“You grew your hair,” I say.
His answer is to place his palm over mine, dwarfing my little hand in his, a gentle touch from hands that could crack every bone in my fingertips, wrist, and arm in a single maneuver if he wished.
I’m not afraid. The only part of me he ever hurt was my heart.
“It’s been too long,” I add.
“Seven months, two weeks, and five days,” he says, his gaze capturing mine.
Months trying to find a way to lift Alexei’s curse, only to discover that the revival spell was my only hope.
“Too long without you, Solnyshka,” he says.
Little sun.That was what he used to call me. I never asked him why. I think it has something to do with the golden color of my hair, but I was never sure.
His fingers fold over mine, his thumb brushing over my palm in a way that makes me shiver. A boldness takes over that I’ve never had before. “Why do you call me that?”
“Because without you, my day is dark.”
I consider his expression, searching for what I’ll never find—emotion behind his statement. Without emotion clouding his judgement, everything about him is logical, considered. If he’s complimenting me, then it’s for a purpose.
I am nothing more than a chess piece…
At least… I think so…
Confusion floods me as he returns my gaze with a heat I wasn’t expecting. My stomach flutters as the brush of his thumb across my sensitive palm intensifies.
I swallow hard. “How… are you here?”
“I was looking for my mother,” he answers in his truthful way. “An endless search.”
He’s always blunt, telling the truth even when it hurts—even when the person it hurts is himself. “My search revealed that the only way to find her was to come to the Ball. Since I have no magical power, I gave up looking for her until…” He clears his throat with a shrug of his broad shoulders. “I landed outside this warehouse on a beam of light.”
“You were taken by surprise.” A smile hijacks my lips. That would explain why he’s dressed so casually. “You aren’t often surprised.”
His fingertips trail from my hand, along my outstretched arm and curl around my bare shoulder, drawing me forward. His thumb brushes the flower resting against the curve between my shoulder and my chest. “You arrived prepared.”
I try to breathe. “Did you find her? Is your mother here?”
He shakes his head. “I’ve searched every inch of this warehouse, but the truth is, I don’t know whom I’m looking for. I have no pictures, no clues.” He sighs. “I think it might be time to let go of the past.”
If onlyIcould.
I sway into him, indulging in the pull of his gaze and the nearness of his body to mine, the rise and fall of his chest and the way his breath hitches as I curve my hand at the side of his waist.
“I’m glad you’re here,” he says, surprising me. “You saved my life, and then you walked out of it. Seeing you once more at the assassin’s maze was a gift for me, even if it was a time of near tragedy for others. I’ve missed you.”
I clear my throat, wanting to believe there’s emotion behind his statements. I remember my panic, my fear the time he almost died. We fought battles together, hard battles that nearly cost us everything. All of it feels like a lifetime ago. “Only after you savedmylife. You took bullets for me, Alexei.”
“Those were dark days. But they’re over now.” He brushes my cheek with a wry smile. “All I’ve wished for since is for darkness to return to my life so I would have an excuse to call you back to me.”
My heart wrenches. When I saved Alexei’s life all that time ago, I tried to use my magic to lift his curse, but nothing worked. Every spell, every sort of magic that I tried… all I’m left with is the revival spell.
His eyes meet mine without a hint of a lie in them. For him to want darkness… just to see me…
He gives a short laugh. “I saw a genie at the bar downstairs earlier and I considered forcing him to grant me a wish so I could conjure you here. Now here you are.”
As his hand grazes my cheek, the assassin’s ring he wears on the forefinger of his left hand glints.
