He glanced around, his silver eyes darting from building to building, courtyard to balcony, scanning for whoever might be watching. Who had seen.
No one was to be found. Nearly all were at the lunar ceremony, and the few who were not were seemingly elsewhere.
Draikis’s hand grazed Ella’s again, remaining in contact a long moment, this time without the reaction of surprise, but rather a lingering curiosity.
He has to feel that. There’s no way it’s just me.
His hand moved away a moment later, only to brush against her again and again as they progressed, their arms now rubbing against one another as well, the pair drawn together as if by some form of magnetic attraction.
They walked like that in silence for several minutes, close but not too close, finally exiting the gates and making their way into the nearby woods, following the trail that led them out of sight of the compound even from the highest vantage point. It was then their hands slid together, palm to palm, fingers interlaced as naturally as breathing.
And this time he did not pull back.
Ella felt a wave of joy flood her body, their energy flowing between them as they walked hand-in-hand, savoring whatever this was. This connection. This natural closeness they’d developed that was so much more than just friendship. And her Infala rune? It was absolutely churning with strange sensations, all of them ramping up her attraction to newfound heights.
“I wasn’t always a priest, you know,” he said, breaking the long silence.
“Well, I figured you were a kid at some point.”
He chuckled. “There was that too, of course. But I meant as an adult. A man.”
“You had a life. It’s normal, Draikis.”
“Yes and no. You see, my joining the order was a little more than a simple choice made by a devout follower of the Norvalian ways.”
“Oh? A man of mystery, are you?”
He squeezed her hand, a faraway look in his eyes. “More than you know. I came to the order not exactly of my religious beliefs. I never intended to become a Norvalian.”
“What changed?”
“I-I had something of an unsettling past.”
Ella felt the shift in his energy, his tone more serious. He was opening up.Trulyopening up to her in a way that felt more intimate than words could convey. Her stomach twisted with the fluttering of butterflies struggling to escape.
“You were a bad boy? Is that what you’re saying?” she asked, joking in words but serious and respectful in her tone.
“I had a reputation, yes.”
“Interesting. There’s a lot more to you than meets the eye, Draikis.”
“You have no idea.”
“So tell me. What’s this big secret lurking behind that handsome face? Are you a bank robber? Or a playboy? Or a murderer?”
She felt him tense at that last one.
Shit.
Draikis took a deep breath, held it a long moment, then slowly let it out, his shoulders sagging slightly as he did.
“I have killed men, yes,” he said, measuring his words carefully.
“They were bad guys, though, right?”
He let out a low sigh. “Whether or not they deserved it does not matter. What does matter is I have taken lives. More than once. And I enjoyed it, at least for a time. And I wasgoodat it.”
“I-I don’t know what to say.”
