Her heart skipped a beat. Her thoughts, once scattered by fear, now sharpened with focus onhim.
His chest was smooth and pale, glistening with water, but it was the scars that caught her attention. Jagged lines carved across his ribs and shoulder blades, each one a mystery, a story.
Her breath caught. And then she saw it.
He’d noticed.
Theo’s lips stretched into a crooked grin as their eyes met, and a rush of heat spread through her. Embarrassed, she turned her attention back to the storm.
“It’s nae the storm that bothers me,” she muttered, “but what it brings.”
Theo tilted his head, wringing the water out of his shirt by the fire. “And what do ye think the storm brings?”
There was cynicism in his tone, but also curiosity.
“Death,” she whispered.
It barely reached his ears.
“Those left are cursed. Of course ye wouldnae understand,” she added bitterly. “Yer parents didnae die under such horrid circumstances.”
Theo’s jaw tightened.
“Idoken death,” he said quietly. “And I can tell ye, while storms may breed chaos, it’s nae during the thunder they strike.” He turned toward her. “It’s in the wee hours that death stalks the earth.”
She met his gaze again, this time not in fear but in stunned silence.
Her eyes flicked to the scars that marked his body. Death had kissed him; that much was clear. His wounds told stories she wasn’t sure she was brave enough to hear.
“And ye ken this personally, do ye?” she asked.
He moved toward a chair, continuing to strip off his soaked layers. Every movement was deliberate—power restrained by control.
“It was a storm much like this one that sealed me family’s fate,” Lavina said softly. “Their bodies were found on yer land the next morning. I lost me faither, me maither, and me braither that same night.”
Theo froze. “And ye blamemefor their deaths?”
“A storm doesnae leave wounds on their necks.”
Thunder rumbled once again, but this time she found it less jarring, so long as she kept her eyes onhim.
Theo’s eyes darkened. “Nay,” he said slowly. “I dinnae suppose it does. But tell me, why do ye think it wasmeblade that took their lives?”
“Yer crest was found at the scene.”
He inhaled sharply as thunder cracked again.
Lavina’s heart rate quickened.
“And when did this happen?”
“Five years ago.”
Theo rubbed his chin, his face softening as he leaned back slightly. “I dinnae kill for sport—human or beast,” he said. “And I give ye me word, Lavina, that it wasnae me blade that ended yer family.”
She held her breath. “And what proof can ye give me?”
Theo stepped closer.
