The truth tasted sweet on my tongue, like fresh rain. I might have helped Aiden escape prison so I could get in his good graces, but saving Ruru and helping Garyth’s family flee the city were born of a desire to help, not harm.
A desire Aiden praised me for while Renwell punished me.
I swallowed hard. “Should we check the other inns? See if a room opened up?”
He shook his head. “I asked the bartender, and he said it was likely no one would be leaving this late.” He slung his pack to the ground. “But he did lend me a tent and a bedroll.”
Atent.Abedroll. Did he expect us to share?
“I’ve never spent the night in a tent,” I said, my voice uneven.
He smiled up at me as he unpacked. “It’s fairly easy. If you know what you’re doing. Unless... you don’t feel safe?”
There seemed to be another question hiding underneath his words. We were truly alone out here, but he wasn’t worried about that. He was worried about the danger I might feel between us.
But, despite everything that awaited us back in Aquinon, being with him outside the city was where I felt safest of all.
“This is the only place I want to be right now,” I whispered. “With you.”
“You stole the very thought from my mind, little thief.”
A silence stretched between us again, but this one was like the rope in his hands—taut, rough, burning against the skin.
Thunder rolled above us in the night sky, which was mostly hidden by the canopy of trees.
“I should raise the tent before it rains,” he murmured, gazing up at me from his knees.
The look on his face—raw, unrestrained hunger—tied my tongue in knots. It was how he’d looked at me during the heist. And on the Temple roof. Like his control was hanging by a thread.
Mine was fraying faster than my heartbeat.
“I—I have to... er...” I gestured wildly in the direction ofThe Twisted Tailand bolted from the clearing.I used their lavatory with shaking hands and tried to calm myself down.
But I couldn’t. Iwantedhim to look at me at like that. Iwantedhim to steal my control.
I wantedhim.
By the time I returned, Aiden had the tent up and ready with a thick blanket rolled into it. The white canvas tent was hardly tall enough for me to stand up in, let alone Aiden, and wide enough for two people to lie side by sideveryclose together.
My cheeks warmed as I looked up at him.
He brushed his knuckles over my cheek and sighed. “Get some sleep, Kiera. I’ll keep watch outside.”
“We can share it,” I blurted out. “The tent, I mean. You need sleep too, Aiden.”
He hesitated, the darkness making it difficult to decipher his expression. But there was no misunderstanding the warm growl in his voice. “Sleep is the last thing I need right now.”
Delicate chills coated my skin. “Then I’ll keep watch with you.”
“Come with me a moment.” His fingers twined with mine. “I want to show you something.”
I allowed him to lead me away from the tent, stepping over winding roots and between bushes.
Thunder rippled once more, and the air grew warmer, but we walked on.
“Look,” Aiden whispered. “Just there.”
I glanced to where he pointed. A golden spark floated through some bushes, then died. But then another flared. And another and another.
