A shimmering line cut through the air near the kitchen. It widened, and the Soul Searcher stepped through, scythe twirling before resting the end on the ground like a staff as the portal sealed shut.
Auren pushed his hood back.
It took him a moment to see her.
When he did, he drew in an audible breath. Vesperin’s hair fell over her shoulders, covering her breasts in sheets of white silk as she turned, one foot raised, poised to step into her leggings.
At once, they both stammered apologies:
"Auren! Sorry. Oh, god. Wait, let me—" Vesperin reached for a blanket draped over the edge of the bed, hugging it to her chest.
"Apologies, Hunter. I did not know you were"—Auren’s gaze flickered once, then snapped to the wall—"otherwise engaged. I will leave." He moved to cut his scythe through the air.
"No." A pink blush colored her cheeks. "I’ll go change. I’ll only be a moment. Don’t leave, Auren—please."
Atlas observed Auren’s restraint with interest. Even as a Celestial, Atlas could not tear his eyes from her. She said theSoul Searcher’s name with such wanton curiosity, half-nude and freshly washed.
The bathroom door shut behind her after she gathered her things. Atlas watched as Auren sat heavily on the edge of the bed, his head in his hands, and groaned.
Auren sat stillon the bed as Vesperin curled her legs beneath her, fingers worrying at the blanket in her lap. She was dressed, thank the Celestials. The clean, fresh scent of soap clung to her, testing his control.
They were leaving for Lunar City tomorrow, New Year’s Day. The world outside this haven was awash with fireworks and painted white with snow.
Somehow, the Soul Searcher knew what his Soulbond was going to ask before she spoke.
"I need to go to Kit’s grave—for closure. I can’t leave here without seeing it one last time, not knowing when I’ll come back,ifI’ll ever even be able to come back. Solar City is my home, and Kit’s grave was the place where it all changed. When he died—no, when I thought he died, that was the beginning of the end. I need to go, Auren, and you’re the only one I can trust to take me."
Out of all the responses Auren could give, he chose one:
"Why?"
It seemed to shock her.
"Because… you respect me. That’s not to say the others don’t. They do, in their own ways. I know Lucien respects me, but he wants to keep me safe more than he wants me to be free. Cyrus confuses me," she said slowly. "He’s wild, unpredictable. I can’t trust him to let me act on my own. And Rhyden is?—"
She promptly closed her mouth, as if she had nearly said too much.
Auren had noticed the tension between them. He waited patiently, refusing to press her. She thought him to be respectable, gentle. He was, but there was a part of him that wanted to do as the others did. Hide her away here, let her never see the light, and get to know her in this strange haven they had carved from concrete and steel.
However, Auren would not. Patience and gentleness would be his path to her.
"Rhyden is dangerous," Vesperin finished quietly. "So I’m asking you, Auren. Please, take me."
The others would have his head for this. But he wanted her to have her desires, wanted to be the one to grant them to her, so this distance between them—that grew shorter with every day—might finally be crossed. So that they might finally connect in the way that they were meant to.
Auren had never loved another, none but her. He’d never lain with another, never known another’s flesh the way he dreamed of knowing hers.
If he was to have her fully, he would be patient and kind andrespecther.
Because respect was the basis of love.
Their voices stayed low, as Lucien still slept on the couch.
"I’ll give you anything, Auren."
"Anything?" She stiffened, and he murmured to her gently, "I won’t take from you. The others take enough. I only ask you allow me to kiss your cheek, nothing more. I want—" The white leather of his gloves groaned as he made a fist. "Please, allow me this?"
It was a small thing to ask.
