Page 125 of A Thief Among Fae

I’ve never felt so weightless, like I’ll burst into a scatter of stars.

He grabs my hip, holding me steady.

I close my eyes, heady with anticipation. I brace to taste him, and⁠—

Someone behind us clears their throat.

I jolt away as if caught doing something deplorable, but Desmond stands planted in place. He swerves, glaring at the intruder like he wants to cut them down where they stand. Then the anger softens.

It’s Auri, her brows furrowed in an appalled grimace. “I need to talk to you, Desmond. Don’t argue that Cyn isn’t done training. Surely she’s capable of practicing without you coddling her.” Then she stalks away toward Vekhara.

“Did you know she was there?” I ask Desmond.

“You’re out of questions,” he says, jaw clenched. “Keep practicing. We’re having a meal at the inn at sundown.” Then he leaves without a backward glance. His shoulders are hunched. He forces them down just as he reaches the low wall around the village.

I grip my dagger as if I could cut away the turbulence of emotions churning within me. Then I touch my thumb to my lips, remembering the lingering smell of peppermint tea. I close my eyes, shamefully savoring it.

I’m a fool. Evie would tell me that. Seb, my best friend who I haven’t thought of in weeks, wouldn’t hesitate to tell me that, either. Since when did these fae and the guild occupy all my thoughts? I’ll never see them again once we all have what we want from the tomb.

Yet. . . The more I get to know the guild, the closer I grow to Desmond—I’m beginning to wonder if the treasure is what I want after all.

Chapter 35

By the time I’m done training, dusk has draped over the village like a cloak of soft purples and pinks. I eat a quick meal in the inn, but when I climb the ladder to the second floor, Desmond isn’t there.

Then I remember he said he’d sleep outside. It shouldn’t surprise me, not when he stayed awake all night at Hawthorn Inn with his wrist tied to a chair. Not when Auri would lock him inside his bedroom at the guild every night.

It’s not safe for him to sleep outside alone, even if he is the ‘Prince of Death.’ I grab my pack beside the bed I chose this morning. Finnian raises a brow at me. Auri frowns, but neither says a thing. Min isn’t with them. I saw her run off into the fields earlier in her lynx form, probably to hunt small prey for fun.

After leaving the inn, I visit the general store and buy a bedroll. Then I walk the perimeter of the village, searching for Desmond.

There.

A campfire crackles beside the boulder I trained with earlier. I clutch the bedroll as I approach. Desmond turns to face me. The dying pink light frames him with an ethereal glow that makes my chest tighten. We haven’t crossed paths since the almost-kiss, and I can still feel the phantom heat of him against me.

“Why are you out here?” he calls out.

I don’t answer until I stop right beside him, close enough to frown at him. “Not letting you sleep alone. Even if the villagers aren’t a threat, you don’t know what kinds of beasts lurk out here.”

Or whether the fomorians will return in the cover of darkness.

“Go back to the inn,” he says, his trepidation coiling around me through the bond. Then it darkens into fear.

“Because of the nightmares?” I quietly murmur.

He hesitates, then nods. “You don’t need to worry. I’ll be fine on my own.”

I levitate my bedroll toward his, but far enough away to be respectable for friends. Then I plant my hands on my hips. “I’m staying.” I hate the idea of him sequestering himself like a pariah.

Desmond’s hazel eyes narrow, and I can tell he’s preparing an argument.

“You are not sleeping outside alone,” I reiterate. “You’d have to tie me to a bed in the inn to stop me.”

His lips part, color flushing his cheeks. “Maybe that could be arranged,” he says, low and with a hint of mischief. Then his eyes widen, as if he can’t believe what he just said.

Neither can I.

I fight to find my voice as I stare at him, feeling too flustered already. The thought of him tying me down to a bed excites me in a way that has my toes curling, my heart stuttering traitorously. “Well, if you aren’t going to stop me, then you might as well lie down.”