Page 20 of Ash and Burn

"Arvid." His voice carried a roughness. "What are you doing up here?"

Heat flooded her cheeks at being caught wandering through his private space. "Sorry to startle you. I just had some questions."

His expression immediately shifted, becoming more alert. "I wasn't expecting you." His gaze held hers a little too long, searching for something she couldn't name. "I thought you might have gone to bed for the evening."

"I had questions about Tal. About these restrictions. About whether I'm going to have a shadow attached to me every moment I'm outside my room."

The corner of his mouth twitched, not quite a smile but close enough to make her heart skip. Then his eyes drifted toward her stomach as it betrayed her with an embarrassingly audible growl that echoed in the sudden silence.

Heat flooded her cheeks. Nothing like advertising her basic human needs to the king of an alien territory.

Calix's smile appeared fully this time, transforming his entire face from stern authority to something warmer and infinitely more dangerous to her carefully maintained emotional distance. "Are you hungry?"

"Yes," she replied before she could stop herself. The admission felt strangely vulnerable.

"I can prepare something."

Her gaze shifted toward his plate, where what looked like roasted meat and vegetables sat barely touched. The food looked simple, warm, and comforting. Real food.

Before she could think better of it, words tumbled from her mouth. "How about we share?"

The suggestion hung in the air between them. Then settled with weight she hadn't intended. Because suddenly sharing his dinner sounded far more intimate than she'd meant it to. Like crossing some invisible boundary from professional courtesy into something decidedly more personal.

Calix went completely still, his green eyes darkening as they locked on hers. Then he cleared his throat. "That works too."

His voice carried undertones that made her heart race. She pretended not to notice the way his attention lingered on her lips. He pretended not to notice the way her breathing had changed. Both of them were lying, and both of them knew it.

Moments later she found herself settling beside him on the large sofa near the fire, close enough that his scent wrapped around her like a physical presence. The entire situation felt absurd—sharing dinner with an alien king in his private chambers after knowing him for less than a day. Yet also strangely comfortable, as though some part of her had been waiting for exactly this moment without realizing it.

Calix remained tense beside her, though. Not uncomfortable with her presence, but more like a man actively fighting some internal battle. Every time their fingers brushed while reaching for the shared fork, his jaw tightened. When she shifted closer to better reach the plate, his breathing changed. The longer she sat beside him, the more obvious his struggle became.

"So about Tal," she said, breaking the charged silence before it could consume what remained of her common sense.

Calix explained the arrangement with careful professionalism. Tal would accompany her throughout Ashvorn when Calix couldn't. More escort than shadow—transportation to and from the medical facilities, presence during meetings with council members, backup if situations became complicated. Not hovering over her shoulder in the lab itself. And definitely never here at Ashspire.

Arvid considered this, taking another bite of what turned out to be surprisingly excellent food. The arrangement didn't sound unreasonable. "I can live with that."

The silence returned as they continued eating, taking turns with his fork in a ritual that felt both natural and impossibly intimate. She'd never shared food like this with anyone—certainly not with someone who made her hyperaware of every breath, every movement, and every accidental touch. Yet somehow with him it felt right. Made her feel less alone after three years of careful isolation.

Her gaze wandered around the enormous space again, taking in details she'd missed during her initial survey. The empty chairs positioned around the fire. The books that showed signs of regular use. The way firelight danced across walls built to house a family but occupied by one man.

The silence. The space. The weight of solitude that permeated even this beautiful room.

"Do you really live here all alone?"

Calix followed her gaze across the expansive chambers, his expression becoming more guarded. "Yes."

The answer came simply, matter-of-fact. But something in his voice felt heavier. More complicated than simple confirmation.

She thought about the massive size of Ashspire. The dozens of rooms she'd wandered through tonight. The amount of silence that must exist here every evening when the day's responsibilities ended and he climbed these stairs to his chambers.

"I live alone too," she heard herself say.

His attention shifted back to her immediately, his green eyes sharpening with interest. "You do?"

She nodded, suddenly feeling the need to match his honesty with her own. "Yes, but not in a giant estate like you though."

That earned a laugh from him, rich and warm and devastating in its genuineness. The sound nearly undid her completely, sending heat spiraling through her chest.