Chương 24: Interruption

Ch 24: Interruption

"I'm feeling a little…selfish." Felix wasn't sure how many minutes he sat there with his half naked fire tutor lying in his lap. She shook with a laugh and tossed her dark hair as she leaned back.

"Trust me. You don't need to." She looked down at herself and even blushed.

"But maybe I should get cleaned up." She stood and swayed to a wash basin on a nearby desk. Felix stared at her wide hips and amazing ass with abandon. Her skirt was still pulled up, her body almost completely exposed. He saw wetness all over her thighs and decided that couldn't just be sweat. But his ignorance of women was suddenly painful. He had no idea what a man said or did after a woman had just been on her knees pleasuring him. Did he get dressed? Did he compliment her? Did he… offer some sort of...

beverage? Ultimately he decided to just do what he wanted—which was stand up and move closer to the mostly naked, beautiful woman still alone in a room with him. He pressed himself against her from behind. She stopped washing and leaned against him with a moan.

"You're so… warm. It's like having my back to a fire."

"I think you had something to do with that," he said, kissing her neck and running his hands down her legs.

"Careful," she said, turning her face with a grin.

"I don't think you're ready for the next step. Or maybe I'm not." She blinked as if she'd realized something and lost the smile.

"It's…me whose been selfish. We should have…I should have said more, told you before…" She tried to pull away but he held her in his arms. She turned and faced him, and it was impossible not to touch her skin, to let his hands drift down her exposed back…

"Felix." Cici looked down.

"I didn't know what…who you were. I haven't been entirely honest with you. About why I was chosen. To teach you, I mean." He took a breath, not exactly surprised.

"Let me guess. You were sent by a big boss lord of fire to find out why my big boss of water cared about me. And if I was powerful and useful, you were to seduce me and steal me away." Cici blinked and went pale and rigid in his arms.

"Not…exactly. But how did you…"

"It's not that complicated. You're one of the most beautiful, alluring women I've ever seen in my life. I'm a young man. I'm sure word got out after my…performance at the temple. Noble politics are the same everywhere in the world." Cici tried to pull away, but he held her. She looked away, face losing any expression.

"Then why did you let me…if you knew then why would you…"

"Because I believed you." He held her until she looked at him.

"Because people are complicated and I don't think that's why you're here. Not anymore." She slowly relaxed, and eventually hugged him. Her incredible body was at real risk of putting him right back in the state he was in several minutes ago, and he tried to think about something less sexy. And failed.

"Lord Savoy is the sovereign lord of my family. We have no choice but to serve him. His house is too powerful for us to resist."

"I don't blame you." Felix pushed some hair behind her ear, still amazed he just got to touch her if he wanted.

"I don't even know what the hell is going on. It's not like I'm some devoted House Amadi servant. They're just the ones who found me." He thought of Isa and his gut clenched in a feeling of betrayal.

"But I'm not saying I'd hurt them, either. I just want you to understand. I'm not some weapon, not for your lord, or theirs." Cici smiled.

"I understand. My family has little interest in politics. Our small size makes us vulnerable. But if we could, we'd avoid all of it. Though…things are different now."

"Because of the whole 'eternal flame' thing. Or because we're both naked?"

"I'm not naked." Cici laughed and flicked the bits of fabric not currently hiding anything with a mischievous eyebrow wiggle. Felix knew he had to let go of her and start getting dressed soon or else they'd have a problem. She met his eyes and seemed to understand. But she also didn't look ready to do something to stop it.

"Maybe we should get dressed," he said.

"And maybe not just a skirt and whatever you call that top thing. Something that actually covers you. I need to be able to think." Cici grinned, obviously not unhappy hearing about the effect she had on him. She gave him one last kiss, which he fought desperately to stop from becoming a full on, groping make out. Then they stepped away and took turns eying each other and exchanging smiles as they put some clothes on.

"OK. Danger reduced." He was about to tease her because her 'more conservative' choice was a dress that was still so tight it showed off most of her ridiculous body. Except his stomach growled so loud it actually interrupted the thought. Cici grinned, and held up a finger, like she was going back into tutor mode.

"Fire wizard rule one. Always bring snacks." If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. She moved to her bags with a wiggle as she smoothed her dress, then took out multiple pouches of what looked like salted meats, nuts, and dried fruits.

"I come prepared." She set them out on the table and gestured like a servant.

"Please, lord keeper. Eat whatever you like." Felix grinned and fought off another impulse to grab her and throw her on the bed. It helped that he was actually really hungry, He rummaged through and chewed, trying to think of good questions to ask and exactly how he was going to navigate this situation. Partly, he was stuck on the ridiculous circumstances of his life. Literally a week before he was a futureless, pirate hunting, lifestealer, trapped on a wooden ship with coastal vagabonds.

Now the whole world was different. He was training to be a mage on a paradise island, thinking about one beautiful noblewoman while in the company of another. And somehow he had to figure out how to talk to this person without… without what? Getting her in trouble? Things were already complicated. He had gone a whole lifetime without any women trouble. Now he legitimately cared about two beauties, and probably couldn't be with either of them. High Wizard Hasha had called Cici 'lady'.

Didn't that mean she was another royal, too far above his station for anything but a little fling? Not to mention Isa had been nearly killed by fire wizards. Wasn't it likely those wizards came from Cici's house? Or at least an ally's house? How the hell did he get himself into these things.

"What are you thinking?" He turned to find his beautiful tutor watching him. He supposed he'd just stood there stupidly chewing for a good minute, lost in his thoughts. She looked vulnerable now, so much less sure than she had when he'd first seen her in the high wizard's study. It made her somehow even more beautiful. More human and understandable to a man like him. But he had to decide. Was he going to trust her more, or not? Something about the bonfire in her soul—about the sea and the beach and the cool breeze.

