“Are you ready to make your first attempt?”
“Huh?” Heart racing in my chest, I moved my gaze from his lips to his golden eyes. He wanted to make our first attempt. At kissing, I hoped. Because I had a bone-deep certainty that Rourke wasverygood at kissing.
“Norah.” His lips twisted into a devious smile. “I need you to make your first attempt at calling to the shadows. If you get it right, I will answer any question you have for me.Anyquestion.”
My heart raced. I definitely had some questions, alright, but I didn’t think I would have the guts to voice them out loud. For one, I was desperate to know if he felt this same strange exhilaration when he was around me. Did his skin spark, just like mine did? Did his mind get consumed by the scent of crackling leaves and rich, damp earth?
“I’ll try,” I managed to whisper.
Rourke took just the slightest of steps back, enough that my trembling hand now fell to my side. For a moment, I found it impossible to focus on the task at hand. My feet itched to erase the distance between us again. All it would take was one small step, and I’d be back within his gravitational pull, one so strong that not even the largest rocket could pull me away.
The shadows, Norah.That’s why we’re here. Save the realm, live happily ever after. Remember?
With a deep breath, I closed my eyes. I tried to recall how I’d felt back in the chaos of the Feast of the Fae. I let my mind replay the images in my head. The screaming changelings. The darkness that swirled in the Autumn fae’s eyes. And then I opened my eyes, focusing my gaze on Rourke’s face. The shadows that clung to his chin, the darkness that curled underneath the bottom curve of his lips.
A strange sensation tiptoed down the back of my neck, something almost akin to unease. A sickly fear twisted in my mind, and strange horrible thoughts began to dance through my head. Grief consumed me, though grief for what I didn’t know.
Rourke’s eyes widened just a hint, enough to let me know that I’d donesomething, even if I wasn’t entirely sure what it was just yet.
“Well done, Norah. Now, let go.”
I closed my eyes to block out his face and the shadows I’d collected from his skin.
Instantly, that eerie sensation flickered away, but in its place, an intense weariness settled into my bones. I felt...absolutely destroyed. As if I’d run an entire marathon without a single drink of water. My heart ached from a horrible sadness.
Knees wobbly, I opened my eyes. Rourke’s strong arms encircled my waist, and he gently eased me to the ground.
He settled in beside me, curling a finger under my chin and searching my eyes. “It seems your power comes with some unintended consequences. Are you alright?”
“I’m fine,” I said, breath shaky in my lungs. “Just...exhausted, really. I feel like I could use a really long nap.”
He gave a curt nod. “We’ll try again after you’ve rested. Would you like my help getting to your quarters?”
“Not so fast there, buddy,” I said, shooting him a weak grin. “We had a deal. I make progress. You answer a question.”
He let out a low chuckle. “You’re too weak to stand, but that doesn’t matter as much as picking my brain. Go on, then. What would you like to know about me, Norah?”
Everything.
Chapter Eight
The intensity of my training ramped up another notch after that. We worked at it all throughout the next night. At first, I found it as draining as I had the first time around, but I kept my mind firmly focused on the good things, the happier things, the parts of my world and my life that brought light into my life.
The sadness still burrowed deep within my bones, but focusing on Rourke helped me ignore it. We kept our game going, and I found myself eager to hear the next insight into his life.
“You once said you joined the Autumn rebels,” I said, the question flowing from me without hesitation. “Why?”
A pause. “I hoped to see the realm return to what it once was.”
“What was it about the realm before that you loved so much?” I asked him as I swiped the sweat off my brow. “Was it just because Queen Marin was a better ruler?”
“Objectively, Queen Marin was a better ruler. Subjectively...well, obviously not everyone agreed.” Rourke smiled. “It was not just Marin though. It was all of us, all the fae. We were better than we are now, though some say it’s because she brought out the best in us, and now our rulers bring out our worst.”
“Better how?”
“Ah.” He grinned. “That’s a second question.”
“Come on, Rourke,” I said in a teasing tone of voice. “I just kept myself shadowed for two full minutes, and it felt like the world was ending. How about two questions then? One for each minute.”
