I open my mouth, close it, Baze and Kolden now glaring atme.“Notallthe time …”
“Most nights,” Zane clarifies, and I nudge him in the ribs.
Little snitch.
Kolden clears his throat. “The moment swords clash, more of the palace guards will storm in from all four corners. It’ll be a shit show. They’ll lock down the palace, lift the sea gate, and we’ll be sitting ducks.”
Silence stews, thick and cloying, and I can feel the heavy thump of Baze’s thoughts well before he utters them. “I’ll do it. Those Gray Guards have been pretty hungry for my blood since I set fire to their temple. I’d just have to wander in front of them, flash the burns on my back, and they’d chase me to the Shoaling Seas.”
My blood chills, guts cramp, eyes so wide I’m certain they’re going to pop out of my head as Kolden and Zane whisper-blurt, “That wasyou?”
Baze winks at Zane, who’s looking up at him with reverence—like he wants to be him when he grows up. Which is disturbing. He’s not an example of moral aptitude one should strive toward.
“You’re not doing it,” I bite out, punching Baze in the shoulder.
“Ow,” he says with a half laugh, rubbing the point of contact. “That actually hurt.”
Good. Who sets fire to a fuckingtemplein a city full of Shulák?
“Familysticks together,” I croak, regurgitating his words. I don’t want to leave him behind. Especially with the knowledge that he’s made so many powerful enemies in the short time he’s been here.
He sighs, dashing his hand up to run through hair that’s no longer there. It’s not the only thing that’s changed.
He’s still my Baze, but also … not.
I see it in the way he moves—not as fluid as he used to be. Like he’s less at peace with the skin keeping him contained. I see it in the tightness around his eyes and mouth, and the way his eyes go blank when he thinks nobody’s watching.
“I thought we would have more time,” I choke out.
“You’re acting like I’m about to walk to my doom here,” he scoffs. “That’s offensive. I know you kicked my ass on the beach but let’s keep things in perspective.” He swipes a tear from my cheek, cracking a smile that’s far too light for this moment. “I’ll do a little dance for them, make them sweat a bit, before I find somewhere to either kill them quietly or hide—preferably the former—then I’ll meet you at home. I have a few things I need to tick off my list first anyway. This is actually a convenience.”
I’m not sure why he’s painting me such a pretty picture. In my experience, some of the prettiest pictures tell the deadliest secrets.
I hate this. I don’t want this. But I can see it’s whathewants in the way the vein in his temple has pushed to the surface—the same way it usually does when he and I are about to spar and he gets that bounce in his step.
That gleam in his eye.
“You promise?”
“I fuckingpromise.” The words come out with such conviction they’re clipped with a growl.
I draw a shuddered breath, blow it out real slow. “I’ll … see you at home, then?”
Home.
I feel the word all the way to my bones. The pull to be back.
Baze whips me close for a hug that’s over too fast, then nudges past, ruffles Zane’s wet hair, and shoulder-shoves Kolden out of the way, the latter releasing a guttural grunt. He cracks the door and peeks through while my heart rages against its confines …
I feel like he’s just a dream I’m about to wake from. And I don’t want to.
Not yet.
“Baze?” I whisper-yell.
He looks at me over his shoulder, brow raised, the blazing light of a wall sconce glinting off his eyes.
“I love you.”
