My hands crossed over my chest as I watched them scan the room, before moving out the door and into the next room. Axel had a device in his hand, running it across every wall as they moved in tandem. I watched curiously as he paused every so often, indicating certain areas, prompting Callum to move closer to assess.
They didn’t stop until they covered every inch of my apartment, and only then did Blackwood set a small collection of . . .recording devices. . . on the coffee table in my living room.
I watched as they crushed each device before Callum called on his fire affinity, setting the crushed pieces of technology ablaze in a controlled flame. I crinkled my nose at the smell while they worked, not saying anything as I stroked Loxl’s fur methodically.
Finally, Callum looked over toward me. “All clear.” His words rang out, stark in the space.
“They bugged my apartment?” I said, somewhat bewildered.
“Yes,” he replied smoothly as he turned to fully face me.
“Oh,” I stated. “Well, thank you for making sure it was safe then.”
He nodded, his lip curving up in a dimpled grin. “It is myjobafter all.”
I huffed a laugh. “Still, you were supposed to stay in the attic until I decided it was clear.”
“I knew the apartment was empty,” he said matter-of-factly. “I didn’t see the need for us to stay stashed away when the apartment was clear.”
“You couldn’t have known they wouldn’t come back,” I replied.
Callum’s jaw ticked slightly as he stepped closer to me, his eyes twinkling. “Worried about me, starlight?”
I scoffed. “Not in the slightest,Sergeant. I was worried for Loxl.”
He chuckled as he walked past me, the stars-damned fox betraying me as he moved from my side and happily trotted after the male padding through my apartment.
“Still,” I added as I glanced between Callum and Axel before hurrying after the former. “You should have stayed until I said it was clear.”
“There was no need, and if those guards deigned to return, I had every intention of eliminating each and every one of them for threatening you.”
I paused mid-step, staring at Callum as his footsteps slowed, and he glanced over his shoulder to hold my gaze, amber eyes piercing mine.
“I mean it, Rae,” he stated.
“How’d you know it was clear?” I questioned, my cheeks burning under the intensity of his gaze, as I brushed past him and walked into the kitchen.
“I could only feel your heartbeat in the apartment,” he said ashe stepped into the kitchen, resting against the island, his arms folding across his chest as he looked at me with a serious look, and I froze, glancing down to his forearms.
Hisbareforearms.My eyes flitted to the rest of him, noting that he’d changed his outfit since I’d stashed him in the attic. He now wore gray sweatpants that clung to the muscles of his upper thighs, paired with a pilaeria T-shirt, from what I could only assume was the team he supported. My eyes narrowed around the sleeves, noticing the way they stretched across his biceps, before my gaze tracked back down to his exposed forearm, showcasing markings I’d never seen before.
My eyes tracked each of the symbols. His markings—now visible in a glimmeringgoldcolor. The first triangle held a smaller triangle inside, with small sparks indicating the mark for fire; then an upside-down triangle with a horizontal line through it for earth; and then . . . the last mark on his forearm, starkly visible in ancient golden ink, was the symbol for vitas. The rhombus-shaped design had a pattern of minuscule lines visible in golden ink.
My gaze flicked back up to him in shock. “I don’t know where to begin. Your markings are gold, not black, to start with. Not to mention that you have three of them.” It was a statement—a surprising one, but a statement nonetheless. “And one is a vitas symbol, though I’ve never seen one of those in the entire century I’ve been alive.”
He nodded in confirmation, not offering up anything else at the moment. So I reached for the coffee grounds on the shelf above me. I went through the motions of making coffee, adding the grounds to the machine before waiting for it to warm up. I was halfway through making the coffee when he spoke again.
“I don’t show my markings to just anyone.”
“But you changed clothing here . . . meaning you intentionally chose to show me. Why?” I questioned.
“I did,” he confirmed. “Because I trust you.”
I turned, looking at him with an assessing gaze. “You do?”
He nodded. “I rarely show my markings outside the Guild. There are those, like Lucanus, who seek out those with strong aetherial affinities. And the vitas affinity—though extremely powerful under the right circumstances—is not one I like many people to know I possess. My markings allow me to perform my job exceedingly well, but it still comes with a cost.”
I paused, looking over my shoulder to where he still stood, in the same place as when we’d entered the kitchen. I could hear the noise from the TV in the distance and knew Axel had made himself at home on my sofa, presumably watching the pilaeria reruns that were broadcasted every evening.
