The appetite.
Right.
We're not going to discuss how enthusiastically I participated in last night's activities.
We're definitely not going to acknowledge that I may have been the one who suggested certain... variations.
I pout.
The expression forms automatically, embarrassment manifesting as the particular facial arrangement that apparently amuses him because his smirk only grows.
My cheeks grow red with heat that the still-burning flame in my palm has nothing to do with.
His expression softens.
"Ready?"
The question carries weight that extends beyond simple inquiry about departure timing.
I cut the flame off.
The fire disappears from my palm with the particular ease of control that I've been developing—not extinguished so much as released, magic returning to reserves that feel fuller than they've ever been.
I look at our reflection in the mirror.
Two figures standing together—him in his dark suit, me in my enchanted uniform, both of us carrying evidence of circumstances that have changed us and connections that have strengthened us.
"Nervous as fuck," I whisper.
The admission escapes before conscious thought can filter it through dignity or pride.
He takes my hand.
His fingers intertwine with mine with the particular strength that has come to meansafetyin my consciousness—grip that promises he's not letting go, connection that reminds me I'm not facing whatever comes next alone.
He lifts my hand to his lips.
The kiss he presses to the back of my fingers carries tenderness that contradicts the darkness he usually projects—softness that he reserves for moments like this, for me specifically.
"Unraveling who you are and where you come from is always nerve-racking," he murmurs against my skin.
His void-dark eyes meet mine with intensity that makes my chest ache in the best possible way.
"But at least we get to do it all together," he continues.
His thumb traces circles against my palm.
"At our own pace, right?"
Our own pace.
Finally.
After three years of survival mode.
After trials designed to kill us.
After revelations that changed everything we thought we understood.
