Not entirely. He’d been there. Not some vision. Him. But she had to know if what she’d felt during her darkest moment tonight was real.
“I think I had extra help tonight.”
“I may have bent the rules a little,” he replied.
Elara had come to know one unshakable truth about Nikolas Dupont: He did not defy Lafontaine. Ever.
Until tonight.
Brave. Elara needed to be brave because life was far too short to leave the world with regrets.
She closed the gap, trapping their hands between their chests, andpressed a gentle kiss to his warm cheek. At first, he stiffened in surprise. Then he gripped her hand tighter, holding with a desperation she wished he would chase. When she pulled back, those eyes she’d once thought cold were on fire.
For her.
At some point, his free hand had dropped the bottle and found its way to her knee, where he outlined the shape of her bones beneath her skirt.
“Please.” His eyes cinched tight. “Change the subject or I might do something we’ll both regret.”
She wasnotthinking. “Who says we’ll regret it?”
His eyes flared wide as he leaned in.
She dove in, ready to meet his lips with that same heat.
“Shit.”
Nik recoiled in pain, cupping his bruised face.
What was she doing?! Nik was right. They’d both regret this come morning. What she felt was an effect of the wine and the thrill of escaping through the second round. Nothing more. Besides, there was too much at stake to lose her head over a boy.
But her heart was racing too fast, and her skin burning too hot. She needed to focus.
“Here. Let me see.”
She took the pack and pressed it against his temple. His breath fanned her face, spilling across her cheeks and down her throat, which was suddenly very dry.
“What’s the prognosis?” he asked.
“Well, I’m no doctor, but I’ve seen my share of bar fights. It should heal in a week or so.” She chewed her lip. “Do you think you’ll be able to patch things up with Lafontaine?”
“He made it very clear he doesn’t want to see me again.” He releasedher hand to face her more directly, all flirtation gone. Good. They needed to stay sharp. “Elara… He’s going to retaliate.”
“You don’t have to take his abuse,” she replied.
“He won’t be coming for me.”
Elara blinked. “Oh.”
Everyone had tried to warn her, but she’d been too angry to hold back. The cruelty they’d forced the chefs to endure tonight was only a fraction of the cruelty they’d rained down upon the Restes for… years. Long before her mother and the rebels attacked.
However Lafontaine responded would be because of her.
Except this didn’t feel like another mistake. In fact, if she were to do it all again, she would take Chantal’s advice and reveal herself from the start. It had felt good to tell them all the truth: Her mother was both wonderful and human. She’d been pushed into a corner and saw no way else out except to attack.
Which meant Elara had been wrong about so many things.
“I’m ready for him,” she said.
