Hanna looked up at me, her brow furrowed with concern that she didn’t need to have for the little menace. “Let him stay if he wants to,” she pleaded.
I shouldn’t have agreed. It blurred lines and it would complicate things. But her voice was gentle, and the bond tugged at me—soft, coaxing and far too dangerous for my peace of mind.
“Fine,” I said quietly. “But only for a couple hours.”
She smiled. Not big—just small, warm and grateful. It hit harder than it should have. I stepped back, needing space, distance, air—something.
“Goodnight, Hanna,” I whispered.
Her eyes softened as they met mine. “Goodnight, Savla.”
The bond pulsed again… once… twice… like it wanted to follow her inside. I turned before I could do something foolish. Ribbon croaked triumphantly behind me.
I didn’t look back because I knew that if I did, I wasn’t sure I’d leave.
Ribbon didnotcome home.
Not at midnight or at one in the morning when I climbed onto the roof to check if he was in my workshop, gnawing on the huge frog I’d been carving. Not at three, when I told myself I wasn’t pacing, I was… tidying.
By dawn, I gave up the illusion of sleep entirely. The sky had just started to lighten when I made my way back to Hanna’s apartment. Instead of the locked door I expected with everyoneasleep the way it should be, I saw something entirely else instead.
Ribbon was still sprawled across Hanna’s threshold, massive and smug, the ward-lights shimmering on his gray-green fur.
“I should’ve known,” I muttered. Hehatedbeing trapped inside an apartment and would have insisted that she leave the door open. But that wasn’tsafe. It was fine for me. I could protect myself. ButHanna—
Ribbon lifted his head, blinked once, then slowly—slowly—placed himself even more solidly across her doorway like a living boulder.The message was clear. He wasn’t leaving and he wasn’t lettingmethrough, either.
“Unbelievable,” I whispered. “You’re a toad, not an ancient ward stone.”
He croaked low and judgmental. Before I could argue with him further, my ears twitched at the sound of a door from inside the apartment opening. Probably Hanna’s bedroom. At least she’d had the common sense to keepthatclosed.
She stepped out, still half-asleep, wearing a familiar soft oversized shirt that fell off one shoulder and loose cotton shorts. Her hair was a tousled halo, and her eyelids were heavy with sleep. She blinked at me like she wasn’t entirely sure I was real.
Oh. No. This was dangerous. The gut-punch of how she looked in my shirt almost took me to the floor.
Gods, she looks like she would after a night in my bed.
“Savla?” she murmured, voice soft and warm from sleep. “What’re you doing here?”
I forced myself to look literally anywhere else but her bare shoulder.
“Ribbon didn’t come home,” I said, then immediately wished I sounded less… affected. “And I thought he would once you were sleeping.”
She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand. “He reallydidn’t leave?”
“No.” I gestured helplessly at the toad currently impersonating a very stubborn doorstop. “He’s… guarding.”
Ribbon croaked triumphantly, pressing closer to her leg. Hanna’s mouth curved into a sleepy smile as she scratched under his chin. “He’s sweet.”
“He’sa menace,” I corrected, crossing my arms so she couldn’t see how tense my hands were. “And this isn’t normal behavior.”
“It is with you,” she said, still stroking Ribbon’s head.
That sent a flicker of heat down my spine. I swallowed hard, looking away.
Ribbon suddenly shoved his enormous body against her, nearly knocking her off balance. I stepped forward without thinking, catching her by the elbow.
Her skin was warm andsosoft. A jolt ran through me—the bond was warm and unmistakable. Her eyes widened just slightly.
