“Not sleeping, just debating.
There was actually something odd about the way he looked.”
I messaged back and told him about the smeared golden hands that I had seen and most importantly, Veridus had seen. And from the look in Veridus’ eyes, he had known exactly who these hands belonged to.
Theo did not respond, and I started pacing the room. Had I said too much? Was he just now confronting the God of Lies about our exchange?
To my relief, a note from Theo appeared on my nightstand.
“He won’t be a problem.
He might be a trickster, but he can be trusted to keep his mouth shut.”
That was all he had to say? He must have understood the significance of what I had seen, didn’t he? I knew he was quite literally innocent, but surely he must have realized that Veridus’ hands represented everything I desired? I grabbed my quill once again.
“Is that all that you are going to say about this?”
His response came quickly.
“What else do you want me to say, Maelis?
That my hands would have looked just like that
if you hadn’t stepped out of the veil this morning?
That I wished my paint was smeared all over your body and not just on my hands?
That I paint myself every day to remind myself not
to look at you for too long because I know
I am so dangerously close to risking everything
just to be able to touch you just once?”
My chest felt impossibly tight, and my legs kicked under the duvet as if they had a life of their own. Every word he sent made me want to laugh, squeal, and melt all at once. Dangerous territory, I reminded myself, but I couldn’t stop. I was completely, absurdly, addicted to him, trying and failingto resist at the same time.
“You know that I feel the same way, don’t you?
I ache to touch you, kiss you, be in your arms.”
I sent off the letter, practically holding my breath to see what he’d say in return. I was pacing my room, forgotten was the tiredness I had felt earlier. A letter appeared and seconds later another flooded in.
The first one read:
“You are making it difficult for me
to follow the conversation, wordsmith.”
The second one simply said:
“You should go to sleep.”
But Fates, he had no idea how far I was from sleep, and I’d meant to tell him. Then… I changed my mind.
“You are right, you should go back to your conversation.”
His response came quickly.
