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“I believe you,” Lily said, beginning to trust the words as they formed on her lips. “Is everything else that happened that night true?”

“Yes,” was all he said, knocking a knuckle on the table. “I’m helping Amalia because she wants what I failed to stand for. What Valen did was wrong—what I did was wrong—and I should have done something about it much sooner.” He held her gaze and spoke with slow sincerity. “I am sorry, Lilith. Truly.”

Her heart locked up. “I know.”

Draven parted his lips like he had more to say, but nothing surfaced. Green and piercing, his eyes met hers, and he didn’t shy away. Lily hadn’t taken a good look at the Serpent since the night he pinned her against a tree. It looked the way all the other Flares did, like any soul trapped in a frightened body. And Draven… his features were so soft, his own pained emotions written all over his face.

Lily couldn’t speak in place of Keara, but for her, it was enough.

A wave of cheering shattered the relative quiet—the connection with their Flares was rattled like a lightning bolt struck between them. Lily jolted upright, and Draven cringed at the noise. When it died down, he grinned awkwardly and clasped his hands over the table.

“Are there any other grievances on your mind?”

Lily was still caught up in the last few minutes, trying to disperse the redness she knew flooded her face. “I can think of a few…”

Draven’s expression hardened. “About Luka—”

I was hoping not to lead with that one.

“I apologize for threatening his life. I will not harm him, but that does not mean my opinion of him keeping the Guardian has changed. I will tolerate him until his natural life is over, and that’s it.”

Lily absently listened, wanting to exploit Draven’s need for retribution for one thing. “If he needs help, will you protect him if I can’t?” She could hear her own pain slipping into her voice when he didn’t answer. “Atone for whatever sins you feel obligated to by helping me keep him alive until… until I know it’s time for his life to end. Please?”

His gaze shifted across her face before he looked away with a sigh. “I will protect him in your place if you cannot.”

“Thank you.” The warm whisper of relief coursing through her veins was better than any alcohol.

“Anything else?" he asked.

“Yes, actually. How about apologizing for scaring the shit out of me back in Acadia? More than once by the way, so I’ll be requiring at least two.”

He huffed. “Weren’t you the one who said I was pleasant, all things considering?”

Lily shared in his bewilderment. “I said that? Patient, I remember, but I wouldn’t consider giving someone nightmares a very pleasant thing to do.”

Draven gave a coy smile and ran a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry you were scared. Twice.”

“Your first apology was better,” she teased.

His face turned diffident, complete with another blush to his cheeks. Lily dropped her head to hide how terribly endearing she found it, tugging at a loose thread on her pants.

There was no reason to think he would turn back into Valen’s God Eater. He’d earned Kyer’s trust, and even Amalia must have forgiven him on some level. He was on his way to earning Lily’s, and in the meantime, she'd remain friendly while she found common ground, and he followed through.

“So, who is Jarek?” she found herself asking.

Draven’s gaze drifted from her to somewhere in the distance, seeing something she could never. “A good man from what I was told. Better than most.”

Lily conjured up a genuine smile. “I look forward to getting to know him.”

Chapter Twenty-Five

Not even groveling to Eizreth’s current Gnaw left him so drained.

Lilith hid her laugh behind her wrist, cup loosely dangling in her fingers, and all he could do was marvel at the sunlight he ignited.

But he couldn’t help himself.

“What?” he asked, wishing the bottle wasn’t already empty and she hadn’t given the other away. “You’re telling me he hasn’t been a complete bastard to you?”