I dug my hand into his hair, and water from the wash slickened my fingers when I tugged at the roots. A low moan rumbled into his kiss. He parted my lips with his tongue, greedy and possessive. He claimed me, marking me with his mouth, his teeth, his hands.
When he dipped his chin to break the kiss, he pressed his forehead to mine, our breaths tangling.
Roark lifted a hand.You were missing.
“I was looking for you.” I traced the edge of his lip. “Youwere missing.”
His eyes brightened with a new heat that was frightening and intoxicating all at once.
You went to town, Lyra.
“You saw?”
I was told. Then I could not find you. Roark shook his head, letting his hand drop to his side.
Tears burned. I blinked them away. “I couldn’t stay. Not…not after what happened. Watching you go, watching everyone go, I couldn’t stay because…”
How was I to explain any of it? Would Roark think me mad? He was hateful at our first meet; to return to indifference and duty felt like a dreary feat I didn’t want to risk.
He tilted my chin, forcing me to look at him.Tears? What must I do to return them to your eyes?
Emotion, fear, and unknowns I’d kept buried broke. My forehead dropped to his chest, against the even beat of his heart. Silent sobs shuddered down my spine. Roark tightened his embrace, holding me close to his body.
He did not try to speak. He let me stumble, and caught me in the end.
“I don’t know how to explain any of it.”
Roark slipped his fingers through mine, and led me into his disordered room. If he had any embarrassment he didn’t let on, merely sat me on the edge of his bed, and lowered to a crouch in front of me. He opened his hand, signaling for me to speak.
A tear landed on my cheek. He wiped it away with his thumb. “There…was a reason Skul Drek was in my chamber. It was not our first interaction.”
I chose my words carefully and described what happened whenever I melded, of the hunt for the Wanderer’s bones. I told him how the assassin insisted there were four pieces to the armor buried across the lands. Perhaps one was here. Roark listened as I described the roar of craft, even while melding a fealty shard. I told him of the rotted mirror land, the cold and shadows, the moments when the phantom of Skul Drek appeared.
I used the heel of my hand to wipe another rogue tear away. “I don’t know if he is man or illusion, but he has power. I cannothelp but shoulder the blame of what happened tonight. I killed a man with Skul Drek, Roark. Gods, what you must think of me.”
Roark shook his head, lifting my hand and pressing a kiss into the center of my palm, before he replied.You survived. Nothing more.
I scoffed. “Roark, I knew he could attack. Whenever there is a soul bone taken, he will take a soul in its place. He will kill. I should’ve taken the threat with more care.”
Roark placed both his palms on my thighs, gently rubbing them, and I told of my part in the death of the Berserkir.
“I broke him apart.” My voice trembled, but I bit back any more tears. “Instead of fighting Skul Drek, I helped him kill one of our own.”
Roark rose to his feet and drove his fingers through his hair. He shook his head.I despise soul bones.
It wasn’t the response I expected. Truth be told, I considered his devotion to his duty as Sentry might’ve overshadowed any feelings he’d developed for me. I wondered if he would drag me off to confess before the king.
I tangled my fingers in my lap. “Is that why you refuse to be melded?”
The power alters a living soul. Roark kicked at the leg of the wardrobe and kept pacing, his gestures frantic with anger.They corrupt, Lyra. Sometimes they amplify goodness if the fallen soul had strong honor, but if the soul lived in darkness, the new soul grows hateful. They become King Damir’s monsters.
The Berserkir was prepared to slaughter a child. He’d practically beamed at the sight of little Krisjan, helpless and vulnerable.
“But Prince Thane isn’t all that changed.”
I tried to choose a bone that did not feel heavy with hate. But it was still a risk. Same with Darkwin. I selected carefully.
“You can sense a soul?”
