Page 34 of The Last Aether

Riven leaned back in his chair, taking a sip of his own tea. “What was your nightmare about?”

The warmth of the tea fled, and the scent of smoke filled my nose again. “The fire I was in.”

His grip on the mug tightened, his knuckles bleaching white. “Fire?”

“When I was eight. I was trapped. Almost killed.”

“But you survived.”

I nodded. “The firefighters got me out at the last second, but I was in the hospital for a long time.”

Riven’s gaze locked on me. “Do you have any lingering effects from your injuries?”

My fingers traced one of the burns on my arm. “Not really. Occasionally my muscles or skin will pull a certain way, but it’s not bad. The mental piece is the worst.”

His brows pulled together, making a harsh slash across his forehead. “In what way?”

“The dreams are probably the hardest. I can’t handle feeling fenced in or trapped; it triggers all those memories.” Except they weren’t really memories. They were terrors.

“I’m sorry, Aura.”

Riven was saying my name again. Just those two syllables on his tongue somehow felt more intimate than anything else could ever be. And I liked the sound of it too much.

“I’m okay.”

He didn’t look away. “Are you?”

There was so much more in that one question. “I’m managing the best I can. Are you?”

Riven stiffened, that mask slipping back into place.

“Don’t.” My voice cracked like a whip and shocked some of that mask free. “Just for one minute, can you not pretend to be someone you’re not?”

Riven didn’t say a word. He simply sat there for a count of five. And then he nodded, taking another sip of tea.

We didn’t say a word, but I still took comfort in his company. And when he stood to turn in for the night, the world felt colder in his absence.

19

Heat warmed me from behind as someone nuzzled my neck from the front. I blinked against the rising sun streaming in through Atlas’s window. As I did so, Kai’s form came into view.

“What are you doing in here?” I croaked.

He grinned. “I missed you. Has anyone ever told you that you’re adorable in the morning?”

I snorted. “Bedhead extraordinaire does it for you?”

Atlas sifted his fingers through my strands. “I love your hair.”

I could only imagine the chaos it looked like after leaving it to dry in a braid overnight. The hair tie had obviously come free at some point, or else Atlas had pulled it loose.

Kai’s gaze heated. “So damn pretty.”

He leaned forward to kiss me, but I halted him with one finger. “Wait. What time is it?”

Atlas glanced over our heads. “A little after seven.”

I jerked upright. “No time for hanky-panky. I need to get ready.” The last thing I wanted were dozens of eyes on me as I entered a classroom late.