It was like a window into her… well, her soul. A kind of crash course in all things Cici, an intuitive understanding of who she was on the inside. And she was… good. Peaceful and free. Beneath it all he had the image of a mischievous little girl who just wanted to run on the sand and swim in the sea. He realized he didn't have to decide if he'd trust her or not. He already did.

"I'm thinking fire wizards tried to kill Lady Amadi, and I'm wondering what that means. I'm wondering if your house was the one who did it." Cici's dainty, tattoo outlined facial features crinkled in confusion. And then offense.

"Why would Thay kill Lady Isa? That makes no sense." He frowned because he had no idea. He didn't understand the politics of this place. But a rival family was a rival family, and Isa had said she was a powerful waterpool. Hell, most cultures went after each other for nothing more than disrespect.

"Isa said her father hasn't married her off like he was supposed to. Maybe the fire lords are angry. Maybe they figure if they can't have her no one can." Cici scoffed and rolled her eyes, but struggled a moment as if not sure how to explain.

"Isa is maybe the most powerful waterpool in…" she shrugged.

"No one from my house would harm her. It would be against our… beliefs. Sacrilege. An affront to the gods. If Lord Savoy did such a thing, and was caught, he'd lose the support of half the fire clans. It would cost him everything. And until Lady Isavey is married he's still in the running. It'll likely be him in the end." Felix nodded with a frown. If he got caught it would cost him everything. He let that roll around in his mind and decided it made a lot of sense.

The way the assassins had attacked hadn't made much sense. Why 'deliver a message' and attack in broad daylight? And why use magic at all? Wouldn't it have been simpler to just stick a knife in Isa's back? So maybe whoever actually planned it had been mainly concerned with the attack being splashy. Memorable. With an obvious person to blame.

"Who wouldn't want your lord and Isavey getting married? I mean who with the kind of balls and power to hire fire mage assassins?" Cici shrugged like such an answer was impossible.

"Everyone else. The air and earth houses have fire wizards. Even Isa's family probably keeps a few hidden. There are also houseless wizards exiled from various families for crimes, or born to disfavored families. The isles are more and more secretive these days. We don't exchange records like we used to." So much for simple answers. Felix supposed whoever had planned an attack that bold wouldn't be an idiot. The assassins hadn't been incompetent fools, they'd just been utterly surprised by Felix.

He'd had no logical reason to be there and able to stop them. And if he hadn't been there, the attack would have been successful. It twisted his gut thinking of Isa still being vulnerable—of her family maybe not taking the threat as seriously as they should have. One of those assassins was still alive. He suspected whoever had planned an attack like that wouldn't just give up.

"You really care about her, don't you?" He blinked and met Cici's eyes. He wasn't sure what to say to not offend the girl he'd just been naked with a minute ago. It wasn't like his caring for Isa meant he didn't care about her. Since he probably couldn't have either it all seemed a bit ridiculous. Still, he just stood there not quite making sound. Cici seemed confused by his hesitation.

"Do you think me jealous?" She smiled like he was being cute.

"You're a dual wizard, Felix, and incredibly powerful. Whichever lord eventually takes you will give you whatever pools you require. You'll have wives, many concubines, maybe even a title, whatever you want." He wasn't sure what she was saying, worried now his feelings for her weren't exactly mutual. She came forward and touched his arm as if she understood.

"I'm fire, she's water. I can give you something she never can. But one day you'd want an earth and air pool, and it would be the same. You wouldn't have to take them as lovers, of course, but that seems... likely. We aren't in competition." Cici's eyes blazed.

"As long as you didn't go around looking at any fire pools." Woah now, he thought, that expression giving him pause. And he sort of understood. A wizard could use any kind of mana to help 'channel' spells. No doubt there were combinations between every element, and having a 'pool' of each time would mean someone who knew what they were doing had every option available to their specialty. Still…

"I mean, you're all women," he said.

"And I wouldn't worry about Isavey. She's not meant for random foreigners like me." Cici smiled, but it was kind of sad.

"True to both. I don't mean I can't get jealous. There's always…complexities. But this is usual in our culture, Felix. It's not a problem. Except for you, of course, because I fear you're right. Lady Isavey is an impossible prize."

"And you?" he said, meeting her eyes.

"What are my chances there?" She smiled and shrugged like she wasn't sure. He lifted her chin and kissed her, feeling the heat pour off both of them with an almost audible sound.

"My people believe in…passion. Intuition and love. We decide who we bind ourselves to. Not our families." He was genuinely surprised by that. His heart was also beating faster now that he realized what she was saying. Or at least saying was possible. Not that he was entirely sure he wanted to 'bind' himself to anyone. But it was probably a figure of speech. And it was hard to think of a good reason not to…

"You didn't really answer the question," he said. Cici grinned.

"You're right. I didn't." He couldn't stop himself from grinning, too, feeling his body shift as he slid her closer and closer until his lips met hers again. Whatever he'd been planning other than 'get this woman into bed' suddenly seemed like a very far away and maybe terrible idea. Someone knocked loudly on the wooden door. Felix could have killed them. He was about to mouth 'just ignore it' before working up Cici's dress. The fist pounded again. A familiar voice shouted in something like panic.

"Felix! Are you in there? There's…monsters! Attacking the school! We have to find Lina! Please, I need your help. I can't find her anywhere." Felix met Cici's eyes, looking for a clue that a 'monster attack' meant Silas had lost his mind. When the beautiful fire mage/pool looked genuinely concerned, he turned and ran for the door.