“Thank you for listening,” she said softly.
“Well, it was my turn to ask all of the questions for once.” Rynn leaned back against the wall next to her. They sat in a comfortable silence, his arms crossed over his chest while hers were still wrapped around her knees. She drank in his solid presence, unable to stop from chuckling at how much of a turn their night had taken.
“What is so funny?” he asked.
“I was ready to bite your head off earlier, and now look at us.” She nudged his arm with her elbow. He smiled, but it faded quickly.
“About the other day,” he said. “I don’t think I have apologized yet. I know I have been distant. I just…” he trailed off and shook his head, the tendons on his neck standing out as he shifted his jaw.
“Is the all-powerful God of Air speechless?” she asked playfully.
He raised an eyebrow. “For the hundredth time, I am not a god. But it seems”—he looked at her, and she was surprised to see a soft vulnerability—“that you often have that effect on me.”
Her cheeks reddened, and her heart skipped a beat or two.
He ran his fingers through his hair and continued stiffly. “I should not have tried to control you. That was out of line.”
Isla toyed with her bottom lip. “It felt like you weren’t listening to me, and that’s what frustrated me the most. I wanted you to let me handle it.”
He paused for a moment, and Isla could practically see him working through the words in his head, trying to find what best conveyed his thoughts. “It can be difficult for me to let go of control when I feel that someone I care about is in danger. I thought I was doing what needed to be done.”
She frowned. “But I wasn’t in danger, Rynn. Hamil wouldn’t hurt me. I told you it was okay, and you ignored me.”
“I know that now, but at the time…perhaps my pride got in the way.” He sighed. “I don’t know what we will face going forward, but I will do better to respect your wishes, Isla.” His hand gently came out to wrap a finger around one of her red curls.
“Oh, and there is one more thing,” he said.
“Hmm?” she responded, her eyes still on the finger playing with her hair.
“I will not apologize for killing those men who attacked you that day.”
She looked at him, puzzled by the change in conversation.
“Earlier, you asked me about the pact the other elementals made to not harm humans unless it was absolutely necessary. You said you did not think avenging you was enough reason to break that.” His gaze suddenly became too heavy. She turned back to staring at her knees and bit her fingernail.
“Isla, look at me.” His finger came out and pressed under her chin, forcing her to face him. “You are absolutely enough.”
Her breath caught in her throat, and her chest felt like it would burst at the confidence he had in her, at the significance of his words.
“It’s getting late,” he whispered after a moment.
She nodded, unable to speak as he lifted himself from the ground and walked to his pile of blankets and pillows across the cave. It took everything in her not to call out and ask him to stay with her once more. That night had surely been a one-time occurrence, only acceptable because of her traumatic experience with the dark god. If she asked him to stay again, not out of fear and discomfort but out of desire, it would be crossing an invisible line, altering their entire relationship. She wasn’t sure if she was ready for that.
So while her hands itched to wrap around his waist, to fall asleep with her head on his shoulders, to hear his breaths echoing beneath her, she instead curled up under her cold blankets, wishing for someone to keep her warm.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Aidan
Aidanstoodinfrontof the door with his arms crossed, irritation running through him. He was a fearless leader, the wielder of fire, invincible and unstoppable.
So why was he afraid of this door?
Or rather, what was behind the door—his beautiful sea temptress, who haunted his every thought.
He’d been pacing the door to her room at the Snapdragon for fifteen minutes, at war with himself over whether or not he should enter. What had happened between them in that dark little cave in the mountains had occupied his mind all day. They’d been searching for any signs of the prophecy like they were supposed to, but then things…took a turn.
Aidan wasn’t even sure how it had started. One moment, their fingers had brushed while wiping away dirt from the rock wall, and the next Kai’s hands had been running down his back as he pressed her against the stone, his tongue tasting her like she was the only thing keeping him alive.
