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Evelyn took the last swig of her drink. “Please.”
Cyrus filled up their glasses, silence stretching between the two of them. Maybe it was the whiskey, maybe it was the mood, and maybe it was Cyrus, but Evelyn wanted to unleash her secrets. Even her magic danced at the thought, to be seen, to be heard.
Cyrus returned, handing her more whiskey.
As he sat back down, she started. “I think I’ve been keeping secrets—who I am, what I am—for so long that I forget what it’s like to even talk about them.”
She’d been Saige Ferriwether in Callum, but each place she’d had a different name. With each place, each name, she moved farther and farther away from the truth.
She wrestled with her doubt. What if his opinion of her changed? Yet, today’s victory gave her a spark of bravery, and she continued.
“I can’t tell you everything,” she said, taking a large gulp of whiskey. It warmed her knees, bloomed in her chest. “Partially because I don’t know where to start, partially to protect you, but mostly because I’m not fully ready.”
“Saige—”
“I left my coven,” she said. “I left my life behind two years ago.”
Cyrus went still, as if he wasn’t even breathing. He waited, silent, as if any movement or question might shatter the moment.
Evelyn shook her head. “Actually, ‘leaving’ puts it lightly. I ran away.”
No judgment flickered in Cyrus’s eyes, just interest. A smile played on his lips. “Let me guess. From a marriage? A man you had no interest in marrying?”
A snort left her as Evelyn shook her head, staring deep into the depths of her whiskey.
She’d always been willing to marry Kade Drengr, to unify their souls and fulfill the prophecy, until she’d lost her flame.
“I believe he’s a good man.” She took a swig of the whiskey, the truth burning. “But I’m certain I wasn’t, well, what he needed. Let’s put it that way.”
“You’re wrong.” Cyrus rose in a rush, anger shaking his shoulders. “Need you? Any man would’ve been lucky to have you at his side.”
Evelyn sank deeper into her seat, a blush scorching her cheeks. Cyrus’s words settled over her, only increasing the heat of his intense stare. Goddess save her, she was a wretched person for appreciating his words. They were talking of her betrothal, a man she’d been promised to marry but left behind.
Desperate to move on, she shrugged. “It doesn’t matter anymore. I’m fairly certain he wants nothing to do with me now and has most likely moved on.”
The usually calm, collected huntsman appeared frazzled, unnerved. He ran his hand through his hair, then braced his hands on his hips. Cyrus’s chest heaved as he calmed.
Maybe admitting she’d been betrothed had been a bad idea. Evelyn swallowed. “Cyrus—”
“If it wasn’t him, then why did you leave? What did you run away from?”
What a question. Evelyn wavered, torn between telling Cyrus everything and stopping there. Yet, doubt trickled in. If he learned who she was, what she’d done, how she’d failed . . . She didn’t want to risk losing whatever this was between them.
“An idea of me that does not exist.”
Which was true. She didn’t have her flame fully back. It came and went. Without the Goddess-given gift, she doubted her ability to fulfill the prophecy.
She faced the moon, admiring its white smooth surface, the silvery hue around its circumference. She felt light, relieved she’d told him something.
Cyrus sat back in his chair and considered her words, sipping his whiskey. He leaned over on the arm of his chair, reaching out to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
“I think if your coven could’ve seen you today, they’d be proud, no matter what they expected of you, whatever they wanted you to be.” There was nothing but honesty in his tone.
Evelyn shut her eyes, appreciating his words. She had saved Tessa. She’d even released the Gray Wood from dark magic. They sat back in their chairs, enjoying the light of the moon, soaking in the warmth of the fire.
Soon, their whiskeys were empty, and Cyrus stood and cleared his throat.
“I stand by what I said earlier. Sleeping here might be best without a door in your room. I’ll take the floor, and you can have the bed.”
