Darion’s face went ashen, and his jaw dropped as he stared at me, stunned.
“You didn’t know?”I asked.
“I had no idea.”
“The first time I felt it was with you in Orlik’s study, but I only just found out what it meant.That it’s my Ember.”
“I don’t know how that’s possible,” Darion said, still stunned.“You’re not on any of the ledgers.The Order of Emberlight has tracked the lineage of every Emberborn for the last twenty years.”
“I guess your ledgers are incomplete.When you use your Ember, I can sense it.There’s a smell, and I can even see it a bit.I canfeelit.Same thing when Orlik’s bodyguard used her Ember.I can even sense it a bit in my sister.”
“Oh dust, your sister!Of course she’s Emberborn, too.I can’t believe the danger I’ve put you in,” Darion said, his face drawing tight, etched with worry.
“You didn’t put us in danger.We’d have to grapple with this with or without you,” I said.“If anything, you’ve helped me to understand my ability faster than I might have otherwise.”
Darion looked almost panicked.“But I’ve put a target on your back.If Tarnasau finds out you have Veilsense, he’ll do everything in his power to capture you.”
“Well, if I join the Order of Emberlight, I might finally be able to do something about it.”
“No!Forget the damn Trials,” Darion implored.“It’s too dangerous.We need to get you out of the city, move you and your sister to safety.”
Until that moment, I hadn’t been certain of Darion’s true intentions.Part of me thought he was still trying to recruit me, that he only wanted me to use my talents for the Order of Emberlight.But the fear in his eyes was genuine.That he would abandon his plan to protect my sister and me made me feel for him that much more.
That was the moment I truly knew I could trust him—the moment I started to forgive him for his deceptions, knowing that they came from a place of care.
“I’m not running from this,” I said, voice unwavering, taking Darion’s hand.
“Cas, don’t!”Darion said, his voice rough.“If anything happened to you—” His voice grew unsteady, and he broke off.
“I’ve spent my whole life feeling powerless.For the first time, I can do something about it.”
Darion’s emerald eyes were damp with emotion.Dust, what a beautiful man.I put my hand on his cheek, and we touched our foreheads together.“You have to let me do this.You have to trust me to take my own risks.”
Darion nodded slowly.“If anything goes wrong at the Citadel Library, I’m helping you, Order of Emberlight rules be damned.”
“You’d come to my rescue?”I said, a slight tease in my tone.
“Of course.”
“Like I’m a damsel in distress?”
“Stop teasing,” Darion said, but a smile peeked through his gloomy expression.
“I’m sorry,” I said with a playful frown.
“Cas, I’d tear down the whole damn Citadel Library to save you.”His tone was so earnest, so raw, it took my breath away.He looked into my eyes with a tenderness that almost scared me.I’d known him for only a short time, and yet the peril we’d already faced together heightened every emotion.
“I care for you,” Darion said.“You need to understand that.”
“I understand,” I said.“And I care for you, too.”
I knew I might regret this, but we’d gone too far to turn back.We moved toward each other simultaneously, and our lips smashed together.Gone was the tenderness of our first kiss, and in its place was a hasty, burning desire.
I grabbed his hips and pulled our bodies together, Darion’s stiffness pressing up against my own.He grabbed a fistful of my hair, trying to kiss me more deeply.His gentle moans against my lips turned me on even more.
Still locked in a kiss, we fumbled to rip each other’s clothes off, pausing only to pull our shirts over our heads.I needed to feel his bare skin against mine as sure as I had to breathe.
As I pulled off my shirt, I fumbled for my locket and stashed it in my trouser pocket.He didn’t seem to notice.I didn’t want him to ask about it, just like that time at the waterfall; I wasn’t ready to share that part of my life yet.
