19. Leila

NINETEEN

LEILA

R ehn was nowhere to be found. Leila looked everywhere for him, but he wasn't anywhere in the castle as far as she could find.

Leila grabbed her bag from the queen's quarters, taking only the clothes she came with, plus that dress she wore for her first dinner with the king. At the entrance to the keep, she saw Chaniel near the stables, arguing with a groomsman as he readied her mare. Seemed she couldn't secure a coach for her return trip. If Leila wanted to leave with her, she had to go now.

Maybe not being able to find the king was a blessing in a way. If she were to say her good-byes, how would he react? He'd probably try to convince her to stay, maybe use his powers to keep her here.

No, he wouldn't need to. He would convince her to stay and that was why she wanted to go. That part of her that never wanted to leave would only make things worse in the end. She knew her feelings for Rehn were deepening. This fling would end at some point but given her feelings and the way they grew; it would be harder to leave if she stayed any longer and hurt so much worse. If she was to ever get back to the Sorcerer's Academy, this was her best chance, and she'd enjoy the ride with her old friend Chaniel.

With that, Leila hurried toward Chaniel as the groom helped her onto her mare. She waved to Leila with a warm smile. The groom turned and gave her a bow.

"Can you ready my horse, please?" Leila asked, then turned to her friend. "I figured you wouldn't mind a little company for the ride home."

"Well, I'd much rather prefer a coach to take me back to the academy," Chaniel said, glaring at the groom as he moved back to the stables, then she smiled down at Leila. "But your company will make the ride more pleasant and we have so many things to talk about, don't we?"

Leila suddenly questioned her plans to leave. Chaniel, gossip queen that she was, had seen more than enough of her interactions with Rehn to make some educated guesses. As much as she wanted to keep a closed mouth about their fling and her true connection to the investigation, there was a reason people talked to Chaniel.

Sure, she'd whisper rumors, but she often had good advice or just a comfortable shoulder to cry on. No matter what, Leila knew she'd be sharing more than she wanted with the woman

The groom hurried back from the stables with her horse, tacked and ready for the ride. He held out a hand for her bag and secured it to the saddle. Her eyes drifted toward the main keep, up to Rehn's chamber. That part of her that wanted to stay urged her to listen but she put her foot in the stirrup and pulled herself onto the horse. No. It was time to leave. Time to go home to the academy.

It didn't take long for Chaniel to start peppering Leila with questions. She'd watched her as they rode through the gates and across the river, her slight smile quivering with words at the ready.

"You seem eager to leave," Chaniel said on the far side of the bridge. "Odd, you and the king appeared quite comfortable together. Not sure I'd want to leave any man who looked at me the way he looked at you, let alone the king. I mean, even if he wasn't a king, I don't think I'd be able to leave him."

As much as she wanted to talk about it, even with the academy's biggest gossip, Leila held firm for the moment.

"Now that they have their man, the king doesn't need my help anymore," she replied. "I've been gone from the academy too long. With the investigation over, it is time for me to go."

Chaniel gave a quiet, " hmm ." Her eyes remained focused on Leila as if she were an interrogator hunting for any tells Leila might give away. Only a few yards further down the road, she started that interrogation, trying to lower Leila's guard.

"I'm sure the king would have loved for you to have stayed. I know you spend just as much time as I do with my nose in a book, but you had to notice the way he looked at you," she said, giggling. "And you left without saying good-bye? Wouldn't be surprised if he comes galloping after you."

Leila glanced down the road behind them until Chaniel clapped, startling her. She scrambled for the reins as her friend laughed. A glare at the woman once she was secure again only had her chuckles growing louder.

"I knew it. You almost called him by his first name earlier," Chaniel said, pointing with a huge smile. "The looks you two shared, the familiarity of your posture. You and the king. Don't try and deny it."

This was exactly what Leila knew would happen. She resigned herself to sharing everything, well, mostly everything with the other woman. There was little point in hiding it now. Hell, Chaniel would have had enough for the rumor mill even if Leila had remained at the castle.

"I wasn't just helping him with the investigation. That crazy man who stormed the academy came there for me," Leila said. "He wanted me to use my powers and go back in time to change something."

"Can you do that?" Chaniel's examining eyes took on a different sheen. It was an unheard-of power.

"When he tried to take me, I kind of did, taking both of us and Rehn to the past, we think." Leila shivered thinking of that moment. "Still don't know how to exactly control it well but it happened."

"That could be dangerous in the wrong hands, disastrous," Chaniel said. "Glad the king, or Rehn as you call him, found his villain. Now, I want to know how you got your man."

"Of course, you only want to hear about that." Leila shook her head. But still her heart fluttered at the thought of her bear shifter. "Nothing would have happened without Yaldred, you thought she was my bodyguard. Rehn asked me for dinner the night I got here. I thought it would be a feast and I'd just be one of many guests, then Yaldred came with maids each carrying different gowns, dressing me in silks and satin. I brought the dress with me."

"Oh, I need a fashion show when we get back to the academy."

"I'll probably need help getting into it before the fashion show," Leila said. "But that will probably be the only use I have for it. Not like I'll wear it to a class or anything."

"Your man could come back to the academy and sweep you off your feet. How can you run off on the king of all people?" The very idea seemed to shock Chaniel. "He is quite the looker too. I bet he had all sorts of endurance."

"I'm not talking about that."

Leila frowned at her old friend. Chaniel flashed a mischievous grin then furrowed her brows in dramatic confusion.

"Why wouldn't you want to talk about that? I was just thinking he must be quite the athlete. I bet he could run for miles."

She fell into giggles at Leila's dropped jaw. Her laughter only grew when Leila pouted. At least talking to her had gotten her to forget that longing to turn around and rush back to the castle, even as every moment took them farther from it.

"You are as incorrigible as always," Leila said.

"And you wouldn't have me any other way," Chaniel replied.

All the way back to the academy, Chaniel tried to pry more details from Leila's lips. She got little. Leila wasn't one to kiss and tell, and she and Rehn did a lot more than kissing. When they got closer to the academy, seeing it in the distance down the road, she found herself smiling.

Her time at the castle was something she'd never forget, but the academy would always have a special place in her heart. She learned so much here, taught up-and-coming sorcerers, and made so many friends and acquaintances.

Right inside the gates, Xanthus stood, leaning on his staff with his thick robes waving in the wind. He smiled widely at Leila, giving a nod to Chaniel.

"It gladdens my heart to see you return to us, Leila," he said, then motioned toward a couple of grooms. "These men will take your horses. I am eager to learn of what you have achieved. Come, my study awaits with comfortable chairs and mulled cider after your journey."

"We'll have that fashion show later," Chaniel said, nudging Leila.

"I can't wait," Leila replied before leaving her friend to follow her mentor to his chambers. She had a lot to share with him.