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Wes. The name tugs at me, reminding me of nights in the Wilds with Tessa. Her quiet smile, her quick hands, her gentle manner. Her intelligence. Her bravery. I fell in love with her by moonlight.
“If I let you go, you’re going to behave yourself, yeah?” The boy swallows and nods, eyes still wide. Rocco’s fist uncurls from his shirt, and he takes a step back. The boy darts forward to punch him right in the crotch. “That’s what you get!” Rocco doubles over immediately.
Omg poor rocco
Ellmo picks up a handful of pebbles and chucks them at the guardsman. To my absolute shock, Rocco picks up a small handful of his own and lightly flings them right back. Ellmo yelps in surprise and skitters away, which makes Olive glare at them both—but the boy bursts out laughing. “Are you five?” I say to Rocco. “He started it.”
When his hands land on my bare chest, it’s more than a jolt. It’s a lit match. A bonfire. An inferno. His eyes are full of stars, and his hands are so warm, and even though there are a million feelings I should keep buried, a million things I should be doing, I’ve simply run out of strength to care. I seize the lapels of his jacket, and I press my mouth to his.
He clears his throat. “I’m hesitant to criticize the king—” “Are you?” I say. “Are you truly hesitant?” “—but all this staring is rather distracting.”
“Corrick wasn’t my husband,” I say, and my voice breaks. “But I loved him.” The tears spill over. “I loved him so much.”
He pauses. “At the risk of being an annoying big brother again, it’s good to see you smile.”
Erik isn’t done. “It’s well past nightfall. How could the two of you even see on the road? What if you’d encountered thieves? I knew I should have gone with—” He stops short as Olive steps in front of him and takes hold of his shirt. She rises up on her toes and kisses him on the cheek. “Thank you for your concern. We won’t worry you again.”
Erik just stands there, holding the lantern. The edge falls out of his voice. “I . . . well . . .” He runs a hand over the back of his neck and clears his throat.
I stop beside Erik, who’s staring after her. “Close your mouth,” I whisper. He clamps it shut. The look he gives me is aggrieved.
I snatch the book right out from under his pencil. This time, when he comes after it, I don’t let him tussle. I let go of the book, take hold of his shirt, and kiss him. He yields immediately, his mouth softening under mine. No tension, no uncertainty. Just simple ease, simple comfort. There’s something so gratifying to that.
“I don’t want you to disappear,” I say, and then I realize I’m crying in earnest. “I won’t,” he says. “Never again. I swear it.” He leans down to kiss me. “I swear to you. Never again.”
He’s going to hang me, Quint. He’s going to do it as publicly as possible. He’ll hang anyone who comes with me, you know that—” “I do know that.” His voice is so quiet, his hands so gentle against my wrists. “I’ll go with you.” I stare into his eyes. I wasted so much time.
My dear brother. I keep thinking of the last words you said to me when you left Kandala. “Be here when I get back.” Cory, please forgive me. I’m so sorry I won’t be.
