“A little before.It’s the solstice.”He took a catlike half-step back, giving her space.Jake liked moving in on her and seeing if he could herd, while Ignatius kept a certain distance, probably more out of pride than any consideration for her comfort.But Erik paid attention, and she almost liked that about him.“Longest night of the year.”
“Great.”She blinked several times, because the salt water in her eyes wouldn’t go away.She had to sniff hard, too.“Uh, I didn’t get you anything.”Not that she could have, trapped in here.
“You don’t have to.Aliraiis a gift all by themselves.”It sounded like a quotation; Erik paused.“Well, you can open it.If you want.You don’t have to.I just thought?—”
“No, it’s great.It really is.”She rubbed at her right eye with the heel of her free hand, swallowed hard, and tried a smile.
Erik examined her face.It was weird—he was so much bigger, armed, and inhumanly strong.But right now he looked like an anxious preschooler searching for his teacher’s approval.“I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“It’s just that I’ve been here a while.And I didn’t get you anything.”Were her friends having Christmas parties?Mika had been talking about flying back to Los Angeles to visit her brother, Jada usually had a “refugee’s Christmas” at her apartment in Hana Heights, Lou and his husband would be celebrating an anniversary—God, she missed them all so, so much.
Was anyone thinking about her?That was probably the worst thing about being kidnapped—wondering if you’d ever be found, if anyone at all was still looking.
“You don’t have to,” Erik repeated.
The paper crumpled easily.Mika was an inveterate smash-and-tear; Liv preferred to carefully work taped edges free and save ribbons or bows.She never reused them but she kept the nicest ones; the blue bow on this box was kind of childish.Erik took the discarded wrapping paper, carefully avoiding her fingertips, and if he was bored at her slow unveiling of his present, it didn’t show.
A plain white box.She exhaled in wonder when the top came off.Nestled on a pad of white cotton was a necklace—the gem was milky-translucent, the dull grey iron setting like twisted branches, and the chain a little thicker than she usually wore because of the pendant’s sheer size.“Oh, wow.”She touched the stone with a fingertip and almost dropped it, because vivid colors spread from that single point of contact.Now it looked like a fire opal, so bright it seemed unreal.
“Everyliraishould have their ownoneiros.”
“Oneiros.”It sounded vaguely French, but nothing she’d ever heard before.Would they tell her if she asked?It was alwaysafter the Flame, you’ll see.“Is that what this is?”
“Yeah.”Erik’s mouth twitched, a tentative smile.“A dreamstone in a meteorite iron setting.Made the old way.”
Meteoric iron sounded intense.And she didn’t know the difference between an old way and a new way; they probably wouldn’t tell her either.“Guess I won’t be going through any metal detectors with this on.”
“Mostly, whenliraitravel…” He trailed off when she frowned slightly.“Well, anyway, it’s a protection.When you meet the Flame it’ll become a tool, too.”
“It’s beautiful.”At least she could be polite.The thing looked too heavy to wear, but she should at least try it on.The chain was too short to fit over her head, and there was no clasp.“How do I put it on?”
“I can.Just take it out of the box and hold it to your, um, to your neck.Wherever you want it to rest.”
She settled the nestlike setting against her breastbone, over the black sweater.“Like this?”
“Yeah.We can shorten or lengthen the chain.It just takes a second.”He reached out, halted, glanced at her face, and let his fingertips hover just over the gem.His eyes narrowed slightly before a strange warmth slid from her crown to her soles, nailing her in place.The chain twitched, rose, moved like a snake, and finally fastened around her neck, seamless and whole.
Liv let out a short, garbled blurt of surprise, but Erik didn’t move.The necklace settled against black cashmere, warm and oddly familiar, and it wasn’t heavy at all.
Light as a feather, in fact.
The stone flushed again, colors she knew and others she couldn’t quite name moving in lazy swirls under its surface.“Wow,” she breathed, tucking her chin, and the idea that she was staring basically at her own tits wasn’t as funny as it should have been.“Do they all do that?”
“On alirai, yeah.”Erik was busy refolding the wrapping paper into smaller and smaller squares.“Do you like it?”
“It’s weird.But beautiful.”She could afford to be polite, even if she suspected this was some kind of trap or one of their weird little games.“So how do I take it off?”
“Just tell me, and I’ll take it off for you.”For once, his anxiety seemed to match hers.“Do you want me to?”
Strangely, she didn’t.“No, it’s okay.”Liv found herself touching the stone’s surface, warm and hard, watching the coruscating colors.The gem rested against her breastbone like it belonged there, and the iron setting wasn’t scratchy.The chain didn’t grab at her hair, either, which was a miracle.“I like it.Thank you.”
He nodded.The folded-up paper went back into the box, but he didn’t try to take the bow.“My pleasure,lirai.”
“Liv,” she corrected, and his dark gaze flew to hers.
“Liv.”Another twitch of his lips, a suppressed smile.“Dinner should be up in a little while.I’ll, uh, just be outside.”
“Okay.”She watched the gem as he left, closing the door with a quiet click.“Oneiros,” she said, testing the word.The swirling colors were almost hypnotic; she probably shouldn’t have accepted the damn thing.
