All the Stars and Teeth(67)

“I had a guard back on Arida named Casem,” I say as I run my finger across my new weapon, careful not to break skin. “His father was a weapons master, in charge of instructing our soldiers. He’s also one of my father’s closest friends; Casem and I trained under him when we were children, and sometimes he would bring us into the forge so we could watch the weapons being made.”

“And you think this blade will truly work?”

I nod. The wound the Lusca gave me was small but deep, and still it was enough to knock me out cold. If I attack someone with this, I don’t intend to make a small wound. I intend to kill.

“Of course it will.” I hold it to the window, into whatever light has managed to sneak through the thick haze outside. It’s a rich navy hue, with iridescent specks of turquoise and silver floating inside the material. From the right angle, it looks as though there are things moving from within the weapon, like microscopic leeches waiting for blood.

I wouldn’t doubt that possibility. This weapon is part of the Lusca, after all.

“I’ve made a legendary weapon. I’m sure it will work better than I can imagine.” I set it beside my sheath on the table. I’ll have to be far more careful with this weapon than my normal dagger.

“If it’s a legendary weapon,” Bastian says, “it deserves a legendary name.”

It’s like he’s taunting me with how close he stands. My heartbeat races as Bastian inches his way closer.

He’s right, but I’ve never named a blade before. The weapon I’ve scrounged up is truly one of a kind. A magical thing. “Do you have a suggestion?”

Bastian laughs, shaking his head. “It doesn’t work that way, Princess. The one who creates the weapon is the one who gets to name it. But I imagine it deserves something dangerous.”

“I’ll think on it.” I press my lips together, trying to ignore how he has one arm draped around my chair while he moves beside me, maintaining our tight space. There’s an entire room around us, and yet he’s nearly pressed against me.

He smells of sea and sunlight. Of adventure. It clings to his shirt and makes its home in his hair. I find myself wanting to let my fingers roam through it, to shake out the tiny grains of sand trapped there.

There’s a split second where the air shifts. I turn to catch him looking at me, and when I think he might turn away, he doesn’t. His grip tightens on the chair, and I think of the way those hands felt as they held my hips tightly to him. The way his lips felt against mine when we kissed, and how I didn’t want it to end.

Perhaps he and I want the same thing.

I run my tongue over my lips, tasting the nervous words before I speak them. “Do you remember when I freed you from Vataea’s trance?”

He draws his head back. I can’t tell whether he’s bemused or taken back, but he obliges all the same. “Of course.”

His words taste like challenge. I take the bait. “Well, she told me something funny about it.”

His right hand is on the desk. I trail my fingers toward it, slowly, brushing one gently across the back of his palm. He draws his bottom lip in, but otherwise doesn’t budge. “What did she tell you?”

“As it turns out,” I say softly, “it’s impossible to break anyone out of the trance unless they have feelings for you.”

“Feelings?” he echoes, shifting his right hand so his fingers weave between mine. “You mean like this?”

He kisses me, drawing his body firmly around mine. His lips aren’t soft. They’re rough and imploring, continuing where we left off. He tastes of salt. I drink him in, winding my arms around his neck, through his hair, over his shoulders. He shifts so he can wrap his arm around my back and pulls me from my chair with a quiet grunt. Seconds later, I’m against the wall, his hand wrapped in my hair and his lips roving my neck. My body is so warm I fear I might melt right here, pressed against Bastian’s chest.

I catch his jaw and bring it back to my lips, tasting the salt, the sunlight, all of it. All of him. I’ve kissed many boys before, but none of them felt like this. None of them made me fear my heart might burst through my rib cage and combust from working so hard.

I don’t want him to pull away. I want to bury myself in the warmth of his body and explore this feeling.

He ends it too soon. When he draws away, I’m not only breathless—I’m hungry. I want more.

There’s a matching hunger in his eyes as they roam my body, his chest rising and falling quickly from shaky breaths. Desire pulses within his stare when his eyes reach mine, but he forces it back and plasters a grin onto his face.

“Is that an honest enough answer for you?” His voice is filled with a huskiness that only makes my hunger grow.

“I’m not sure.” I reach for his hand, pulling him back to me. “Show me again?”

This time, we don’t stop.





CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE


The taste of salt remains on my lips even when Bastian and I eventually make our way back to the deck. The memory of his hands on my waist, fingers curling against me, still burns my skin.

I feel as though I’ve gotten away with something as I step outside, surprised when I’m met by icy, frigid air.

I hug my arms around myself, contemplating sneaking back down for my coat.