“Why?” she asked warily.
“Because it’s your life, and I like you however you choose to be.”
She stared at him in shock. They’d defend each other to the death, but words like that never fell from either of their lips. “Youlikeme?”
“I would’ve killed you by now if I didn’t.”
A snort burst out. “You think you could?”
He chuckled, his dark eyes smiling. “I’d find a way.”
His voice, part rough, part teasing, sent an odd ripple through her. “And I’d find a way to haunt you.” Because the thought of not seeing him every day made her stomach drop like an anchor.
He grimaced. “Well, that makes the whole idea less appealing.”
She pressed her lips together, not quite smiling. “You know, if you’d stayed in Thalyria like I told you to, I would’ve been…” She let her too-revealing sentence trail off. It was too hard to finish.
“Miserable without me? Lonely? Sad? Deprived of my beauty?”
She laughed without thinking. It jarred her wrists, but she ignored the ache that flashed up her arms. “You’re impossible.”
“That’s probably the nicest insult you’ve ever given me.” Carver picked up the pitcher. “Now, don’t move.” He poured more cold, clean water onto her bandages, letting the excess drip into the basin and roll toward her elbows.
“How can you be so normal?” she asked.
“One of us should be. It’s definitely not you.”
Making a face, she flicked a spark at him. “I meanactso normal. After…” She glanced toward her bedroom again. “That.”
“You’re alive. I’m alive.” He shrugged. “That’s all that matters in the end.”
“Even if we fail?”
He looked at her thoughtfully, a crease denting his forehead. “I don’t think we’ll fail, but even if we do, I’m not here for the mission, Bel. I’m here for you.”
Her new, sun-flare magic surged from deep within. She barely caught it before another disaster. Hints of redness still colored Carver’s face and arms. She’d never put him through that again. She swallowed, the awful loneliness she’d suffered on the beach after he walked away washing back over her. “I don’t know what to say to that.”
“That’s because you’re terrible with words.”
Her mood soured. “Always the charmer.”
“No, that’s not true.” He held up a finger as if to saywait for it. “You’re terrible withnicewords.”
“Thank you for the clarification. It wasn’t needed.”
His low laugh shouldn’t have sounded so appealing. “I meant what I said. Whatever version of yourself you want to show others is fine with me, as long as you’re justyouwhen it’s only us.” His face turned serious. “I wouldn’t change a thing about you.”
Bellanca’s heart cinched in her chest. Magic stirred inside her, and this time, she felt the difference between her usual fire and the new ability. One was a familiar friend, permeating her from top to bottom. The other felt like a star ready to incinerate anything passing by in the cosmos.
“Well, I would change a lot about you,” she grumbled, tamping down both powers. To her relief, the sun flare sitting low in her abdomen listened.
“Do tell.” Carver refreshed her bandages again. They’d been on long enough now for the coolness to really seep into her skin, layers deep. The burns felt surprisingly better.
“You have a terrible temper,” she said.
“I’m not the only one.”
“You’re too competitive.”
