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I swallowed hard, knowing my voice had darkened, all because of the feelings she drew from me. Feelings I couldn’t control. “It would be an honour to wear any name you gave me. For you to call me something other than stranger...when we’re already so much more...is exactly what I desire, but...” I leaned forward and gathered a handful of her hair hanging over her chest, deliberately brushing my knuckles along the side of her breast.
She gasped.
I held her gaze as my pulse thundered. I traitorously used her hair as a trick to touch a part of her I longed to claim. “Keocas is not my name.”
A moan echoed in her throat as I tugged gently on her hair, pulling forward just enough to graze my knuckles over her nipple.
Her back snapped straight, and this time, she did flinch away. Her cheeks burned, and she clamped both hands over her breasts. “I’m sorry. I—”
Leaning away, I hung my head. “No, it’s me who should be sorry. I didn’t mean to...well, I did. But...” I sighed and wedged my palms over the painful hardness between my legs. “It’s taking everything I have not to touch you, Runa. Not because I want to make you mine but because every part of me screams that you already are.”
Her breathing turned soft and almost fragile. “I’m not afraid of you. I know you’d never hurt me. Not like...”
I swallowed a growl. “Never. I would rather Salak rip out my throat than cause you pain like he did.”
“And I would love nothing more than to help you find your true name.” She shrugged sadly. “You aren’t a stranger anymore. You never really were. A part of me is desperate to know who you are so I can remember who I am in return, but...I don’t have that power. Solin was the one who took me into the trance. He was the one who held my hand and introduced me to the fire who gave up my secrets.”
My back tensed as I forced my body to behave, pressing down on my hardness, willing it to stop torturing me. “He taught you. You know how to do it now. You could do it again.”
“No.” She shook her head. “I don’t know how to draw the symbols on my skin or where to find the mushroom that must be eaten to ground us to this world. Plus, the damaq root is toxic, and I wouldn’t risk killing you by giving you an improper dose.” Her chin came up. “That’s why I have to go back.”
I bit my tongue so I didn’t say something I’d regret.
“Solin said he wanted me as his acolyte,” she murmured. “If the offer still stands, it’s one I can’t refuse.”
My temper gathered, blackening my blood until a few shadow spirals licked over my feet. I glanced down, willing them away before she noticed.
Luckily, her gaze went behind me to the now empty cave. Only Kiu and one other female remained.
“Where did they all go?” she asked, her eyebrows knitting together.
“They’ll be back before dawn,” I bit out, struggling to dispel my temper and torturingly painful lust. “The moon calls to them.”
Her eyes narrowed as her breath suddenly hitched.
“What?” I immediately reached forward, cupping her cheek without thinking. Only worry filled me now, not selfish want or cursed desire. “What happened? Are you well?” Panic made me grab the awfully woven basket I’d laboured over, placing the food I’d found on her lap. “If you’re faint, here. Eat. I gathered these for you.”
Her gaze dropped to what I’d given her. Her mouth parted with disbelief. “Y-You foraged for me?”
I shrugged. “You can’t eat meat.”
“But—”
“I need to feed you, Runa. I won’t let you starve when every part of me wants to take care of you.”
Her fingers skimmed over the berries I’d watched birds devour to ensure they weren’t poisonous, pretty flowers that deer nibbled so I knew they were safe, and the dandelion greens I’d eaten myself as I’d wandered alone and lost. Over that time, I’d learned what foods my stomach could and couldn’t handle, but I didn’t have extensive knowledge—only the rudimentary schooling that loneliness had given me.
“I can’t believe you did this.” Her eyes locked on mine, and the faintest golden glow ringed her usual amber. They burned with gratefulness. “Thank you. So much.”
My back prickled, unable to accept her thanks. “I also brought you this.” Shaking out the deer skin, I kept my voice low, almost as if Natim the fawn would hear me and know what it was. “I understand wearing the skin of Natim’s mother will not sit well with you, but...you seem more comfortable clothed than bare, and...I want you to be comfortable.”
She winced as she eyed the hide. “I’m grateful. Truly. I just—”
“You felt her spirit pass. She has no more need of it.” I pushed it toward her. “Keep it. If you choose not to, I understand. I only want to make you feel safe.”
