Twenty-four
Leena
As the moon rose into the night, the forest came alive. Julips—miniscule jellyfish-like creatures—floated up into the air, leaving their homes in the dirt to soak their transparent skin in starlight. The delicate membranes of their bodies exploded in color, and the navy sky was suddenly blotted with electric aqua. Noc dragged his lips away from mine for a moment to watch as one crept upward between us.
“I’ve never seen this before.” His voice was raw with a mixture of desire and awe, and his words rattled my heart. In the gleaming light of the Julip, his onyx eyes flashed and the angles of his face sharpened.
He was beautiful before, but even more striking now. Face tipped toward the heavens, gaze tracking the progression of a Julip, he rested his hands on his knees. Ease. It was the first time since knowing him I’d seen him so relaxed. Instead of a frown, his lips formed a genuine grin, and my heart gave up. I didn’t mean to fall in love, but I did. Right there. I’d been fighting for so long that the feeling completely upended me.
A cool shiver raced across my skin. How long had I known but not been brave enough to think of the word? Loving Noc was like faith—a force that existed beyond my capabilities and drew me to him, an endless current between us.
There was still a sliver of me that burned with fear. Here I was, in love with a man who’d been willing to use a Gyss. It was all too familiar and all too terrifying…and yet, I understood. Wouldn’t I have done the same, had our roles been reversed? The amount of pain he’d been living with for years on end was beyond my comprehension.
Noc stood and gently poked one of the Julips. The surface rippled from his touch, and the creature skittered away. Now at eye level, the affronting, cruel bounty mark laughed at me from Noc’s wrist.
“How do we get rid of the oath?” I came to stand behind him, pressing my nose between his shoulder blades so I could breathe him in.
Noc glanced down at his wrist. “I need to unearth the true identity of the person who placed the hit. Cruor has resources.”
“Even if you don’t have Cruor anymore?”
He leaned into me. “I guess I’ll know for sure when we get back. Even so, Kost, Calem, and Ozias will help. They’re my brothers first, members of Cruor second.”
Wrapping my arms around his waist, I held him closer. “It was probably Wynn. The man I told you about in the beast realm.”
“I don’t think so. The person in charge was female. When she placed the bounty with Kost, she was cloaked, masked, and never spoke, though there was a deep-red glow around her hand when she summoned a beast. She wrote all her requests on parchment.”
“That would mean her Charmer’s mark is the same hue.” I fingered the waist of his trousers, feeling the waistband of his drawers and the velvet kiss of his bare skin. “That doesn’t make any sense. Wynn would have the most to lose if he somehow thought the Council could decipher his lie. But a woman? I don’t recall crossing anyone.”
My fingers slid lower, and Noc placed his hand over mine, stopping my progression. “Leena…”
“You’re stopping me? Now? When you’re finally able to enjoy yourself fully?” My words were meant to tease, but he tensed beneath my touch. He turned to face me, and I was struck by the uncertainty in his gaze.
“I… It’s been so long since I’ve felt this way. I don’t even know how to act without the curse. What if I say too much? What if I say too little? I’m not sure—”
I pressed my finger to his lips, charmed by the nervous energy radiating off him. I supposed, in a way, this was all new again for him. It had been such a long time since he’d been free. “Take a dip with me.”
His brow furrowed. “What?”
“You’re thinking too much.” I turned so my back faced the lake. Intertwined his hands with mine and slowly pulled him toward the water. “Let’s just go for a swim. Enjoy the night. How does that sound?”
His easy smile broke my heart. “Still trying to get me naked?”
“Is it that obvious?” I laughed. “I’m just trying to get you to relax. C’mon. It’ll be fun.” I snaked my hands beneath his tunic and lifted it off over his head. Everything in the world slowed. The casual flight of the Julips. The chirps of the nightingales in the wood. Even the breeze toying with the edges of the grass. Noc was statuesque, each cut definitive and sharp. Faultlessly proportioned. I traced the hard lines of his chest, touching the contoured V of his lower abdomen.
He snared my wrists and brought them to his lips, planting gentle kisses on my fingertips. “Tell me something.”
“What do you want to know?” I cupped the side of his face. Trailed my thumb over his scar. His eyelids fluttered. Tender hands went to my jacket, unlacing it and pulling it over my head.
“Anything.” He kissed my neck. “Everything.”
I tilted my head back. I’d fallen fast and hard for this man, and I burned to tell him the depth of my emotions. To be the first person who shared their feelings with him now that the curse was lifted. But there was still a lingering thread of fear. One that was ice cold and reminded me of all the times he’d shut me out.
This is over.
I was scared that was the truth, not this newfound warmth.
Something close, then. “I don’t want to say goodbye.”
