Page 113 of The Last Remaining Light

“You cannot harm him,” she said with a severe tone. “The paperwork alone would be intolerable.”

She could tell he was about to protest by the way he parted his lips and frowned. Elwoynn brought a hand up and clapped it over his mouth, a brow lifting.

“I said… you cannot.”

She was rewarded with a glower from him, but she was suddenly quite focused on the softness of his lips against her palm. Elowynn pulled her hand away quickly, tucking it behind her back.

“We cannot stay here. There are too many eyes and ears in the Spire. But I have somewhere we can go.”

Elowynn had never thought she’d sneak a man into her personal chambers like a criminal. But that was exactly what she was doing.

The upper observatory corridors had—thankfully—thinned significantly after the late bells. Most scholars remained below within the gala halls, drowning themselves in politics, alcohol, and mutual intellectual hostility while the rest of Veylspire settled in for the night.

Still, Elowynn kept glancing nervously over her shoulder as she hurried across the suspended bridge leading toward the tower residences. Caelyn followed several steps behind without making a sound.

Which was absurd.

A man of his size should have sounded like a marching company on stone. Instead, he moved with a quietness that caught her off guard. How had she forgotten that?

Elowynn was hardly petite. She stood taller than most women and no few men, both human and Astrari. Beside Caelyn, she felt unexpectedly small.

The boy she once explored the abbey with no longer existed. The man behind her now moved with strength and intent. Broad shoulders strained beneath dark formal layers while black silk held portions of his dark hair loosely back from his face.

And stars above—he looked dangerous now, like violence had learned restraint. And Elowynn found him physically attractive in a way she never had considered before.

“Is there a reason you keep looking at me?” Caelyn said.

Elowynn forced her eyes to remain forward, not wanting him to see the sudden blush climbing to the tips of her ears.

“I am trying to determine how you managed to enter the city looking like a wanted fugitive attending a funeral without being called out. You look one minor inconvenience away from making good on your threat of harming a Council official.”

Caelyn’s expression fell flat. “There’ve been several inconveniences tonight, I will tell you. And a real good motive for the removal of his hands,” he grumbled behind her.

Elowynn bit back sudden laughter. The sound of his voice so close after all these turnings apart felt surreal. His voice had deepened into something low and gravely; it made her blood heat in the same way wine did. Comfortable and giddy.

“Oh, here!” She stopped long enough to remove his coat from her shoulders and handed it back. “Put this on,” she added. “It will help you blend in better.”

Caelyn did as he was told without question.

“Better?” he asked.

“No, here. Let me help.” She stepped closer and adjusted the collar before smoothing the shirt beneath where it had shifted. A quick tug here. A straightened fold there. It was remarkable how little effort it took to make him appear as though he belonged among the city's scholars and nobility.

Her hands stilled when she glanced up.

Caelyn was watching her.

The intensity in his gaze stole the rest of her thoughts. For one impossibly long breath, she was lost.

He was here. Close enough to touch. Close enough to—

Elowynn blinked and snatched her hands away, swallowing thickly. “There, y-yes. Better.” She swiftly turned away from him and continued on, not waiting for him to respond or to see his expression.

The observatory tower she resided in eventually rose ahead as they rounded a corner. Elowynn moved quickly through the entrance hall, nodding absently toward the elderly archivist half-asleep near the lower records desk.

Fortunately, the Astrari woman barely looked up.

Caelyn lowered his head and turned his gaze partially away from the woman as they passed until finally, they reached the spiral corridors.