Theo hadn’t finished what he had wanted to say. What was his main concern? Was he jealous because he thought I might join the Gods’ orgies or did he mean something else? Was he worried that the enemy was going to approach me and that I couldn’t help myself, being a wordsmith and all?
I felt a little frustrated because deep down I had hoped he knew I would never betray him.
I checked my bag one last time before closing it. Workout clothes, in case I needed to bleed off frustration. Practical clothes for informal settings. And beneath it all, carefully wrapped, the gowns that had arrived the day before.
Those were what I looked forward to most.
I’d chosen the fabrics weeks ago at the dressmaker’s, back when plans for the capital were still taking shape. Even then, I’d known they would be beautiful, but I hadn’t beenprepared for how they made me feel. I couldn’t remember another moment in my life when I had felt quite so stunning.
Lythandra had gone with me, utterly at ease in her own skin. We drank champagne, laughed until our cheeks hurt, and somewhere between fittings it struck me how much I’d missed that simple intimacy, having a friend to talk to, to share an afternoon with.
For most of my life, I’d never lacked for company. I made friends easily, collected acquaintances wherever I went. There were always stories to trade, always laughter close at hand. Even at the Nest, I’d found real friendships among the women who worked for Madame Celestine.
Coming home had been different.
Life here had moved on without me. My old friends had families now, routines, small worlds I no longer fit into. I became the odd one out, slipping quietly into a pattern of work and sleep, keeping my head down and my past buried.
So something as simple as shopping with a friend meant more to me than I’d expected.
As I closed my bag, a strange, fragile feeling settled in my chest. It felt like I was beginning to find myself again, the person I’d been before everything went wrong. Before the mistakes. Before I came home to hide.
Taking the bag and my dresses in one arm, I glanced back into the room. A strange sense of foreboding overcame me, as if my return wasn’t certain. I pushed the thought away and went downstairs, where the others were already waiting. A group of sentinels would travel ahead with our luggage, and I was to travel with Lythandra and Malek.
I was just about to step onto the Pathway, when Theo called out, “Mae, you are coming with me.”
Malek and Lythandra looked at each other, but didn’t say anything. Along with the others they disappeared, and Theo and I were the only ones left. I stepped towards him, grabbing the lapels of his robe so we could travel the Pathways together, making sure not to touch him any more than necessary. A swirl of light erupted around us and the veil was pulled over us.
We were traveling slower than usual. Either Theo was controlling the speed to make it easier for me, or the fact that so many people were traveling at the same time slowed down the Luminaris.
Theo stopped and turned to me. We held each other’s gaze, the space between us heavy, crowded with everything we refused to give voice to. Words hovered and went unused, left to dissolve in the quiet.
Some things, we both knew, could not be fixed by saying them aloud.
He stepped closer.
Then closer still, until there was barely a breath between us. Heat bled through the thin barrier of our clothes. I caught the familiar scent of him, wood and leather and my lungs filled on instinct.
His breath brushed my cheek.
When I lifted my eyes, his were already closed, his control pulled tight as a wire.
We stayed that way as the world carried on around us, close enough that the smallest movement would have undone us both.
“We are almost there,” Theo announced gruffly and stepped back from me. This was my last chance to speak to him alone without the risk of being overheard.
“You wanted to ask me for a favor the other night and I didn’t have the chance to tell you that you will never have to ask me to be loyal to you. And I hope that, whatever happens in the future, you will never forget that.”
I couldn’t be certain, but there was a brightness in Theo’s eyes that hadn’t been there before—something dangerously close to tears. We came to a halt, the veil still drawn tight around us.
“Can the others see us?” I asked.
He shook his head.
I rose slowly onto my toes and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. His stubble was scratchy underneath my lips, and he smelled heavenly. For a fleeting, selfish moment, I wished the world would leave us there.
When I stepped back, his eyes met mine.
They shone the way they had on the field with Ignara, when his power had burned unchecked—but this time there was no magic in it. Only feeling.
