He kissed me with a groan, his throat rumbling. His hands threaded through my wet hair, gentling it away from my face. He kissed my lips, my jaw, my closed eyes, and then my mouth again. And I let him.
In my exhaustion I had given myself fully over to him. I was entirely held up by his arms, my body pressed against his. When I opened my eyes, his were lidded on me. Our breaths came fast and audible, and the two of us stared at one another in the cave.
I wanted more. Despite the pain I felt everywhere, I ached for more. “You didn’t have to stop.”
He let out a short chuckle, then a wince. I had been squeezing his injured shoulder, and it was bleeding through the makeshift bandage.
Ijerked my hand away. “Oh.”
“Trying to kill me after all?”
I breathed out. “You know I prefer blunt knives.”
Another one-note chuckle. His fingers were still threaded into my hair, his other arm tight at my waist. He held me close, his eyes moving over my face. “Here’s your chance.”
I forced back a smile and tried to ignore the squeeze in my chest. Yes, I wanted to wrap myself around him, but in every other way but that. Pain was seeping in now, tendrils of it lancing me, various parts of me throbbing.
I—we—were in terrible shape.
“I might pass out again,” I breathed.
He slowly extricated himself from my hands. He took in shallow, quick breaths, then pressed himself to his feet with a groan. “Not before we get you away from this fucking court.”
That brought me back to attention. “What? But the trials?—”
“You’re in danger.” He pressed his wet hair back from his forehead. “Rhiannon will soon know.”
Now I was awake. “Know what?”
“About what you’ve done here.”
I stared at him. “What have I done?”
He turned away, stooped, and took up my sword.
My hand went out to him. “What are you doing? You’ll worsen the wounds.”
He straightened with gritted teeth. “I’m getting you out of this place.”
I’d spent so long wanting to go, and now. Now…
“Butwhy?”
He jerked around with a hiss. “Your magic, Eurydice.”
I went stiff, eyes darting between his. Something unfurled in my chest, a bud. “I don’t understand.”
His eyebrows rose. “You do.” His gaze didn’t let go of mine. “You felt it.” His eyes were luminous, knowing.
I knew exactly what his expression said.
Thewaterfall. At just the moment I’d needed it—at the moment I’d screamed—the water had diverted exactly where I’d needed it to go.
But it couldn’t be magic. Notmine, anyway.
I felt a need to be in motion. I got to my feet with a groan, every part of me protesting. With slow, wobbling steps I crossed to him, took hold of my sword, and sheathed it. “I don’t know what happened. The waterfall, it just…” I didn’t know how to describe what the waterfall had done. It had just changed course.
“It obeyed you,” Dorian said, his voice low and even. “The water obeyed you.”
