“I didn’t mean it like that,” he said quickly, then caught himself, rubbing a hand over his face. “Sorry. I’m not good at talking in general.”
Eve looked at him for a long heartbeat, her expression softening.
“You don’t need to be good at talking,” she said quietly. “You just need to be honest.”
He opened his mouth to reply, but her hand brushed his arm, stopping him. “And before you start apologizing again, don’t. Just… let it be, yeah?”
Lionel nodded slowly, and something unspoken passed between them, a fragile, cautious truce that felt like it created tension rather than the relaxation she had aimed for.
I smiled faintly into the fire. Maybe this strange place wasn’t cursed after all, maybe it was just forcing us to see what we’d been running from.
Ourselves.
Ashley shivered suddenly, pulling her cloak tighter. “Ugh. Why is it so damn cold? We have a fire mage and I’m still freezing.”
Before I could offer to stoke the flames, Nate wordlessly shrugged off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders.
Ashley blinked, startled. “What are you—”
“Being a decent person?” Nate said lightly. “Don’t look so shocked.”
Her cheeks flushed in the firelight, and she fumbled with the jacket, unsure what to do with her hands. “I-I didn’t ask you to—”
“Didn’t have to.” He leaned back, grin crooked. “Besides, if you freeze to death, who’s going to insult my jokes?”
She opened her mouth, before closing it again, gaze flicking away. Her shoulders stayed stiff for a heartbeat, until a gust of cold wind swept through the camp, and she instinctively leaned closer to him.
Nate didn’t say a word. He only shifted his arm, enough that it brushed against hers, casual but protective.
Ashley didn’t move away.
I bit my lip to keep from smiling too obviously.Finally.
Ashley cleared her throat a bit too loudly. “Okay, new rule. No one’s allowed to look at me likethat.” Her eyes were locked in on me.
“Like what?” I asked, trying for innocence.
“Like you’re reading a romantic story… But like not in a book. Gosh, why did that sound even worse?”
“Fair enough,” I chuckled, hiding a grin. “But since you’re so determined to change the subject…”
Ashley narrowed her eyes suspiciously on me. “Don’t you dare.”
“Oh, I dare,” I said sweetly. “Truth or dare?”
“Ethalyn—”
“Pick one.”
She groaned, sinking lower under Nate’s jacket. “Fine. Dare.”
I tapped my chinthoughtfully, making the tension build a bit longer. “Alright. I dare you to compliment Nate.Sincerely.”
The look she gave me could have melted steel. Nate, stiffened, but a smile played on his lips. “Oh? This I’ve got to hear.”
“You’re—” Ashley began, visibly forcing the words out. “—notentirelyunbearable.”
Nate gasped dramatically. “You’re practically confessing.”
