Page 31

“I need to be honest with you,” I said finally. “About why I'm not walking away.”

He turned back to face me and his eyes narrowed.

“It's more than fear. More than how I feel about you or the possibility of what we could have together.” I took a breath. “I've spent my whole life wondering why I have the ability to feel more than my own emotions. Everything in nature has a purpose. My so-called gift doesn't. Empathy isn't a superpower. At best, it's a balm. At worst, it makes me antisocial. It doesn't fucking matter. But when I helped you last night, that changed. I felt—” My voice wavered. “Look, I'm not asking to stay out of pure altruism. I need to prove to myself that I'm more than a warm blanket or a pint of ice cream. Helping you could help the world. That matters.”

Tristan's expression softened, some of the cold distance melting away. “Destiny—”

“I love that you're concerned about me, but you don't have to be. I felt it last night, all of it, and I took what I could. I wasn't foolish, didn't try to take too much. I did what I could for you, knowing my limits. I trusted you to handle the rest. Trust me to know what I can handle.”

He closed his eyes. When he opened them again, the cold distance was gone, replaced by raw vulnerability. “I do trust you. I don't trust Osric. He could magnify the Pull to a point where even touching it could kill you.”

“I can sense it without touching it. I promise you, I'll be careful.”

Tristan sighed. “All right.”

“The next time you're scared, tell me why. Be honest with me, and I promise to be honest with you.”

“Agreed.” He pressed his forehead to mine. “So what do we do now?”

“Now I go to the museum and verify what's missing. After that, we figure this out together.” I paused. “And then, when this is over, you're taking me on a date. Somewhere normal. Dinner in your bat cave doesn't count.”

A small smile tugged at his lips. “A normal date?”

“Dinner, maybe dancing. We talk about ordinary things. We kiss if you're lucky.” I smiled back. “We need something to look forward to that isn't about survival.”

“It's a deal.” He sealed our pact with a quick, chaste kiss. When he pulled back, some of the fear had left his eyes. “I'm coming with you to the museum.”

“I assumed you would.” I couldn't hold back any longer. He looked too fragile, standing there, staring back at me with lingering pain in his eyes. I stepped up to him and slid my arms around his waist. “You're not alone.”

With a shudder, he crumpled around me. His head bent over mine and his arms pulled me closer. “Thank you. I know I shouldn't be happy that you're with me. You'd probably be safer without me. But I am happy.”

“I thought it was difficult to be around me?” I teased.

Tristan eased back to look at me, an expression of shock on his face. “It's gone. I hadn't even noticed until you mentioned it. I don't feel drawn to you anymore. Not in to the extreme I felt before.”

“What does that mean?” I whispered.

He shook his head and focused inward again. “Heartbreak is content. I think you helped both of us last night.”

“You mean when I took some of the pain?”

“No, that can't be it. Heartbreak causes the pain. But last night, when Osric used its name against us, Heartbreak lost control. You steadied it, gave it back control.”

“That sounds big.”

“It's huge. Unprecedented.” Tristan took my hand, hope rising in his eyes. “Destiny, I think Heartbreak was drawing me to you because it sensed what you could do for us both.”

“Holy shit,” I whispered.

“Yes, holy shit. I need to tell the Conclave about this.” He grinned and pulled me into his arms. “But first, we'd better make sure I'm right.”

“Oh? How will we do that?” I grinned back at him.

Tristan lowered his lips to hover them over mine. “May I kiss you, Ms. Takeda? Thoroughly?”

I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him down to me. As we kissed, I waited for him to tense. The kiss went on, hope rising inside me. There was no urgency to his kiss, just patient delight. We sank more deeply into in, relaxing even as we teased each other. Secure in our control, I arched against him, and his hands slid over my back. I sighed, his spicy-woodsy scent filling my nose, and slid my hands up into his hair.

Tristan slowed and drew back, but kept his arms around me. “It appears I'm right.”