“But you did not,” he said simply, his gaze on her. “You did not,leeldra, though you wanted to. That is why you are different. Violence is something all species are capable of. It is the being themselves that determines whether they act on it. Madame Allegria does. You do not.”
“Why…” she started, “why are you still so inherentlygood, after everything you’ve been through?”
Khiva huffed out a breath, but his shoulders relaxed. Slowly, he began to rid her of the dressing robe she wore, unknotting the front and pushing it off her shoulders until it fell in a pile to the floor, until she stood naked in front of him.
“I wanted to hurt her too,” he confessed, his hands coming to the curve of her waist, sliding upwards to her breasts before cupping her shoulders. His hands were warm, which relieved her. They’d been so cold before. “I could have hurt her so easily. A slight jerk, that would be all it took. But then I realized I had more to lose if I did. I could have lostyou. I could have lost our future. She is not worth that. Not even close.”
Eve nodded slowly, understanding what he was telling her. Slowly her hands moved over him, tugging off his shirt, his pants. She left the bandages on because she would change them before they went to bed anyways.
“I realized something tonight,” he told her once they were settled in the washing tub, as hot water relaxed their tense muscles.
“What?”
“That I don’t even hate her anymore,” he confessed. “I was looking at her, right before she left, and I felt nothing. Indifference. Pity even. Because I realized that she is no one to be frightened of, despite her power and wealth. She hides behind it all because she has nothing else.”
“You called her a shell,” Eve murmured, leaning back against him, feeling the steady thump of his heartbeats against her skin. They comforted her more than the hot bath did.
“Pax. A shell of a soul. Once you have lost your soul, you are nothing,” he said, his voice soft. “A shell without a soul has no power. It is lost. And so is she.”
Eve took his hand under the water, lifting it to her mouth, and pressing a kiss there.
“Khiva?”
“Pax,leeldra?” he whispered in her ear, his breath tickling her hair.
“I love you. Have I told you that today?”
“Pax,leeldra. You have.”
He kissed her under her ear. They fell into a comfortable silence and they didn’t speak, even when the water began to turn cold.
Finally, Eve commented, “It is my last night in this townhome. I don’t think I realized it until just now.”
“It is hard leaving one’s home. Are you sad?”
“A little. Naturally,” she said. “Mostly because I feel like I’m leaving a part of my father behind. He loved this house.”
“You will never leave him behind, Evelyn,” Khiva said. “He is always with you.”
“I know,” she said, smiling. “I’m more frightened than anything.”
“That is a good thing, remember?” he murmured, trilling in his throat. “You told me that only the things that are worthwhile are the most frightening.”
“Exactly,” she said, feeling warmth and courage, knowing that he would be at her side the entire time. That they would have one another as they found their footing in a strange new place.
Itwasfrightening.
But it was also unbelievably exciting.
“Leeldra?” he murmured.
“Yes, Khiva?”
“Have I told you that I love you today?”
Eve grinned.
“Yes, Khiva. Many times.”
