Her skin is flushed pink, still glowing from the aftermath.
She would give him this?
I’ve waited for her. Held back. Never touched another in hopes that one day she would find me and be my first and only. And she...
Claws sink into my palms, blood wells hot against the frost spreading uncontrollably from my skin.
“You've never—” I clench my jaw. “You vaelis’thrae... for him?”
Her brows furrow, “What... what does that mean?”
She flinches, but I’m already moving. I stalk closer to the edge of the tub, towering over her.
My shadow swallows her whole.
“For him?” I repeat.
“Andrik, ” her voice is smaller than usual. “I—I didn’t know. I thought it was you?—”
“I would’ve earned that, Lumi. I would’ve waited a thousand more winters if it meant I got to earn that part of you.”
I grip the edge of the tub until it creaks under my hands.
“That sound you made at the end? That broken, beautiful cry?”
I press a hand to my chest.
“I felt it in my soul.”
She wraps her arms around her chest.
Is she hiding herself from me?
She turns her head, not meeting my gaze. Like my eyes don’t belong on her anymore, like I'm no longer worthy of her bare skin.
My throat tightens.
Does she not want me now that he has touched a part of her I’ve only worshipped from afar?
“You were talking to me.” Her voice cracks. “Outside the tub. You told me to—” She cuts off, jaw trembling. “You told me to keep my eyes closed. That you wanted to play a game.”
Ice spreads faster now, splintering the light above the mirror until glass shatters, cascading over the vanity.
“I wasn’t in here, Lumi.” The words come out quietly. “I was asleep in our bed. Where you left me.”
“But—” She glances toward the window. The one I can now see is cracked open. I cross the room in two strides and slam it shut. Traced in the fogged glass are two initials?—
L + T.
My vision flashes red.Thal’kar veyn ves morath. (I will hunt him to the ends of the earth.)
I take a breath. Then another, before I walk back to her.
“Lumi.” My voice is hoarse. “I need you to tell me exactly what happened.”
She shakes her head, pulling her knees to her chest. “I don’t—I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Please,” the word cracks out of me. “I need to understand.”
