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My breath hitched. Moments before the bite, and the blood, the kiss had felt… good. Would it feel that good again?
My hands went to his neck and our lips collided again. The injury had been minimal, so the gold was already fading.
“Sweet as oranges,” he whispered at my jaw before traveling further to place a gentle kiss on my neck that made my heart pound even harder.
The word “oranges” reminded me of Antonio, and I pulled away again. As I moved, I saw a bit of grey powder dusted on the bottom corner of Isaac’s nose and stiffened.
Ash powder.
Isaac’s smile was so wide it made my heart feel strange.
“Thank you,” I whispered, still staring at his nose.
How had I missed it before? It looked like he had tried to clean it up.
With morbid curiosity, I reached out and touched it. “Isaac,” I started, and his smile vanished.
My finger touched the spot, and his hand flew up to grab my hand. His eyes had grown hard. “Training is hard. We all need help.”
I pressed my lips together. “Ash destroys people from the inside out, Isaac.”
He looked at me like he was a different person. “You’re wrong. It only has bad effects on those who don’t have Blood Magic.”
I was taken aback. “It’s destructive for everyone.” A great deal of Dregs used Ash when we were hiding on the streets, and Comerciantes Nocturnos were all too pleased to employ an army of Ash Dealers. It emptied one’s soul as much as it did one’s pockets.
Isaac shook his head. “It makes Élites stronger. We last longer in physical activities, feel better, lighter. It could inhibit Blood Magic a little, but only for a limited time.” His fingers squeezed my wrist to the point of being painful.“No permanent effects.”
It was like he couldn’t even hear himself. Inhibiting one of the main things keeping him alive in a dangerous situation? I tried to pull away. “Isaac, this is reckless. Please don’t use it anymore.”
Then that tenderness returned. His grip softened. “All right, Rena. Just for you.”
I was blushing again. I glanced at the clock on the wall. “Well, I need to—”
“Me too,” he said, and then kissed my hand. “My little protector.”
“Few people call me little,” I said half-heartedly. I took a deep breath, not knowing what to say. “The thank you was for the gift, the kiss. I hope it won’t be the last,” I said, and then turned around before he could respond.
The last thing I needed was for Antonio to come looking for me.
As I bounded up the stairs, closed my eyes, and savored the sensation of accomplishment. I had found someone for me before the Marriage Council could. Someone who listened to me. Someone relatively safe.
Chapter34
Morning Walks Through A Patch of Fading Gold
Thursday came too quickly. I’d awoken before the sun with a raging stomachache, hoping against hope that my ailment would somehow exclude me from going to the house of Santiago Flores Jimenez and meeting his parents.
And Isaac’s parents, Martina de León and Hugo Monroy.
Theparents.
I had never met anyone’s parents before, because of… obvious reasons.
My bare feet already knew the path outdoors—to the orange grove where I often went to think or relax. Dancing had hardened the soles of my feet so that I could walk barefoot with little problem. Maestra Cecelia sometimes yelled at me for walking barefoot—yet another reason for the fur-lined boots—but I had been shoeless most of my childhood. Those well-loved and well-worn shoes now sat at the back of my wardrobe, undisturbed for nearly two months. It was cold, but there was a part of me that enjoyed the sensory distraction from my aching belly. The quiet outside world was preferable to the haunting silence of my solitary room. At least, out here, the wind and crickets could speak to me.
A warm wool shawl was wrapped around my shoulders to ward off the prickly chill that permeated through my skin and settled in my bones. I pulled the shawl tighter as I looked at the trees, which had already lost most of their color. After the last harvest two weeks ago, a Trabajador told me no new fruit would come until next spring.
We would not find winter oranges in this place. No sweet and tangy citrus to celebrate the new year, like we did on the Quinta Isla.
