I raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”
“No,” he said. “It’s a choice.”
My breath caught. “That sounds suspiciously like commitment.”
He laughed softly. “I suppose it does.”
“And you’re okay with that?” I asked.
“I am.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because whatever comes next, I want to face it with you.”
“That might be the most romantic thing anyone’s ever said to me.”
He grinned. “I’ll try not to make a habit of it.”
“Too late, but it is a nice feeling like I have someone in my corner.”
“I’ll always be in your corner.”
“You’re not afraid of this?” I asked. “Of everything that comes with me?”
He chuckled softly. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t cautious, but afraid? No.”
I playfully swatted him, and he kissed me without warning before slowly breaking away.
“I like who you are, warlock.”
His grin was slow and unmistakably pleased. “Good. I was hoping so.”
“I didn’t think I’d ever find this,” I said after a moment. “
“Neither did I,” he replied. “But I’m glad we did.”
I turned my head toward him, meeting his gaze. “So am I.”
The idea of what came next didn’t scare me because whatever it was, I knew one thing for certain.
I wouldn’t be facing it alone.
Chapter Thirty-Five
The Academy chose the auditorium that morning.
I knew that because it always did.
Chose, I mean.
It was up to follow its latest whim.
The space revealed itself only when it wanted to be used, when whatever needed to happen inside it had reached a certain inevitability.
I’d only seen this room a handful of times before, not out of neglect or lack of curiosity, but because the Academy simply hadn’t opened that door very often.
Hallways that normally curved away from it now straightened. A set of double doors appeared where there had been nothing but stone the night before, their surfaces etched with old sigils that caught the light like dew.
