Cassian cataloged the rebellion in his eyes and responded by settling in closer. He swept down and grazed his lips along the side of Finnian’s neck.
Warmth kindled in Finnian’s bloodstream.
Cassian’s breath fanned over his collarbones, traveling down to his waistband. He pulled the hem of Finnian’s shirt up with his teeth, dragging his chin over his abdomen.
Finnian’s breath sped up. Tingles scurried up his spine.
He ground his jaw, glowering over Cassian’s knuckles plastered over his mouth.
As if he could sense Finnian’s eyes on him, he lifted his hooded gaze, a sly determination twinkling within it.
“All—have—swallow,” he said against Finnian’s stomach.
All you have to do is swallow.
Heat blossomed in his lower belly, nearly forcing him to draw in a breath through his mouth.
Cassian lowered his lips down on the side of Finnian’s torso. Gooseflesh spread across his skin. A stroke of Cassian’s tongue over the ridges of his ribcage. A wet, staggering kiss, teeth bruising?—
A tremor zapped down into Finnian’s groin. The tense muscles of his throat gave way and the potion poured down his esophagus.
He gasped and coughed as he gulped it down. Defeat gnawed at his insides—a feeling that never dissolved well. One that would eventually harden into bitterness.
Satisfied, Cassian released his wrists and stepped down from the altar. One hand smoothed back his disheveled strands.
Finnian stared up at the glimmering firelight on the onyx ceiling with the burning of blood beating fiercely in his skull.
A feverish heat surged in his blood. Every nerve ending in his body tingled from Cassian’s touch. Desire formoreflooded his cheeks. The touch of the person he hated the most.
The contents of the potion bubbled in his stomach. A harrowing reminder of how he was now bound to Cassian.
A fresh wave of fury roared through him, the intensity sending quivers down his limbs.
He ripped up and threw his arm out, siphoning the energy residing in the ancient walls of the temple.
7
FIREFLIES
Cassian
The Past
They walkeduntil the lights of the city became speckles masquerading in the night behind them. The stone path at their feet turned to dirt, branching off between small cottages and farmlands on the outskirts of Augustus and leading them into a lush landscape of aged oak trees. Wildflowers decorated the soil between their twisted roots.
“I wouldn’t suppose you are leading me out into the middle of nowhere to dispose of me, are you?” Cassian rubbed his thumb and index finger together at his side, a ploynotto put his hand inside the confined space of his front pocket.
Finnian gave him a sidelong glance with a hint of a grin playing at the corner of his mouth. “I suppose you will find out soon enough.”
Cassian smiled to himself, peering ahead through the streaks of moonlight piercing the branches and glinting off the water. The tranquil lapping of a nearby stream harmonized with thecall of frogs and crickets. He inhaled the musky, stale scent of the earth, ravishing in the cool air.
“It is nice,” Cassian said without thinking. “To walk and breathe in the fresh air.” It was a task he had spent years trying to do, unsuccessfully—even with the graceful guidance of Nathaira, or with the maddening need for release to ease his stress.
“I am happy to provide such pleasures.” Finnian pointed ahead. “Do you see?”
Above the stream and scattered amongst the forest were brief flickers of light. Smaller than raindrops. A fleeting glow disappearing and reappearing a few feet from where it previously was.
“Fireflies,” Finnian said with a pinch of enthusiasm. “I find them incredibly fascinating. They do not appear in the city, but only in places our light does not touch.”
