EvenIdidn’t know what to say to that.
“I’ll talk to Denton,” Stella promised, her gaze flitting to Theron, then back to me. “And I trust you to take care of yourself. Just… remember to be careful, Snow.”
I opened my mouth to reply, but before I could, Stella turned and hurried after Denton, no doubt looking to smooth things over with him. She had always been the calm to my storm, and only now did I realize she played that role with Denton, too. As I watched her fall into step alongside him, his shoulders lowered just a fraction at her presence.
My heart lifted, and for the first time, I wondered if that was what Denton needed: a calmness to his storm. A safeharbor for rest. Not someone like me, who only stoked the fire even more. But someone like her, who balanced him out.
I felt Theron’s gaze on me, and I looked at him. Darkness still swirled in his eyes, though his fury had softened slightly. Right now, he looked like the fearsome hunter. The skilled assassin who never missed his mark.
And yet, I wasn’t afraid.
I drew closer to him. “You can’t do things like that.”
His brows knitted together. “He grabbed you.”
“I know. He’s an ass for doing that. But he’s my ally.” I paused. “Ourally.”
“Our?” he repeated, his eyebrows lifting.
I raised my chin to look him in the eye. “You’re with me, right?”
A flare ignited within his eyes, scorching me from the inside out. “Always,” he murmured.
“Good.” My voice came out a bit strained, and I stepped back, worried Denton would see us and throw another fit.
I strode forward, trailing after Stella and Denton. Theron fell into step beside me, his presence silent but comforting.
We still had no plan. I suspected Theron would ignore my pleas and try to give himself up as a diversion.
But perhaps I could use my invisibility to sneak in, and he wouldn’t have to. I refused to lose him. I wouldn’t loseanythingelse to Calista.
I pulled out an apple from my pack to munch on, but it was more out of nerves than anything else. I needed something to do with my hands, something to chew on besides the inside of my cheek, or I would go mad.
“You and those damn apples,” Theron muttered.
I grinned and held it out to him. “See for yourself. It’ll amaze you. You’ll be dumbfounded by how delicious it is.”
“I highly doubt that.”
“What, are you afraid?”
He snorted, then swiped the apple from my grasp and bit into it. He thrust it back into my hands, but not before I caught the slight widening of his eyes, or the way his tongue darted from his lips to catch the juice trickling down his chin.
The motion of that tongue sent a coil of heat through my belly.
I forced the image from my mind and smirked at him. “I knew it.”
“Knew what?”
“It’s delicious, isn’t it?”
He huffed a laugh but said nothing, which only confirmed my suspicions. I elbowed him with a chuckle. “Theron, the dreaded assassin, brought to his knees by a delicious apple.”
“I was notbrought to my knees.”
“I don’t know, I saw the look on your face. This apple changed your life, didn’t it?”
“No.” A slow grin spread on his face.
