to goad me with?” I was put off that he didn’t know what happened or admit to what happened. Why was I dwelling on a pinkie touch? I was being illogical. “Or anything you want to say to scare me off? You make absolutely no sense. You lure me here, but you hold me at arm’s length. You hint at secrets, as if you’re dying to reveal them, but you make vague references to how dark and evil you are. I have yet to spot any evidence of that.”

“I’ll tell you my tale. Then you can decide for yourself what kind of man I am.”

“All right.” I perched on the back edge of a sofa with my arms crossed.

“My liege, Lord Siarl, recruited me to be a spy and gain access to Empress Rhianu’s inner circle. I became a chancellor in her court, with the expectation I’d betray information about my province to her, as I was expected to convey information about her region to Lord Siarl. I always stood to the empress’s right, behind her, in the shadows. She asked my opinion on everything, in private. I was to be unseen. Wherever she went, I was there, only not there. It was understood that I didn’t exist.”

“You were a double agent.”

“Of the highest caliber.” Caedryn scrutinized my face for a reaction; I gave him none. “Lord Siarl knew I had planted myself into the most essential parts of her life.”

“What changed?” I asked. “Why’d she exile you in the end? Did she find out who you were?”

“She didn’t figure out my role as a double agent. My downfall was on a personal level. I’d betrayed the empress’s heart.”

Her heart? I tried to imagine Caedryn as a betrayer of hearts. I couldn’t. He was cold on the surface when he wanted to be. Although he was weaseling his way into my heart, if only just as a nuisance.

“On the exterior I was an impenetrable crust,” Caedryn said. “Unyielding. The empress thought I was ruthless in the