Erinna swallowed hard. “You’re making me uncomfortable.”
Kane dropped his hand. “What’s discomforting you?”
“Your praise.” Erinna tried to steady her heartbeat. She knew she was good at what she did and understood her value to the business, but hearing it out loud and from the lips of Captain Kane Atwater—it was something she wasn’t familiar with. Erinna cursed how much the validation warmed her heart.
Kane brought his face to hers, his lips brushing against her ear. “Don’t worry, I’m still waiting on my witchstone.”
She let the heaviness of his compliments pass as he situated himself back in the spot beside her, and the two lapsed into a companionable silence.
Erinna didn’t know when it happened, but the immediate distaste she’d once harbored for Kane now bordered on circumstantial endearment. She took another sip of ale. Hells,she could admit in the privacy of her own mind that her true feelings inched closer to light attraction. She gulped. Fine, perhaps it was more than just light.
Kane had been true to his word and took good care of his crew. The way he treated her felt so much like acceptance. The type she wished for back at home.
The type she craved.
But he didn’t know all the secrets she kept, she reminded herself, and she wasn’t ready to share.
Her gaze drifted to the doors of Fort Solitude. Scorch marks and dents decorated the surface. They had released the bars but were still stuck undoing decades of arcanum locks.
“What exactly are you looking for in there?” Erinna asked.
“I told you?—”
“Do not say treasure.” It came out as a half-laugh, half-groan as she nudged him playfully in the side. She could take the hint. He wasn’t in the mood to divulge secrets. Gods knew she had enough of her own.
“What’s taking so long with the doors? I thought it would be easier without the bars?”
Kane was silent for a moment, and Erinna was half expecting him not to answer.
“It is. But there are old wards embedded into the doors and walls themselves. Not to mention old traps inside that lead to the library. The library itself is open and relatively unprotected; the trouble is getting to it. Afton’s taken care of a few arcanum locks and traps, but he’s been picking at them blind. Says it’s older arcanum, not what they teach in the academy.”
Erinna nodded and resisted the temptation to roll her eyes. An old practice that didn’t interest the academy? A mage’s greatest weakness was their pretentiousness.
“What are you two really doing, holed up in that guard room?”
Kane turned his face toward the embers in thought. “You’re more perceptive than I thought.”
“You’re a better captain than I gave you credit for.”
Kane turned back to her and caught her gaze in his. The intensity rooted her to the floor, and warmth rose to her cheeks. Not many people looked at her like that. Like she had value.
“We’re working on how to get in and navigating the library once we have access to the fort.”
“I see.” She threw a few twigs into the fire. “And what about after?”
Kane cocked his head to the side in curiosity. “After?”
“Yeah, where are you going once this is done?”
Kane grinned. “Why? Are you finally considering my offer?”
Erinna tapped her chin. “Depends on what I can get out of it.”
“And is this not enough?” Kane waved a hand up and down his body.
Erinna gaped. She should have known where this conversation was headed. She made a show of throwing his coat off, ready to stand.
“Okay, okay, okay. Sit, please.” He gently grasped her elbow, as if willing her to stay, and moved to drape his coat back over her shoulders. “We’re headed to the Initian Islands.”
