Oakley shifted his weight slightly, hoping he was making it clear he was no threat to her.“No.”
She studied him, head tilting.“You’re watching.”
“Keeping presence,” he corrected.“There’s a difference.”
Something in her expression flickered—not trust, not suspicion.Interest.
She stepped forward, quiet as thought.“I’m Seris.”
He inclined his head.“Oakley.”
Her eyes flicked to the treeline behind him.“You’re not like the others, either.Not completely.”
His lips tilted slightly.“I’m special.”He was teasing her, flirting.Because how could he not?This stunning creature looked at him like he was the interesting one.
That earned him the faintest curve of her lips.Not exactly a smile.But close enough that it made him want to say something to see what one would look like on her lovely face.
Closer now, he could feel the thrum of her magic even before their breaths shared air, contained, disciplined, but not diminished.Chosen strength, not reactionary defense.
“They’re afraid this won’t last,” Seris said softly, watching her people.
“I don’t blame them,” Oakley answered before caution could stop him.“Peace is a tenuous thing in any race.”
That made her turn to him, interest sharpening.“So, we should be worried?”
He met her eyes, unflinching.“No.But you should be aware.Alert.”
The quiet that followed carried more weight than any argument could.The breeze lifted strands of her hair; light kissed the edges.
“Your appearance says you’re young,” she said, voice almost thoughtful.“But your eyes hold age, knowledge, pain.”
He blinked once.Oakley considered everything he’d been through since the death of his dark elf father, until just the other day, when the Chamber of Light and Dark was defeated and out stepped an entire new race.“I’ve seen a few things,” he admitted.“But, yes, I am young compared to the elves of this realm.Young doesn’t equal ignorant or inexperienced.”And there he was flirting again.If Elora had been here, she’d be giving him hell.
Her mouth pulled into something wry.“So, are you just here towatch, or are you willing to teach as well?”
His heartbeat picked up.Was she flirting back?Surely not.Did sheknowhow to flirt?She’d been in a freaking cave for centuries, probably staring into the darkness wondering if she’d ever have any other sort of existence.There was no way, now that she was free, in the light of day for the first time, that she’d actually be interested in the first guy she’d come in contact with.Did that mean Oakley was about to give another guy the chance to steal her attention?Not a chance in hell.He stepped closer to her, pleased that she didn’t back away.
For a long moment, neither of them spoke.The forest seemed to hush around them, listening.A single shaft of light slipped through the trees, breaking across her cheekbone and turning the shadows on her skin to moving silver.
“Teach,” Oakley repeated, as if testing the weight of the word.“That depends on what you’re asking to learn.”
Her brows drew together slightly.“You’re cautious with your answers.”
“Experience has taught me caution keeps you alive,” he said.“And it keeps other people from thinking you’re an idiot.”
That earned him a quiet sound, not quite laughter, but the ghost of one.He realized he wanted to hear it again.
She tilted her head.“You think I need someone to keep me alive?”
“No,” Oakley said, mouth curving.“I think you might like someone to help you learn about this world, considering you were stuck in a cave for like, ever.”
Seris’s eyes narrowed, not in offense, but curiosity.“And you think you can help me learn?”
“I’ve been told I’m a pretty good study buddy,” he admitted.
That almost-smile returned—fleeting, dangerous, so exquisite it tripped something in his chest.
She glanced past him at the rest of the shadow elves, then back, as though measuring which mattered more: her people rediscovering freedom, or this conversation with a half-human who didn’t seem to know when to step back.“If I decide to learn,” she said slowly, “it will be from more than observation.”
