I nod, then change my mind. “Actually, no. I’m not.”
He straightens, alert. “What hurts? You didn’t mention?—”
“Not that kind of hurt,” I interrupt, exhaling. “I’m just… rattled. And annoyed. And confused. And tired. And—and why are you being like this?”
“Like what?”
I wave a hand at him. “This. Normal. Kind. Sweet. I mean, you crash into my life like a space freight train, break my chair, mock my shampoo, then take a plasma bolt for me and act like it’s no big deal.”
He grins again. “Itwasno big deal.”
“And now you’re making tea and asking if I’m okay like we’re in some kind of domestic drama!”
His smile fades. Just a little.
“I care,” he says.
I blink.
“It’s not complicated, Sable. I care what happens to you. You’re smart. Fierce. And you didn’t even blink when I said I once killed a Grolgath with a fork.”
“I did blink. Twice.”
He chuckles. “Still. You treat me like a person. Most people don’t.”
I stare at him. Not because I don’t believe him, but because I do. Too much.
“I don’t know what to do with this,” I whisper.
“With what?”
“You.”
He sets the cup down. Carefully. Walks over. Slow.
My heart climbs into my throat. “Voltar?—”
He stops an arm’s length away. “I’m not gonna do anything you don’t want.”
“I know.”
We stand there, this charged silence between us, heavy with everything unspoken. My fingers twitch. I almost reach for him again. But I don’t.
Instead, I take a breath and say, “Good night.”
He nods. “Good night, Sable.”
Sleep would be great. Unfortunately, I can’t.
I lie in bed, sheets twisted, heart pounding for reasons that have nothing to do with fear. I stare at the ceiling until it starts to blur. His eyes keep floating in my mind. Golden. Sharp. Gentle, somehow. That grin flashes behind my eyelids like it’s burned in.
He’s not just my protector. Not anymore.
And that terrifies me more than any assassin ever could.
CHAPTER 6
VOLTAR
