Page 108 of To Dance with Death

Being with him.

In all the ways I wanted to, and more. In the cave, in the lift when we returned to his room. Then between his sheets, and he held me after, his heartbeat a lullaby that put me to sleep. But now I find his side of the bed empty, and a frisson of fear spurs me to rise, bleary-eyed as I am.

It calms a beat, though, when I find him on his balcony, a book in hand. Just as I did that one night in Anell.

His green eyes track a final line before he glances up at me, his throat working down a swallow. Is that tears in his eyes?

I blink, though, and it’s gone.

“You should sleep more,” he says. “You look like you can barely stand.”

“I was afraid you left.” I’m leaning against the doorframe, fatigue running deep.

He eases upward, treading toward me.

I am in his arms before I can blink.

Then he’s laying me down into his bed, the sheets silk-soft and cool. I shiver, but when he tries to move away, I wrap my arms around his neck. I feel him smile onto my shoulder, laugh softly, and he pulls us both under the sheets.

This time is different. It isn’t the slow, artful devotion we showed each other earlier, each touch intentional, but rather a deep, heated plunder. We are needy and sloppy and artless. Sleep-hazed and careless.

“Please,” I finally beg, my voice still raspy with sleep. But I cannot wait. He, in turn, meets me with equal fervor. Then he’s pulling my leg over one shoulder, testing angles to see which ones make my eyes roll back into my head.

My fists grip the sheets, twisting, before I’m running my hands down his back.

When it’s over, I can barely catch my breath. He pulls me in close, cradling me in his arms, until a sleepy fog whisks over me. After a few minutes, I feel him move.

Idly, my hand reaches out, grasping his.

Softly, he smiles down at me. “Vasalie, I think I will keep you forever. Would that be all right with you?”

Groggily, I nod, because…Fates, I want nothing more. Nothing at all in this world.Please.

“Go back to sleep,” he whispers, running a thumb over my mouth. “In a few hours, we will talk. And we will fix everything.”

Fix everything.

The Syndicate…

Today’s meeting…

I latch on to it as much as I can, but my mind is slick, unable to get real purchase. My vision blinkers, too, snuffing out the moment he pulls the duvet back over my shoulders.

I feel him plant a kiss on the apple of my cheek, and then on my lips.

So quick I am to fall back asleep that I think I dream his next words.

“I love you, Minnow.”

Chapter Thirty-Six

Anton

He picks the codex back up, grateful Vasalie hadn’t seen it.

This is the one secret he’s kept from her.

Though, if he’s being honest, he’s surprised she hasn’t guessed it yet. Had she thought he wouldn’t be curious about her, this slip of a girl who had found her way into Moranya’s Lair without dying? Who made it into the Abyssal, no less?