Page 103 of Our Radiant Embers

“What about you?” I asked because hey, fair was fair.

She levelled me with a haughty look. “What about me?”

“From what I understand, you’re running your own cloak-and-dagger operation, aren’t you?” I saw no need to cut my eyes at Amit. “Just wondering how much the status quo benefits you.”

“Honey.” The word dripped with amused irony and just a hint of warning. “Drowning in bridal magazines is not how I see my future. The moment Adam is ready to end this, I will happily take a bow—but it’s his decision. Not mine, certainly not yours.”

“I don’t intend to pressure him.”

“Good.”

We turned as Adam raised his voice to thank us all for coming and raised our glasses with everyone else. His smile lingered as we made eye contact, then he gave an incremental nod at Cassandra, lips hitching up at the corners in something halfway between a question and amusement.

Ha. Thanks, but I could handle myself. I lightly shook my head.

“I believe”—her tone was dry as chalk—“he just offered to rescue you.”

“A true gentleman,” I said with a twitch of a smile.

She clinked her glass against mine as other guests did the same, a chant of “To Adam!” that we echoed. After toasting others in my vicinity, I took a sip and faced Cassandra once more.

“Real talk, though—I don’t need rescuing. I think you and I are on the same page.”

She studied me over the rim of her glass, expression unreadable. “And what page is that?”

“The page where we care about him.” It seemed laughably inadequate to describe the messy tangle that was my emotions. “Even if it means putting ourselves second.”

A moment passed before a genuine smile softened the corners of her eyes and grew from there. It changed her face, made her appear less like the elegant heiress to a family dynasty and more like a normal young woman with dreams and a sense of humour.

“Right answer,” she said, her voice coloured by warmth that had been absent before. “I believe we’ll get along just fine, you and I.”

“I’d like that,” I told her. “Especially since neither of us is going anywhere, and I’m well aware that if it comes down to a choice, it won’t be me.”

Cassandra had known Adam for most of his life. Me? Not so much. Between the two of us, I was the newcomer, my claim on Adam rather tentative when we hadn’t even put a label on things.

‘It’s not casual.’

“That would be a cruel choice,” she said quietly. “And I am not cruel.”

“No,” I said, just as quietly. “I don’t think you are.”

Was there a point when she’d loved him as more than a friend? Maybe I only wondered because I found it hard to imagine knowing Adam without loving him.

Yeah, I was in too deep. And I didn’t want out.

* * *

Right as we were about to sit down, Adam called me to his side. For the benefit of our audience, he joked that as the newest addition to this group, I required his special attention. It might double as a warning to anyone who considered taking issue with my presence—although barbs about technomancy had vastly decreased since we’d been picked for the Green Horizon Initiative.

As for my sexuality, well. I’d never made a secret of it, and I never would. Nor could, at this point.

Not even for Adam.

I spent dinner next to him. Over the course of the meal, I caught glimpses of shadows in his eyes, brief moments when he went absent and silent. Something had happened. I kept our knees pressed together under the table even as our conversation remained light.

Cassandra faced him, Amit by her side. He turned out to be a quiet guy with calm, intelligent eyes, listening far more than he contributed. When he did speak, though, it was well-considered and eloquent. He seemed capable of keeping up with her.

The tiny, pink-nailed woman ended up on my other side. Her name was Maria, and after a few minutes of stilted small talk, the conversation turned to what we’d studied at uni. Most water mages chose Hydrology or Chemistry while she’d picked Marine Biology and regaled me with enthusiastic tales about diving in the English Channel—zero visibility, strong currents, and shipwrecks crawling with lobsters.

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