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At the top of the stairs, he opens the door to his bedroom and releases my hand. He lights a candle on his small writing desk, the glow casting shadows throughout the space.
The voices grow louder when he wraps his arms around me and rests his hands on my lower back. “Mari, I don’t want you to do anything you don’t want to do. You mean more to me than that. In the beginning, I tied our connection to lust. The first time I saw you, I thought you were a mythical angel. How else could I explain my attraction to you?”
His assessment makes me smile. “I’m no angel.” Lifting my head, I look him in the eyes. “I was attracted to you too, but I didn’t know what to do with those feelings. I grew up in a place where people look down on physical attraction, unless formed with a Council-appointed spouse.”
But I can’t help myself.
Long strands of dark hair fall over his forehead in sharp contrast to his eyes. He lifts a hand to my face, cupping my cheek in his palm, a gentle finger running along my skin. “We’ve come so far with you. But there’s still a lot of work to do. Avren’s brainwashing runs deep.” He closes his eyes. “I can’t imagine what it’s like. Gray tried to explain it to me.” Looking at me again, his eyes swim with sympathy, making me feel like a charity case. “Spending time with a person you’re attracted to is the most natural thing in the world.”
I don’t want someone to be with me out of pity or because I’m a weird sociological experiment. Can we break Maribel out of her hypnotic allegiance to Avren and its stringent rules?
I step back from him, breaking the magnetic field, at least on my part. “I think you should sleep in Gray’s room tonight.” Sitting on the edge of the bed, I unlace my shoes. It’s not like he did anything wrong. But he must want me for me, not because I’m the prophesied savior.
“Mari…” He takes a step toward the bed. “I didn’t mean…”
I keep my focus on my laces, which thankfully are extra knotted tonight. His heavy footfalls cross the room, and the door opens and closes. Tears well in my eyes as my fingers work the damn knots. I wanted him to stay more than anything in the world. But Avren’s rules run through my head on replay. And the ache in my heart tells me he’s acting on the magnetic attraction. What happens when it goes away?
I lay my head on the pillow and pull the blanket up to my face, covering my nose. It smells like him—that warm woodsy scent that makes my head spin so much I can’t think straight. It tempts me to cross the hall and spend the night in his arms. But my logical side wins out, and I fall asleep dreaming of the juxtaposition between dark brown hair and crystal blue eyes.
When I wake in the morning, sunlight from the window streams in, giving Bastian’s room a gentle glow. I stretch my arms and legs, enjoying my last lazy morning in the commander’s bed. Tonight, I’ll move back to my mattress on the floor. I’m also in no hurry because of how we left things last night. I can only imagine the inevitable awkwardness of our morning conversations.
Then I hear voices. More than one.
I scramble out of bed, not bothering to put on my boots, and open the door. Gray’s door is closed, but that doesn’t mean Bastian’s not awake. I listen from the top of the stairs and hear Grayson’s distinctive laugh.
My family is back.
When I reach the bottom of the stairs, the four of them sit around the table eating breakfast. Levi appears tired as he passes the basket of biscuits to Bastian, whose eyes are on me.
“Mari!” Grayson hops up from the bench to embrace me. “Bastian told us what happened with the guard and the werewolf. We’re glad you’re both ok.”
Ok. A bit of a mediocre word. Kind of like so-so. Yes, physically I’m fine, but after last night, my heart’s a bit in shambles.
“Evie and I whipped up breakfast this morning.” He ushers me to the table, seating me beside Levi. “You can imagine our surprise when we arrived in the middle of the night and found Bastian in my bed. But I understand. With your ankle, it probably wasn’t best for you to get up from a mattress on the floor. Although Ben is a miracle worker.” He carries the frypan of scrambled eggs to the table and scoops a pile onto my plate.
Levi slips his hand into mine beneath the table and squeezes. It’s his silent way of telling me he’s happy to be home and together again. I lean my head on his shoulder, thankful Bastian is on the other side of him and not across the table.
“Mari will not go back to Avren.” Bastian’s voice startles me. It holds so much command compared to last night when it held uncertainty. “I’ve disposed of the anklet so the soldiers can’t find her.”
“And what about the plan to keep our toe on the pulse of the city?” Evie speaks for the first time. The one person who still mystifies me. “If we don’t have an informer from within, we are flying blind.”
“Mari will not go back to Avren,” Bastian repeats slower, enunciating each word. “She will not work the machinery. She also needs more time to train for her role.”
“Speaking of that.” Grayson sits in his chair beside Evie. “I spoke with Wix when we were in Mafekadi. He gave me a verifiable lead into the whereabouts of the missing part of the prophecy.”
“Why should we trust Wix?” Bastian curls up his face in distaste before scooping another helping of grits onto his plate. “The fae don’t even trust him.”
Grayson leans his elbows on the table and tents his hands. “Because it makes sense. When Levi and I went to Frostacre to speak with Bracken, it was obvious he was holding back something. Wix says Cirrus has the prophecy in safe keeping.”
“But why would the king of Frostacre want to prevent the destruction of the two cities? He can only gain from it.” Bastian spreads butter on his roll.
“Because the two cities keep the focus off Frostacre. The Unseelie Court loves to conduct its business without the people of the wilderness or the other Supes bothering them. The cities shield them.” Grayson leans back in his chair, propping his arms behind his head as if he’s just released a major truth bomb.
“And if Cirrus has the prophecy tucked away, how do you propose we get it from him?” Bastian asks.
It’s a perfectly valid question. I’ve already seen the power of the Unseelie Court through Quinn. He rendered Levi unconscious, killed a fae, and kidnapped me on the back of a wolf.
“By using Mari as bait.” Grayson lifts his chin as if daring anyone to oppose him.
