My darling wife has managed to evade me for three days now, and for the first time in decades, I don’t fully understand someone’s motives. She keeps giving me hope that she might want me, too, but more than once, she’s run the moment I make a move.I raise a brow and lean back against the windowsill as I watch her walk into the atrium, a large stack of firewood in her arms. What is she up to now? True to her word, she’s been working on harnessing her powers day and night.I watch as she drops the pieces in the snow, keeping a single one in her hands. She closes her eyes and stands in silence, as though she’s willing the wood to catch fire.“Your Excellency,” one of my advisers says. I turn toward him, annoyed at the interruption. “They have gold. I think we should consider them as a possible target for conquest.”I stare at the map and nod. I’m tired of conquering and consequently having to manage so many territories, just to keep alive my people and the countless magic users who continue to be persecuted. Even then, I can’t save them all.I glance back at the window to find Arabella still standing in the middle of the atrium, the snow piled so high that only half of her is visible. I might not be able to save my people, but she can. When she first appeared in the Mirror of Pythia, I was uncertain about her. Now I can see it clearly. Her powers will save us.I always knew that it wouldn’t be love. It was a ridiculous notion, yet somehow I find myself disappointed. The right thing to do would be to step away and focus on helping her with her magic, yet I can’t resist her.“Take over,” I tell Elaine, and she smiles. She’s witnessed the change in us, and I suspect she’s happier about it than Arabella ever will be. I know why Arabella is holding back. She’s still clinging to the life she left behind, and the man she wants to return to.I’m restless as I descend the stairs, the distance between my audience room and the palace’s atrium seeming greater than ever. I don’t recall the last time I rushed through these corridors, yet I find myself impatient to get to her.I breathe a sigh of relief when I see her standing in the middle of the atrium. Snow is falling heavily around her, yet she stands still, trying her hardest to focus. Something about my wife tugs at my heartstrings.I walk up to her and solidify the air above her, sheltering her from the snow. She looks up, and then she turns around. She’s ethereal, and she was absolutely worth waiting for. When her eyes land on mine, my heart starts to race, as it always seems to around her.“Felix,” she whispers, her cheeks rapidly turning rosy.“There’s nowhere for you to run today, beautiful.”“I’m not running,” she denies.I smile and place my hands on her shoulders, turning her around so she’s facing away from me. “Are you sure?” I ask, leaning in until my chest is pressed against her back. I wrap my arms around her, hugging her from behind.“Of course I’m sure,” she says, but she fails to hide the tremor in her voice.I smile and tighten my grip on her. “You don’t seem to be having much luck with the firewood,” I murmur, my lips brushing over her ear. Arabella shivers, and I chuckle.“Let me help you. Close your eyes, my love.”Part of me expected her to defy me, but she closes her eyes without complaint.“Let me tell you what happens when I close my eyes. I see you, Arabella, sitting opposite me in our bath, the water rendering your chemise transparent. The fabric sticks to your skin, your dark nipples hardened and clearly visible. In my mind, I lean in, capturing your lips first before making my way to your neck.”I move my lips then, placing them right below her ear. “In my thoughts, I kiss you, just like this.” I press a soft kiss against her neck, enjoying the way it makes her shiver. “Then I make my way down, kissing your collarbone, until I reach the top of your breast. That chemise of yours? I rip it to shreds, until you’re fully exposed, your body mine to take.”She trembles against me, her breathing fast-paced. I might not have her heart, but I will have her body. I’ll take that first, until she surrenders and gives me all of her. I want her every thought, her every desire. I want her love. But first, I’ll need to seduce my wife. Perhaps it isn’t right, but I’ve never been an honorable man.“Then I finally get a taste of your body. My lips close around your nipple, and I listen to the way you moan for me as I suck down on it.” She gasps, and I smirk as I turn my hand inward, keeping her in my embrace while I cup her breast fully, my thumb brushing over her nipple.“I kiss my way down, pressing a kiss to your stomach. After that, I lift you up into the air—”Before I can finish my sentence, the firewood in her hands bursts into flames, and she drops it, letting it sizzle out. She turns in my embrace, her arms finding their way around me, and I smile down at her.“You did it.”She nods. “Did you see that? I was so startled that I dropped it, but I really did it!”noveldramaI smile, her excitement infectious. “Thoughts, my love. You can fuel your magic with your thoughts. Desire appears to be a conduit for your fire.”I wrap my arms around her waist, keeping her close so she has no chance to slip out of my embrace. It’s been a few days since I had her this close, and I won’t let this moment fade.“Try it again,” I tell her. “There are pieces of firewood on the ground. Channel your thoughts, and set them ablaze.”Arabella hesitates. “I’m worried, Felix. What if I set something else on fire?”“You won’t. Each time I kissed you, it was only the parchment that burned. You could easily have set me on fire, but you did not. Today, once again, it was only the firewood that went up in flames. So long as you have a target in mind, your magic will find its way. You must trust that it will.”Arabella nods and slides her arms down to clutch the lapels on my uniform. Her eyes fall closed, and I watch as her cheeks turn rosy, the tips of her lips turned up into a slight smile. I wish I knew what she’s thinking about. I tense when I realize that it might not be me. When she closes her eyes, it might well be that boy she sees.Could she be standing in my embrace while thinking of another? My anger rises as I watch the snow behind her melt, a large flame coming into view. This is what I hoped for, yet the victory is tainted.Arabella opens her eyes and smiles, but her joy doesn’t last long. Her smile melts away as she looks at me, and I resist the urge to ask the question I need an answer to.“I can’t hold back anymore,” I tell her.Arabella bites down on her lip, her gaze filled with fire. “What does that mean?” she whispers.“It means I’m going to ensure that every time you close your eyes, I’m all you can see. I’m going to explore your body, learn every little thing that makes you moan, until you have so many memories that you don’t need to fantasize to call upon your fire. I’m going to invade your every thought, until my name is what you whisper in your sleep.”I’m going to erase every thought you have of that boy, and replace it with thoughts of me.I’m going to make you feel so good you’ll never want another.I’ll take your body, repeatedly, until you give me your heart.“I’m going to make you mine.”