"He's right… I'm being too desperate."
Elena thought quietly, forcing herself to breathe through her nose.
Her heart was pounding, and her hands trembled slightly where they rested on her lap.
Of course she wanted him… every bit of her wanted him but she didn't want to seem like she couldn't live without him.
She didn't want to look like some clingy woman who had lost control of herself.
No, she was a Mage General, one of the strongest Awakeners in the nation.
She couldn't let herself act like some teenage girl around Lucius… she was older than him.
'I'll just calm myself down,' she told herself. She straightened her back, took a slow breath, and tried to focus on something else.
But no matter how hard she tried, her eyes wandered back to him.
Lucius was sitting across from her, one arm draped casually over the back of the couch.
