“That would be stupid, wouldn’t it?”
He raised an eyebrow as if that were not an answer. Did he really think that little of mortals—or of me in particular?
“No,” I answered crisply. “At the moment, I can’t imagine a compelling enough reason to drive me out into this city alone.”
Still, our surroundings were beautiful. It was darker than my village at night, as if all the city lights were tucked away beneath the high walls that sliced through the forest. Above us was a beautiful sky, a swirl of stars and purple. It felt as if the Fae had built the city within the forest, and I stepped over mushrooms that grew between the cracks of the cobblestones.
Had I missed these details when he brought me to his house? “Was this like this when we went to see Tay?”
“The city changes at night.”
“How old were you when you stopped being afraid to walk the streets at night?” I wanted to know about his childhood. I wanted to know everything about him.
“Next month, surely.”
He must be joking, but his face didn’t give him away.
We turned down a street where trees grew over the walls and arched above our heads, limbs tangled together as if they might never be separated. The leaves overhead whispered in the night breeze, and I couldn’t help straining to hear, as if there would be words threaded in their rustling.
“Are you shivering? Where’s the cloak I leant you?”
“Leant me? I thought you gave me your cloak.”
“I’m not trying to start another argument with you. As fun as I find our fights.” He caught my arm suddenly, as if he were pulling me out of danger, but I didn’t see what it was. A shine of the water covered the street and reflected the constellations above, which seemed to be moving too quickly, and my stomach turned in sudden nausea. “I just wanted to make sure you were warm.”
“It’s so much colder here than during the day,” I admitted.
He undid the clasp at his throat.
“I don’t want it,” I told him, raising my hand to halt him.
“Humor me.”
“Why?”
“If you think I’m a villain, why would you hesitate to take everything you can from me?”
“I’m not sure you’re a villain,” I admitted, and disbelief flashed over his face. Had I really managed to surprise the man who maneuvered all of us like so many game pieces? “I fear you’re something worse.”
“Do tell,” he purred, swinging his cloak around my shoulders. This one didn’t carry much weight, just a welcome, magical warmth…and his scent.
I reached up to grip it, but he was quicker; walking backward with uncanny ease, he latched it at my throat, his long, quick fingers working as easily as he handled a knife.
Something soared low overhead, darting too fast to see clearly, but it showered us in glowing dust. I ducked, and Fieran—now freckled with glowing specks—brushed something off my face with his thumb. “It’s all right. It’s harmless.”
“What’s the night market like?”
He gave me a knowing look. “Afraid to finish that thought? What am I, if not a villain?”
“I don’t want to hurt your feelings.”
“If that were true, you wouldn’t be rubbing Ander’s shoulder.”
I hadn’t beenrubbing.“Are you jealous?”
I’d asked in a teasing tone, but he said flatly, “Yes.”
“Why?”
