Maddy entered the room and flopped onto Anna’s bed. “Can you imagine being fated to love someone you knew would be the death of you?”
Anna paused. She’d never thought of it that way. No wonder Bel’s emotions were always so full of bitterness. She was born to a terrible fate. “Yeah. That kind of sucks, doesn’t it?”
Maddy laughed. “Are you ready yet? You’re taking forever.”
Probably because she was dreading seeing David this morning. She suspected he wouldn’t suffer her sidelines mockery in silence any longer. Today he would react.
Buthow?
With a last pin inserted into her braid, Anna nodded. “Yeah, I’m ready. Let’s go.”
On the field, Sean greeted her with a pixie wrist-grasp. The spark from his fingertips, then his lips as he kissed her temple, sent sparkly vibes along her nerves, stronger than normal.
“I heard you were caught in a delicate situation yesterday,” Anna said with a teasing smile and Signed,How scandalous.
Wincing, Sean glanced at Bel at the edge of the clearing.You heard that? She’s going to kill me.
Anna tossed her bag of gear to the ground. “I don’t think youcanbe killed.”
He made a face likefair pointand shrugged. “Well, I got a fun lecture from Bel after we got caught, so I’ve learned my lesson.”
Anna began to strap on her leather guards. “What lesson is that?”
“If you want to finish, don’t fuck behindunlocked doors.”
The bracer slipped from her grasp as her mouth fell open, and she burst into scandalized laughter. “I can’t believe you just said that. You sounded exactly like David.”
Still smiling his cheeky grin, Sean popped his neck in both directions. “Sometimes the moment gets away from you. I didn’t realize it would spawn gossip.”
“Sean,” Anna said in a pitying tone. “People have been talking about you and Isobel for centuries. Your relationship is a legend come to life. Literally everything you guys do will be gossiped about.”
The smile faded from his face. “That’s—ugh.”Won’t happen again, he Signed. Under his breath, he added, “It wouldn’t have happened at all if I wasn’t so stressed.”
Anna squeezed his shoulder. “You okay?”
He glanced at her as if assessing how much he should say.
She smiled. “You can talk to me.”
The blue of his eyes reminded her of the flowers that had grown in her neighbor’s garden as a child, so vibrant they’d seemed unnatural. If Cathaire was a still lake and Leyla the turquoise shallows at the beach, Sean was the blue of the deep ocean—fathomless.
“They won’t listen to my ideas because I don’t know anything,” Sean said, voice hushed. “How am I supposed to help if I don’t know how they hunt? Bowenn wants me to go out, told me this morning that I’d been cleared by the Council, but Bel doesn’t want that. Viterra is too dangerous, she says. So what am I supposed to do? And I’m still too much of a coward to read the Sending.”
Incredulous, Anna’s jaw dropped. “You haven’t read it?”
He dragged both palms down his face. “I know.I know. It’s… Once I read it, it’s real.”
“Sean—”
“Don’t.” He took her hand and cupped it between both of his. Shimmers of sensation passed from his skin to hers, but she paid it no mind. He stared at their hands, deep in thought. “Just…don’t.”
Anna watched his fingers interlock around her hand, andfor the first time, she truly understood the importance of the Pixie Effect. More than just sparkles passed through the contact. Shades of his stress flowed into her, and she could almost hear his voice as he explained every nuance of it. At the same time, her own network responded, offering support and connection, a place to lay his burdens.
His skin was a shade darker than hers, bronzed where hers was tawny. They both had scars, but he possessed far more. He had centuries’ worth of pressure resting on his shoulders, so Anna let her network take a bit of it away.
You are not alone, she whispered through the link.
Cobalt eyes lifted to hers.I can’t do this.
