ELYRIA
Like walking on the wind,Elyria shadowstepped to Cedric’s room. Well, she’d fully intended on steppingoutsidehis quarters, but apparently there was a bit of finesse required when moving through the shadows with any sort of accuracy. And so, Elyria found herself tucked into a corner of Cedric Thorne’s bedchamber, peering out of the darkness.
She thought he might have been sleeping.
He wasn’t.
Elyria swallowed hard as she watched the knight emerge from the bathing chamber with nothing but a towel slung around his hips.
Lit only by the moonlight filtering in through the large, mullioned window on one side, there was still water beadingdown the hard planes of his chest, glistening like liquid silver as he moved through the room.
Elyria’s focused gaze followed a droplet as it wound down his torso, skittering across the cut muscles of his abdomen, following the groove of the V that led into the waistband of the towel.
Cedric walked over to a large wooden wardrobe on the far side of the room. Rubbing at a spot on his chest, right over his heart, he fished a pair of linen pants from a drawer before slamming it shut.
She should have stepped right back out of the room then. She should have done it instantly, of course, but shedefinitelyshould do it now. Before he noticed her, before he realized just how blatantly his privacy was being invaded. But when it came time to step back into the shadows, something had her freezing in place.
Elyria’s eyes widened as they locked onto two crescent-shaped marks just above Cedric’s collarbone.
Something primal, vicious, coiled deep in Elyria’s core.
She had done that to him.
That was her mark.
Hers.
Hand twitching at her side, the overwhelming, reckless urge to go to him, to touch him, flooded through her so fast it made her dizzy.
Cedric turned his back to her, unlooping the towel from around his waist and revealing the firm curve of a backside that made Elyria’s mouth go dry. Stars above, did he have to bequiteso fine a specimen? An immediate and overwhelming sense of primal satisfaction overtook her, propelling her body forward before she could stop herself.
“You may want to keep that on,” she said, stepping into the light.
“Four fucking hells!” Cedric whirled, both hands clutching the precariously positioned towel in place. “Noctis light my funeral pyre, you scared me to fucking death.”
She grinned and gave him a sheepish shrug. “Wasn’t my intention. Turns out this shadowstepping business is a bit tricky. Who knew?”
His token swung against his chest as he took an instinctive step back toward the wardrobe. “You seem a quick enough study.” Refastening the towel around his waist, he arched a brow. “So, do you want to tell me what you are doing here?”
Elyria had to physically restrain herself from flinching at his tone.He hadn’t spoken to her with that sharp an edge since before the Crucible. And though she could hear the tinge of hurt woven through his words, Elyria hoped the cool moonlight successfully hid the shame she could feel burning in her cheeks.
She bit her lip. “I’d say that I came to apologize, but that would be a lie.”
Cedric gave her a cool look. “Well, I suppose you’re making progress on the ‘liar’ front, at least.” He sighed, raking a hand through his hair and giving it a shake, tiny droplets of water spraying the dresser behind him. “You have nothing to apologize for though. If anything, I’m the one who should?—”
“No.” She took a few steps closer. “You were right to stop me. Stop us. I never should have let it get that far in the first place.”
“You didn’t ‘let’ anything happen. We are two grown people, doing things that grown people do.” He blew out a short breath. “Can I ask a favor?”
Elyria blinked. She hadn’t expected him to say that. “Of course,” she said, somewhat hesitantly.
“If you’ve come here to tell me what a huge mistake we made this morning, if you want to tell me how you wish you could take it all back, just...don’t. Don’t say you regret it. Just let me pretend for a little while longer.”
His gaze dropped to the floor, pulling Elyria’s heart straight down with it.
Her voice was quiet when she said, “I don’t regret it.”
Cedric didn’t look up.
