I turn to him again to see him smiling. I smile back. “That was amazing, Ozias. Thank you for your time.”
“Was that so hard?”
My gaze flicks down between us. “Could have been harder.”
His nose wrinkles in a faux growl, and he snatches me around the waist to draw me into him. “You’re a menace.”
“One that has the ability to take power from others.”
“A nightmare, then.”
My heart skips a beat. Zhoric said the same and now I’m thinking about him. I can’t. Ican’t. I tug on Ozias’s power to tether me here. I have to stay here tonight. Bile creeps up my throat at the thought of seeing Zhoric now after being with Ozias like this.
Ozias seems to sense my mind unease and he presses a kiss to my mouth. One that’s gentle, but that I quickly turn fevered. He doesn’t question it. He doesn’t stop me. He simply lets me take.
And so I do.
Dawns early tendrils seep into Ozias’s room. He’s asleep, laid out on his back, chest bare. As beautiful as he is, and as wonderful as our night together was, there’s a sour twist in my stomach. I move slowly, trying not to rouse him from sleep as I slip out from between the sheets, dress silently, and pad across the room. Once in the receiving hall, I breathe easier and move swifter. It’s the way I always end my night with someone I’ve been intimate with. My mind shuts off during the act, but once my partner has fallen asleep, it resumes running, putting off rest until my body can’t stand being awake another moment.
Down the stairs, I stop short.
“Atlanta,” I say, startling at seeing her up and about so soon after her injury.
She looks at me, a quick up and down. “Ozias—” I wait for her to continue, but that’s all she says.
“He’s asleep,” I say. She turns her head.
“I’ll come back another time.” She pivots and bounds down the steps.
“Atlanta,” I call after her, but she doesn’t stop.
“Atlanta,” I call again, moving faster to catch up with her, placing my hand on her shoulder. “Are you well?”
“I am. Thank you.”
She isn’t, but I can’t guess why she won’t say. “Your wounds?”
“Nearly healed already,” she says, barely turning herhead to answer over her shoulder.
“Are you…certain?”
She sighs and nods emphatically. “Yes. I’m sorry. I was hoping to see Ozias. I didn’t realize how early it was.”
I cast a glance out the nearest window, noting the dim light of dawn. “Of course.”
I feel her take in a steady breath, then she faces me fully. “And you? Are you all right?”
“Fine. Thank you, for yesterday. You put yourself at risk saving me.”
“It was nothing.”
“It wasn’t,” I argue. “I owe you.” There’s a pregnant pause between us where I want to say more—I want to tell Atlanta about my omission. Even though Ozias has his reservations, he respects her a great deal. I wonder if now is the time, but she still seems shaken from last night and the words die on my tongue. “I’ll see you later?”
She holds my gaze for a moment, a flicker of disappointment crossing her features. “Of course. Get some rest.”
Suddenly I realize she must know, or at least have guessed. She knows more than anyone about the power of mind walking. At some point in her own journey, she hid this very thing from others, too. She’s just waiting for me to tell her. “Atlanta?” I call after her.
She stops again and turns.
