Page 66 of Storm of Ink and Blood

“Do you?” he asked. “Do you understand why this is destiny?”

She blew out a breath. “Let’s just dance.”

Without warning, he tugged her towards him, pressing her body to his. Then he wrapped an arm around her, his large hand splaying against her back. She shivered at his touch, a spark lighting up her skin. She didn’t want to react to him this way, but she was slowly learning that either she had to find a way to forgive and eventually trust him, or she might be miserable for the rest of her life.

He began to twirl them across the floor, just like the night they’d danced in the forest. They moved like smoke, in tune with one another. There was no doubt something connected them.

“Are you still angry with me?” he asked.

“Yes,” she answered immediately, and he nodded.

“But you called me here.”

“I did.”

“Why?” He tipped his head in curiosity. “Did you miss me?”

She narrowed her eyes. “I didn’t. I just wanted to see how this thing worked.”

His answering chuckle was low and dark, clearly reading her lie.

“And now that you’ve practiced?” he asked.

“Then…” she started to say that that would be it, and he would never see her again, but that wasn’t the truth. Now that she understood how to do this, she’d be more tempted than ever to reach out. Maybe the only thing keeping her away had been her inability to find him.

“Zarya,” he said. “Please. Stop this.” He tightened his hold and brought her closer. “Talk to me. Let me show you I meant no harm.”

“How will you do that? I won’t come to Andhera.”

“Then meet with me. Let me see you in person. I don’t want to exist only in this space. This is not real.”

“Isn’t it?” she asked, though she knew what he meant. The visions were vivid and almost solid, but something distant kept them from becoming true reality. Like a layer of almost translucent glass coating everything and allowing light through but preventing it from touching what was underneath.

“You know it’s not,” he said, and she nodded.

“Where are you?” he asked.

“Will you come for me?”

“Yes,” he said. “I’ll fly across a thousand miles to find you.”

“I’m in Ishaan,” she said, the words slipping out of her mouth. She wasn’t sure if she’d meant to reveal this, but there it was. Again. His eyes gleamed with satisfaction.

“So close.”

“What now?” she asked.

“Wait for me,” he said, echoing the same words he’d said that night before he’d dropped into her life and changed everything. “I’m coming.”

And then the scene disappeared, and Zarya opened her eyes, sitting alone in her apartment.

Wait for me.

A breathless shiver of anticipation climbed over her scalp and spread through her limbs, warming her from the inside out.

He was coming.

Rabin returned to Abishek’s study where Zarya had pulled him from moments earlier. He stood by the fire where he’d been conversing with the king. He blinked as the world returned to focus.