Page 84 of Ignite
I clear my throat and straighten my spine. “Ready.”
He raises his hand, a spark of fire crackling on the tips of his pointer and middle fingers. He walks around to my back and, with his free hand, shifts my hair over to one shoulder, leaving my left ear exposed.
His fingers graze my neck, causing goosebumps to pebble my flesh. There’s a moment where I feel him lingering at the soft space just behind my ear, and it sends a shiver down my spine.
We haven’t had much time to talk about what’s happened to him, but there’s no denying that he’s stillhim. Right now, theremay only be glimpses of the Graylen I once knew, but deep down, he’s still there.
I can’t imagine what he’s been through, and I’m willing to give him however long he needs to work through it.
“I’ll find time to teach you the enchantment.”His words are soft, floating in my thoughts.
The unsaid reason hangs between us:in case we get separated.
Adrian shifts into my line of sight, catching my eye, but his gaze is set over my shoulder. On Graylen. His brows draw together as he slowly looks down to where Graylen’s fingers are pressed behind my ear.
He quickly spins around, kicking loose rocks at his feet.
Graylen begins to mutter a string of words aloud that I don’t understand, drawing my attention back to what he’s doing. His two fingers trace the slope of my ear slowly—they glide across my skin, leaving a trail of warm tingles in their wake.
His chanting continues behind me, and I try to focus on the words he’s saying. But it’s hard to listen when his magic starts to cascade around me. It starts at my ear, the tingling moving to my neck, my shoulder, and my chest.
My eyes flutter closed.
Graylen pauses, his Essence slowing its delicious descent down my side.“Your magic feels different.”Graylen’s voice filters into my mind.“It always reaches for mine, Lunaria. Always. But this time…it took longer.”
My eyes snap open. He noticed. Of course he did.
“Something happened to it,”I answer honestly, craning my neck enough to catch his gaze.“I don’t know how to explain it.”
Right nowlingers after my words. If anyone will patiently listen and work through this with me, it’s him. I want nothing more than to sit down and tell him not just about the shard and my magic, but the things I did while wishing he were there with us.
I want to tell him about Kauri and the wild fae there. Abouttheir strange way of being marked with ink, similar to the Aegis but more primal. Ancient. He’d love to hear about us sleeping suspended in the air high above the ground, and the flight to the cave.
But now isn’t the time.
Graylen’s jaw works, concern flickering in his gaze.“You don’t have to tell me about it now.”His nostrils flare.“But soon.”
I swallow and nod. His hand shoots out, fingers wrapping around my chin to angle my face toward him. My breath catches as he leans toward me, his lips hovering above mine.
“I may have been in the Vale with the Goddess of Vengeance, but I know you went through something too while I was there,”he murmurs, the words scattering my brain.“It does not make your pain less than mine.”
Before I have time to react, he gently lowers his lips against mine. The kiss is soft and quick, long enough for my body to gravitate toward him, but short enough that he pulls away before I can deepen the kiss.
Tears gather in my eyes, and he smiles sadly at me.
“Time for the other side.”He begins on the opposite ear, this time moving far quicker.
Afterward, he does his own ears. Meanwhile, the kiss stays seared into my thoughts. The feel of his mouth against mine lingers, my lips tingling.
Graylen finishes up, a tense silence resting between the four of us. Leda is watching Adrian’s every move, while Adrian is pointedly lookinganywherebut at all of us.
I rifle through our packs, making sure we have everything we need. The one smart thing Adrian did was come to Penyth with money—alotofit. Plenty for us to buy a few horses, some food if needed, and new clothing before we get to the castle—and still have some left over.
Leda worked with Willow to gather enough cured meats, cheeses, and dried fruits to last us at least a week on this side ofthe border in case things didn’t go as planned getting Graylen back. It’s more than we need, but it gives me something to do while Graylen finishes the enchantment on himself.
“So, what’s the plan?” Adrian breaks the silence, his gaze sliding to me. “I’m just going to show up at the castle with you and Graylen while making it look like I managed to bring both of you back alone? Without any of the guards or Reichardt?”
I can feel Graylen’s questioning gaze on me; he was bound to find out at some point.
