Page 95 of Rite of Unity

He stretched out a hand and I took it.

We walked up the steps, stopping at the door to my temporary home.

“I enjoyed our evening,” he said, searching my face.His shoulders were hunched, making him seem unsure of himself for the first time.

“I had a wonderful evening.”

He straightened, lips parting in a soft smile, and reached into his jacket, producing a velvet case.I watched as he cracked it open, turning it toward me.

Two sapphires winked up at me, deep blue—the exact shade of the ribbon looped around my wrist.A shiver rolled through me.I squeezed my hands at my sides to still them, eyes widening.

His smile grew as he watched me.

“Elias—”

"Put them on."

I held his gaze for a beat, then reached into the case, lifting one then the other and sliding them into my ears.

He leaned in.

My breath caught, eyes sliding closed.

Soft lips brushed my cheek.

I blinked up at him, my skin burning where he'd touched it.

"Goodnight, Maryn."

I opened my mouth.Closed it.

I nodded.

He turned, moving to his car in a few long strides and I stood, watching as he drove away.

***

Inside, Nami rushed to me, wrapping an arm through mine.The move was so much like Ruth’s that I squeezed it to my side reflexively.

"Maryn, you're flushed.Are you okay?"

I nodded.The kitchen noise pressed in around me—Rakel's voice, laughter, the clatter of glasses—all of it reaching me from somewhere far away.

I moved past the girls at the island, reaching into the cupboard for a glass.

Nami released my arm, leaning back against the counter.

I turned the faucet on, watching the cup fill.

Behind me, Rakel’s arms swung wildly over her head as she recounted her date from earlier in the night.I tried to block it out.Tried to breathe.

My cheek burned.A kiss.My first kiss.

“And there’s an entire museum dedicated to illegal books.”

I turned off the water, reaching for the glass.

My stomach rumbled.I’d tried to eat at dinner, but my stomach was still too full of knots.I set the glass down.