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“So much tension.” Her tongue clicked mockingly inside her mouth, and in the next second, she was shifting behind him.
Before he could ask what she was doing, her thumbs were working into the hard flesh of his shoulders. Awestruck, he stilled under her touch, his breath freezing in his lungs.
“You carry everything right here, you know,” she whispered from behind him, almost a purr. “The weight of the world is on your shoulders. What’s got you knotted?”
“It’s hard to relax when my sister is in recoil.” The intimacy of the moment loosened his tongue, making him honest when he should’ve logically remained silent, but he found he couldn’t hold in the words. “When I am.”
In the second shocking turn of events, Blair’s hand gently strummed up and down his arm in a comforting gesture. “I’m sorry for my part in it. I—honestly, I thought I’d be able to do it. I went in half-cocked and looking for revenge. We both know how that worked out for me.”
A pause punctuated her words, but her fingers returned to his neck.
“It’s Nina, isn’t it?”
He sucked in a breath. “What?”
“Nina is the reason you carry so much on your shoulders.”
To hear it spoken aloud made something in his gut twist. He stared straight ahead, breathing in and out the way Blair had told him, trying to grasp at the threads of honesty in the statement.
“My sister needed time.”
“And you gave that to her,” she emphasized, but her voice was gentle. “But Kaien … you can’t carry the world for her.”
“She’s my sister.”
Blair’s fingers kneaded into a particularly tense portion of his left shoulder, and Kaien fought off a wince. It felt good to be taken care of by someone—even if it was only for this one small thing.
“If she knew how much this was wearing on you…” Blair trailed off, sighing.
“Someone had to pick up the slack in her absence. She hasn’t lived among us in a century.”
“Yes, acentury.“ She roamed forward to catch his gaze. “Don’t you think it’s time for her to return home?”
Kaien squeezed his eyes shut, unable to think about the relief it’d be for her to return. He’d been waiting decades for her to live among them once more, but it felt like a fragile hope. Now, every day felt longer than the last. It’d only be a matter of time before his healing ability gave out entirely.
Then she did something he didn’t expect: her fingers twinned through his. “It’s a prison of the prettiest kind: to sacrifice your happiness for someone you love.”
He didn’t respond. Couldn’t.
“That’s exactly what it is to you, isn’t it? The burden of being sovereign in her place.” Her fingers tightened on his, and he savored every second of the contact. “It’s okay, you know. To feel that. Nina isn’t perfect—none of us are—and you have every right to—“ she paused, searching for the right words, ”—to not appreciate the position she’s put you in.”
This time, he forced himself to reply. “But what can I do? I can’t demand she come back.”
“Of course you can.” Those sapphire eyes held his, her every intention transparent. “Wecan. You don’t have to confront her alone. At least, not if you don’t want to.”
It was all Kaien could do not to collapse in relief, and he couldn’t stop a shiver from racing through his limbs. “I just might take you up on that.”
Blair’s smile, genuine and wholesome, lit her face. Night itself seemed to retreat from her glow. “When was the last time you did anything for yourself, Kaien? Can you remember the last time you were spontaneous?”
The challenge set off the competitive side of him. On his feet in a flash, he scooped Blair into his arms, delighted by her shriek of surprise. Already striding toward their impromptu destination, he grinned at her.
“What are you doing?” she demanded, but there was a playfulness behind her words that he thoroughly enjoyed.
“Oh, just wait and see, kitten.”
It wasn’t more than thirty seconds before it came into view beyond the tree line, a rocky outcrop several feet above the water’s glistening surface. Starkly illuminated by the brilliance of the moon, the spot had been his alone for centuries. His smile grew when Blair finally caught sight of their destination and jolted in his arms.
“Kaien!”
