“Why does it feel like that’s a bad thing?”
“I’m just wondering where it’s all going. You don’t feel any different?”
Wincing, I finally sat up. “I feel like I got hit by a truck, but magically I don’t feel anything. I certainly don’t feel like there’s a big dark monster lurking inside me.”
His eyes flickered with something unsaid. I could sense his emotions bubbling to the surface. I waited, giving him the time he seemed to need.
“There’s something else,” he said finally. “Something you should know if we are to figure out just what this darkness is.”
I waited for him to go on, but he still seemed hesitant. When he didn’t speak, I said, “Why do you think it was different here? It was like a monster. And all oily. Not like the shadow beasts at all.”
He sighed. “That’s exactly it. That thing—” once more he hesitated, “that thing was something I used to dream about, after my mother sold me off. It was a recurring nightmare, a monster snatching me and drowning me.”
It took me a moment to process what he was saying. “You mean not only did it read you enough to go to the place you loved as a child, it also knew one of your old nightmares?”
“It would seem so.”
I thought about it. The only other shapes we’d encountered had been the shadow beasts. But maybe… “Do you think when Silvana’s people got cut off from both realms, maybe they were afraid of whatever beasts might lurk in the pocket realm?”
Crispin blinked at me.
I felt kind of silly even suggesting it, but it did sort of make sense. “The darkness that targeted you formed into one of your old fears. Maybe it did that with Silvana and the others too.”
“Curious,” he said, clearly deep in thought, then didn’t speak again.
I would have snapped my fingers in front of his face if I felt strong enough to lift an arm. Maybe we’d be gone more than one night after all, because I certainly didn’t feel well enough to bring us back to Emerald Heights. Not even with the Realm Breaker, which I noted had been removed from my back and was leaning against the small dining table next to my boots.
At least my pained expression seemed enough to bring Crispin back to reality. “I’d like to attempt sharing some of my magical energy with you. In this realm I can channel a great deal from the earth. I can recharge you like I did before in the Bogs.”
Once, I would have thought long and hard about a magical exchange. Now, all I could say was, “Okay.”
He smiled, though it was a little sad, then leaned forward to cup my face with his palms. He had been seated with his legs curled to one side so he could lean over me, and now as I curled my legs, we mirrored each other. I leaned into his touch, waiting to feel better, then had to close my eyes as moonlight lit up where our skin touched.
As his magic seeped into me, I braced my palms against his chest. The only problem with sharing magic like this was that I always wanted more.
The golden cord between us flashed bright and shining in my mind’s eye, and without thought I leaned further forward and kissed him.
He went still for a moment, his hands still cradling my jaw, then he pulled me more firmly against him, his tongue searchingmy mouth. The moonlight where our skin touched intensified as I crawled into his lap, deepening our kiss.
His hands skimmed my waist, finding the bare flesh between my jeans and my jacket before lifting to slide the jacket off my arms. He kissed down my neck and I hugged my bare arms around him. I hesitated, feeling like maybe I should be nervous. I had never really been alone with Crispin like this, not where we wouldn’t be interrupted. But I didn’t feel nervous. I felt safe and connected. I knew he didn’t like to talk about his mother, and I’d never heard him share his nightmares. I appreciated that he was willing to share both with me.
I kissed his temple, then the point of his ear, making his breath shudder against me.
“Thank you for not letting me run away,” he said, then took my jaw in his hands again and claimed my mouth, swallowing my groan as I felt his hardness pushing through his pants against me.
I shifted my weight, settling more fully against him as his hands slid under my shirt, fingers tracing the bare skin of my back. The moonlit glow between us pulsed brighter with each touch, each kiss. His magic flowed into me, warming me from the inside out, healing the ache in my head, replacing it with a different kind of tension.
“Eva,” he whispered against my lips, “we should stop.”
I pulled back just enough to see his face. His pupils were dilated, his breathing shallow. “Do you want to stop?”
His hands stilled on my back. “No, but—”
“Then don’t.” I captured his mouth again, feeling his hesitation melt away as he kissed me back with renewed passion.
His fingers found the clasp of my bra, and in moments, my shirt and bra were pooled on the floor beside us. The cool air raised goosebumps on my skin, but his warm hands chased themaway as he explored my body while I shifted in his lap, feeling the heat of him through his clothes.
“Eva,” he whispered against my lips, his breath warm and sweet. “Are you sure?”
