That is most definitely a sight to behold.
“You are staring,” Starling whispered in his ear. “And how could you not? I would take a bite ofthatfruit.”
A growl rose from Nyte’s chest, ripping up his throat and forcing its way through his bared fangs. “Mine.”
His eyes widened when he realized what he’d said.
Ember turned to look his way. “Nyte?”
He jerked back, ducking out of her view and flattening himself against the wall. Licks of fire crackled outfrom his heart, pulsing through his chest and pooling in his stomach like scalding magma.
Starling lazily floated in the air nearby, one hand over her mouth and the rest over her stomach, her shoulders shaking as she silently laughed at him.
“Is everything okay?” Ember called.
He mouthed curses at the still laughing sprite before calling, “Yes, witch. No need to concern yourself.”
“Okay…”
When he heard the sound of utensils against the metal pan, relief flooded him, nearly making him sag against the wall.
“Well, well, well,” Starling said with a self-satisfied grin. “Youdowant our witchling.”
Glaring at her, he stalked away from the doorway, ensuring he would be out of Ember’s earshot, before turning to face the sprite. “Who or what I desire is of no consequence, you interloping miscreant.”
The sprite’s grin widened. “That was not a denial…”
He could only sharpen his glare.
Starling’s smile fell, and the glee faded from her eyes. Solemnity had ever been rare for her, and it was always jarring when she fell into it, even briefly. “She wished for you, Nyte. You did not hear the longing in her voice, the loneliness.”
“She didn’t wish for me, Starling. She wished for love.”
Starling shook her head. “Not just love.” She held out her upper right hand, and a glittering, starlike orb formed above it.
A voice echoed softly from the orb. Ember’s voice.“Starlight, starbright, first star I see tonight. I… I wish for love. A deep, abiding love. A love that’s unwavering, unconditional, that’s never judgmental. A love that feels…fated. Please, send me someone who I can forever trust with my heart.”
The orb disappeared, and Starling lowered her hand. “She wished for everything you have longed for. Everything thatshould have been yours, but was cruelly ripped away from you by that treacherous succubitch.”
Emotions roiled in Nyte’s chest, old, prickly emotions that had never fully gone to rest. Part of him feared they never would. He shook his head. “The only thing she ripped away was the pretense that any of it was real. That anything I felt was real.”
Though Starling was so small, the frown that tugged down her lips was huge. However frustrated he was with her, seeing that expression on her face clawed at Nyte’s heart.
She drew her upper hands in, placing them over her chest. “What you felt, what you feel, is real, Nyte. It ever has been.”
Oh, he knew some of it was genuine. The pain. The bitterness, the anger. Those emotions lived inside him, alive and well even after so long. But for the first time in centuries, they were overshadowed by something else, by something new. By his feelings for Ember.
The only question waswhatthose feelings were.
He released a slow, unsteady breath. These mood swings were like a pendulum, barreling back and forth without regard for anything else, ceaseless and exhausting.
Starling flitted closer and reached out, touching his cheeks. “You are my oldest and dearest friend, Nyte, and I want only what is best for you. I cannot bear to see you suffer in that pit any longer.”
“My pain need not be yours, Starling.”
“No, but it is all the same. Afford me this favor… Think upon what I have said. Think upon Ember’s wish. One cycle of the moon is so small a time for you to give when you have eternity.”
The corners of his lips curled up. “I will consider thinking upon your words.”
