“But as we spent more time together, I understood,” I continued. “Because you have more honor in your toe than the emperor has in his entire body. Because others gravitate to you, theylikeyou. You are brave and strong, andgood. You told me to tell you something true, but the only lie I could ever tell is how much you matter to me. Because it scares me too much to tell you that.”
Maz’s breath caught. His mouth opened, but no sound came out. He looked as stunned as I felt.
But the words were between us now, and I couldn’t take them back. As uncomfortable as I felt at voicing my feelings, it had been more uncomfortable to hide them, like a steel mask slowly weighing me down.
“The emperor lied to you, and I’m sorry for that.” I moved closer to him, my voice earnest. “But you built a life for you and your sister, and you can’t regret that. You don’t have to follow Vahid forever. You don’t have to do his bidding for the rest of your life.”
Maz reached out and did what I hadn’t dared. He cupped my cheek again, the pad of his thumb tracing my lower lip. I inhaled sharply, the surprise of it catching me off guard. His finger drew so lightly across my mouth and yet it felt like he was painting with wildfire against my skin.
He leaned into me, so close his lips were inches from mine. We stayed like that for a beat, a frozen tableau, but the darkness mademe bold. I closed the distance between us, pressing my lips to his, catching his gasp in mine.
Something in my chest ignited.
I had surprised him, I could tell, but not for long. A second later he was kissing me back, and we were meeting each other with the same fervor, testing and exploring this new ground. He slid his hands to the back of my head, threading his fingers through my hair and tipping my face back. My mouth opened wider and our tongues met in a hot, messy frenzy.
I was dizzy with it, with him. I sighed against his mouth and his teeth dragged against my lower lip. My hands gripped at the collar of his tunic, pulling him closer to me, like I wanted to consume him.
It was new and yet it wasn’t. We’d been drifting toward this place for so long that it felt like a natural progression. Him kissing me, my hands on his chest, his fingers in my hair.
Finally, he eased away from me, letting out a long breath. I watched him, waiting to see who we were now—if he was still Maz and I was still Dani and we existed as we always did.
Finally, he spoke. “You think I’m as good as you with a sword?”
I punched him hard on the shoulder and he fell back against the bed, laughing.
“That’s theonlything you have to say?” I scowled at him, but I couldn’t hide my smile. We had kissed. I still tasted him on my lips. And we still laughed together like nothing had changed.
When everything had.
“I believe I saidalmostas good.”
He shook his head. “No, you distinctly saidjustas good.” He grinned back at me.
“You told me to tell you something true, and I’ve told you several somethings.” I folded my arms across my chest. “Wedidseveral somethings.”
“Just one thing,” he said, his voice soft. That pain was still there, I could see it behind his eyes. But the shadows seemed less deep. Andeven though I hadn’t kissed him to give him that reprieve, I was glad that it did.
“You get distracted by my arms? I should fight you with my shirt off more often, maybe I’d win more.”
I rolled my eyes. “Maz, I still have a dagger, and I’m never afraid to use it.”
He leaned toward me, his face now serious. I breathed him in, the crispness of a mountain forest in the morning, the comfort of a thick quilt while waiting out a storm. This felt right. Whatever was between us, whatever we had cultivated with our training, our teamwork, our fierce rivalry, and now this kiss, it now felt right.
“I care about you too, Dani.” His voice was solemn, with a gentleness to it I’d never heard before. My heart felt as if it were on fire, as though it would light up the entire room.
“And for the record,” he added, the humor returning, “I don’t think I’m comparable to you with a sword at all.”
I gave a small smile, still distracted by what he had confessed to me, about that kiss and what this meant for us now.
He swallowed, the knot at his throat bobbing. “And thank you, for making me feel something other than consuming rage. Because my only two options were either to murder the emperor, or come straight here.”
And he had chosen me.
Just by saying those words, he had told me so much.
He had chosen me over vengeance, despite the riot of emotions he must be feeling about the death of his mother. Despite knowing that the man who raised him had done the most despicable thing—he hadn’t sought anger, but solace.
“Is that why you rode through the cold desert in darkness?” I asked, looking again at his muddied clothes, the torn sleeve.
