“Explain what’s happening.” He tilts his chin downward. “You look pale.”
“I’m nervous.”
“Anyone would be,” he says gently.
“What happens if I can’t convince them to help me? I’ve been standing here, trying to figure out what to say, and I can’t think of anything that doesn’t make me look inexperienced or desperate.”
“You are inexperienced and desperate.”
I glare at him. “Not helpful.”
“Then what do you want to hear from me, Catalina?”
“All I want is for our people to have their homes again, with a queen they recognize. An Illustrian who will look after them.” I avert my gaze from his. This next part is hard to say. “I don’t want anyone’s deaths to have been in vain. What will happen if they turn me away?”
“You will figure out what to do next.”
“How do you know?”
A faint smile softens his mouth. “You thought ofthisscheme, didn’t you?”
“I would never have gotten this far without you.”
His smile stretches into a grin. “That’s very true.”
“Can I ask you a question?”
Instantly his expression sobers. “What?”
“Do you really think I’m inexperienced and desperate?”
He nods, and my shoulders slump. I turn away, but pause when his next words come, in nearly a whisper. “But that’s notallI think.”
I wait, holding my breath. “How else would you describe me?”
Manuel ponders my question, the silence stretching between us. I keep my attention on a particularly gnarled root grazing the wall.
“Brave,” he says at last. “Determined. Intelligent. Unsure. Lost and angry. Sad, too, I think. But you hide it well.”
I raise my brows. He’s right, of course. I knew I was angry about the exile and the betrayal, but I didn’t realize the weight of my sadness until he pointed it out. I miss Ximena. Not the decoy, or the warrior. I miss my friend.
I swallow hard and slowly face him. “You see all of that, huh?”
Manuel nods.
I draw closer, and his warm brown eyes darken with an emotion I recognize because I’m feeling it too—longing. A sharp wisp of desire pierces my heart. He slowly dips his head, his attention solely on my mouth.Finally.Three long years of hoping and wishing for this moment. His lips are whisper soft against mine. The slightest brush of his mouth.
He pulls away, and we stare at each other in amazement. I stand on my tiptoes, wanting more, but he stiffens at the sound of approaching footsteps, his gaze flickering over my shoulder. Chaska comes back into view. I hastily drop my heels back onto the ground, my cheeks flushing.
The corners of her mouth turn downward.
Manuel draws away from me, a little line forming between his brows. The Illari tracker stares us down, holding herself rigidly, not even attempting to hide her disapproval. A flare of annoyance spreads within me. I shoot Manuel a quick, puzzled look. I can’t understand the Illari seer’s reaction to us.
He gives me a reassuring smile, and then addresses the Illari. “Lead the way.”
Chaska nods once, and gestures for us to continue following the long, curving path of the cavern. As we brush past her, she says, “I’d like a word with you, ranger.”
Manuel stops, his brows rising. “With me?”
