The voice comes from the shadows at the right end of the ledge.
I spin, chest stutters.
Talen steps into view from around the turret, unfolding from a lazy lean as if he’d been waiting there all along. The ledge widens where he stands, giving him room to lounge like it’s his throne, his golden talisman flicking through his fingers in smooth, restless arcs.
All week I’ve been burying the memory of that kiss, shoving it down, locking it away. But the second my eyes land on him, it slams back into me, full force, breath-stealing and sharp. And for one awful, traitorous second, I swear I can still feel the drag of his hand in my hair.
“Thought maybe you’d stood me up,” he says, “Outerlanders do love running away from things after all... Shame though, I was almost looking forward to chasing you down.” His gaze drags over me and the crooked smile that follows should come with a fucking warning sign. “So are you going to come over here and join me or what?”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Talen doesn’t move, just stays leaning against the wall. Arms crossed, one boot hooked over the other. Like the stone beneath him isn’t lined with blood and secrets.
He’s in his patrol whites, god, I hate those whites. I’ve seen them cut through crowds like scalpels—no warning, no sound. Just clean uniforms and cleaner disappearances. People gone, families erased. Like they were never there at all.
Part of me wants to rip it off him, tear that spotless smugness straight from his skin. Then I catch the thought,what’s underneath?Heat flares up my neck before I can shut it down. I pivot, quick, like if I move fast enough the wind might scrape it off my skin, and reach for the door again.
Locked, still, of course it is.
Behind me, boots scrape against stone, I whip around. Talen’s standing up right now, head cocked.
“It locks from the inside.” His voice is smug, like he’s delivering the punchline of a joke I haven’t figured out yet. “The only way down is over here.”
Perfect. I just wanted to get this meeting over and done with, get some answers and figure out what he wants. But now I’mlocked out, trapped five floors up with one pathetic little railing between me and a straight drop to the stone path that rings the Citadel below.
I glance down and immediately regret it. The path below ripples like it’s breathing. A wave of vertigo hits, hard and sudden. My stomach lurches, and my legs go light.
“I’m not coming over there,” I snap. “What’s stopping you from just pushing me off? You can hear me just fine from here. And seriously what kind of meeting spot is this? Why drag me all the way up here?”
Talen shrugs, casual like he’s got nowhere better to be. “Wasn’t sure how you’d act after our lastinteraction. So I figured, for our first date some privacy might be safer.”
“This isn’t a date.”
“Come over here and we can debate that properly.” He challenges, lifting a brow.
“I’m perfectly fine right here.”
“Suit yourself.” He replies, then steps back around the turret and disappears from view.
Goddammit. I thought I had the upper hand. Thoughtheneededme. And now I’m standing on this narrow balcony with nothing but wind, stone and an empty ledge winding around the Citadel beside me.
I want answers. I need answers, but I want to do it without him seeing how fucking scared of heights I am. He can’t see that. But I can’t just stand here. I need to move, I can’t let him see anything that looks like weakness.
“Fine…” I call out, voice flat. Controlled. “Fine. I’ll come to you.”
Slowly, he reappears. “I promise the view from this side is worth it, and the company isn't half bad either.”
“Doubt it.” I inhale, slow and shallow, swinging my legs over the low balcony railing, boots hitting stone as I drop on to thenarrow ledge that runs around the side of the building towards him.
Okay. I can do this. I do stuff like this. I’ve walked tighter lines. The Ravine, the wall, but the difference is, there I’m looking up, focused.... Here, I can see everything below me, every window, every level, every goddamn way to die.
Slow and steady, one hand still braced on the balcony railing behind me, I shift forward an inch. Spine straight, mask locked tight. The ledge is barely a foot wide, but solid, no real risk of falling. Iknowthat. My brain, apparently, doesn’t. So as I let go of the railing the world tilts. Vertigo slams into me like a punch to the chest, legs buckle. The entire building shifts sideways, or maybe that’s just me. Heart racing, I drop back on to the railing behind me, hands digging into metal, fuck.
“No, really?” Talen calls over, far too pleased with himself. “Didn’t peg a thorn like you would be scared of falling.”
“I’m not,” I grind out. “It's the height.”
“Do I need to come and carry you across?”
