His lips curled. “I have a better idea. You stay in here and think about what happened, and then when the battle is over, we’ll pick up where we left off. We’ll have all the time in the world to...discussit then.”
Need stormed through my core, tempting me to wrap my arms around him and make him stay. Clearly, the magic had done my head in. I was drunk on it. And it was making me do things I never would have otherwise. It was the only explanation. Well, that and Yuto was one of the most alluring men I’d ever met.
“Please don’t leave me in here alone,” I whispered.
He dropped his head toward mine and brushed his lips across my forehead. I shuddered, leaning into him. None of this should make any sense. My need for him. His desire for me. And yet…in my heart it made all the sense in the world.
A horn sounded in the distance, loud and long, like a wail. Shivers coursed across my bare arms, pebbling my skin. Yuto’s smile dropped. His gaze went hard. Without another word, he wrapped me up in his arms and kissed me hard.
“Stay here,” he said when he pulled back. “I’ll return to you soon.”
And with that, he was gone.
14
Yuto
“Fill me in on everything we know.”
The others were waiting for me at the top of the battlements—what was left of them. I still felt the heat of Aradia’s lips on mine, and her confessions echoed in my ears. It had been next to impossible to walk away from her. I knew she didn’t want to hide in the dark by herself, but I also couldn’t risk letting her face Panos before she was ready.
She barely even knew how to hold a dagger properly. It was better for her to stay inside, even if she hated me for it.
“Where’s Aradia?” Eryx asked, eyebrows raised. His crimson cloak rippled in the wind.
“I told her to remain in the library.” I frowned. The library was scarcely as protected as the inner fortress had once been, but we had little other choice. There was the Great Hall, of course, but Panos would likely check there first if he got past our defenses. Then, he would check the chambers. He might even search the remnants of the fortress, wondering if I’d found a hidden nook untouched.
He would not think to search for a hidden compartment inside the library. Aradia might still have a chance if we failed.
“Ah. In the library. Where you two were…” Eryx cleared his throat.
“Where we were kissing,” I said. “You can say the words, Eryx.”
“Yes, well, I wasn’t certain if it were some kind of secret…” Staring off into the distance, he let out another little ‘ahem’ before tapping his chin.
“You clearly have an opinion on the matter. Go on then. Speak it.”
“It’s just that…well, are you sure this is a good idea? My lord.”
“Kissing Aradia?”
“Getting involved with the girl. She is your prisoner, after all.”
“She’s not my prisoner anymore,” I corrected. “Besides, it was just a kiss, Eryx. I’d hardly call that getting involved.”
“Hmm.”
“Hmm what?” I barked, narrowing my eyes.
“I just worry. That’s all. You are the Lord Master of Pira, our immortal leader who will lead us for thousands upon thousands of years.” He sighed, his jaw rippling from tension. “She’s a mortal girl. Even just a hundred years would be a gift.”
I frowned. A hundred years. It was such a fleeting amount of time. So precious, so short. “I hadn’t thought of that. How old would you say she is now?”
“Twenty-three, twenty-four, perhaps.”
So young, yet with so few years left to live.
“She deserves to live,” I said firmly.
