A Dawn of Onyx (The Sacred Stones, #1)(71)

He watched as my tongue caressed my bottom lip, and his hand laced through my hair, cupping the side of my face. Tightening just enough to make my toes curl. I must have whimpered, because he pulled himself closer to me until I could feel the heat of his breath on my mouth. He smelled like wine, leather, and mint. I closed my eyes and leaned into his touch.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” An exasperated male voice came from the doorway, which had been wrenched open.

I jumped about a foot in the air and scrambled away from Kane, who stayed perfectly still on the floor. Griffin and a handful of soldiers and guards crowded the doorway.

“Commander,” Kane greeted him casually. “It’s about time.”

***

After we had left the wine cellar, Kane sent me to the infirmary while he and Griffin surveyed the damage. Thankfully, very few had been harmed in the explosion. I tended to a few concussed Peridot and Onyx revelers, and two prison guards who had taken the brunt of the burns from Halden’s explosion. It may not have been my finest work, as I was still fairly sloshed, but thankfully my healing abilities were second nature. I hadn’t gotten back to my room until the wee hours of the night.

My feet ached as I opened the door to my quarters.

I felt his presence in the dimly lit bedroom instantly. Kane was lying on my bed, one hand behind his head—the picture of comfort.

“If I had a sack of coin for every time I found you somewhere you shouldn’t be, I would be a very rich healer.”

A laugh breezed out of him. “How was the infirmary?”

I slipped my shoes off, feet aching, and climbed into bed beside him in all my clothes.

“Exhausting. And I may have operated on some soldiers a little smashed. But they’re tough. Who needs all five fingers anyway?” He stared at me in shock until a laugh burst out of me. “Kidding. Everyone seems to be fine, if not a little shaken up.”

Sighing, I studied the knots in the wooden ceiling above us. He followed suit.

“I’m glad to hear it.”

I turned to face him. “So, what happens now?”

“My best spies are tracking the Amber men as we speak. Tomorrow, Griffin and I will go after any leads they find. We need to catch them before they give Gareth and Lazarus any intel on me, or Shadowhold. The entire keep and visiting Peridot nobles believe the disruption to be a kitchen mishap. Not much else we can do tonight.”

“And how much trouble am I in?” I prepared myself for the worst.

“Truth be told, bird, I only blame myself. I should have known to never threaten someone you care about. You love too fiercely.”

I wanted to remind him I wasn’t in love with Halden, before I realized he didn’t mean romantic love. His tolerance toward my betrayal was shocking.

“Well. I am sorry for my part in it. Had I known who he was…” I had no idea how to finish that sentence.

Kane just nodded and stared once more at the wooden slats of the ceiling above us.

“I have so many questions from earlier. About the history of the Fae. Mari would probably vibrate with curiosity.”

Kane’s mouth quirked up, but he didn’t say more, and I didn’t ask. Maybe I felt like after what I had done to help Halden escape I didn’t deserve to grill him.

We sat in comfortable silence for a moment. I wasn’t sure if it was the wine still coursing through my veins, the relief of finally understanding the man beside me, or the late, strange hour of the night, but I couldn’t find it in me to make myself hate Kane a minute longer.

Truth was, I probably hadn’t really hated him since our day in the forest.

“Tell me about Abbington.”

His words caught me off guard and I stiffened imperceptibly. “I’ve already told you. What did you call it? A collection of huts?”

But he only shook his head and fixed his gaze on me. “No, the good—tell me what you liked about growing up there.”

It was easier than I expected to step right back into the glade outside my house, the cobblestone streets, the small cottages and farmhouses. I could smell the crisp air, the year-round corn harvest, the steam billowing off my cranberry and apple tea, warm inside my chilly kitchen.

“It wasn’t glamorous, we didn’t have the finery that you have even here in the middle of the woods. But everyone was kind, tried to help each other. The taverns were warm and full, the sunsets were spectacular each night over the mountains. I don’t know… it was home.”

“And your family? What are they like?”

“Leigh, my little sister, is a menace. She’s way too smart for her age, and always speaks whatever is on her mind. But she’s so sharp, so witty. She really makes me laugh. You would love her. Ryder is the charmer. He has the kind of confidence even charlatans would follow blindly. I’ve never met anyone who wasn’t completely enamored by him. Even our parents. And my mother,” I turned to face Kane, whose expression had grown wistful. The twist in my heart forced me to trail off.

“Your mother?”

I cleared my throat. “She used to sing while she cooked, when she was healthier. She always made up these songs that never sounded quite right. Trying to rhyme celery and friendly and things like that,” I smiled even though my throat was squeezing. “She made everything better. Every bad day in school, every splinter, every time I felt so scared I couldn’t breathe. She was ill my whole life and never complained. Not once.”