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It’s a style favored more by poorer artists who can’t always take the time to match every tiny detail for pure realism, but I’ve always appreciated the vision that goes into them.
Alek shifts his gaze to meet mine, his bright eyes part of that varied canvas now rather than standing out starkly amid an even plane, but no less penetrating for it. His stance is so taut I’m almost afraid to speak.
He needs to see that I’m not afraid ofhim.
I slip off the table and raise my hand. “Does it still hurt?”
“No,” Alek says quietly, with a hint of a rasp. “Not since the first few weeks.”
I rest my fingertips gingerly against the right side of his face. Alek somehow tenses even more, but he doesn’t pull away.
Ever so cautiously, I trace the erratic, overlapping streaks of color. The ridged lines are only slightly raised, the texture rough to my touch but not unpleasantly so. Even in the smooth areas between them, the scarred flesh feels thicker, denser, like scales more than skin.
But still just as warm as the other parts of his body I was pressed up against minutes ago.
“You know,” I say lightly, “I think I like it. It’s as if an artist decided to experiment with his techniques on your face. You’re art. There aren’t many people who can say that.”
Alek sputters a laugh. “You don’t have to pretend it isn’t bad. I have a mirror. I know how it looks.”
“You know how it looks to you. With the weight of all your regrets, with the knowledge of how all the haughty assholes around here would talk about it.” The corner of my mouth quirks slightly upward. “You know, the same assholes who’d assume I must be a monster because of the crack in my soul.”
“It isn’t the same. You—”
“You,” I interrupt, resting my palm flat against his mottled cheek, “are a pretty incredible person too. You don’t have to let your past mistakes and the judgment of idiots define you. If a riven sorcerer can make a go of being a hero, then gods be sure you can decide what you’re going to be now. I don’t see how anyone can stop you.”
Alek grimaces. “I don’t think simply deciding is going to absolve me of my crimes.”
“What about everything you’ve done since then?” My mind trips back over all my memories of our times together, my heart squeezing. “I don’t think I’ve ever thanked you for how much you’ve been here for me. You tried to get me help when you could tell I was hurting, even though I was pushing you away so you wouldn’t realize why. You listened to me. You kept an open mind in spite of the awful circumstances that brought me into your life. Even when you weren’t sure you could trust me, you answered all my questions, you brought me all the information I asked for and more.”
At the thought of all the reasons he’s had to distrust me, my gaze drifts away, but Alek tugs it back with the grasp of my other hand in his. “I never thought you were a bad person, Ivy. Maybe I didn’t know what to make of you at every moment, but I could tell you were doing the best you could with this mess.”
A small but ever so real smile crosses my lips. “I’m glad I’ve had you and your brilliant scholarly mind on my side.”
Still cupping his scarred check, I guide him to me so I can claim another kiss.
My mouth brushes Alek’s tentatively, and his breath stutters hot over my lips. But then he presses closer and kisses me back.
It’s not the hasty rush of our first coming together. More a careful feeling each other out, meeting halfway, testing just how far we can take this tenderness.
I run my fingers up into his thick hair, reveling in the texture that’s a mix of soft and coarse. Alek lets out a rough sound of approval.
His arm slides around me, his hand on the small of my back beneath the worst of my own scars, but I can still feel tension in his stance. A trace of hesitation, as if he’s nervous about giving himself over to the moment completely.
I ease back just an inch, teasing my thumb along his jaw. “You know, I thought you were breathtakingly handsome from the very first time we met.”
Alek lets out a light guffaw. He tips his head so his nose grazes mine. “Did you?”
“Oh, yes.” I tap those full lips that caught my attention even while he was interrogating me on our second meeting. “And now I know you’re also clever and caring and brave… and just as stubborn as me.”
He brings both of his hands to my face, framing it between them. “I can’t keep my eyes off you when you’re nearby. Youglow, in so much color, like the sun shining through one of the stained-glass windows in the temple out there. And yes, you’re stubborn, but about things that matter—and if we’re talking cleverness, who manages to teachthemselvesWoudish—and the dedication you’ve shown to this mission that wasn’t even yours…”
Alek pauses. For a second, I think he’s going to kiss me again, which I’d fully approve of. But his voice dips lower.
“I’m not the only one who’s noticed how fantastic you are. You and Casimir—I’m sorry I went off on you when I saw you two together—”
I grasp the front of his shirt with a firm tug to emphasize my point. “You’ve already apologized. I understand.”
“I shouldn’t have taken my jealousy out on you.”
