Page 19 of The Midnight Arrow

“Yes,” he replied. That was all he would say, and I hurriedly draped the coverlet over his shoulders, standing on my tiptoes to reach them. Wrapped around his wings, the coverlet made a ridiculous shape, but when he faced me again, I wrapped the front together, tucking it tight.

I could feel him watching me as I fussed over him. Did helikeit when I fussed over him?

“I’ll have your clothes washed today,” I told him, grasping for something to say, chancing a peek up at him. His blue eyes were swirling again.

“If you wanted me naked, Marion, you only had to ask,” he said. “We can burn my clothes instead if you wish. I won’t complain.”

“Be serious,” I chided though I felt my lips quirking at the edges. When the coverlet was secure and I was satisfied he wouldn’t freeze in the chilly morning air, I stepped back. Only hesnatched my wrist, quicker than I could blink—frighteningly fast—and kept me against him. Pulled me even closer. “Lorik.”

“You’ve given me your blanket—what’s going to keep you warm besides me?” he wondered, tucking me into his side like I belonged there. His skin was so hot against me I was worried he was feverish again. “I’m fine. I run hotter than most,” he told me, as if reading my mind.

“What…what are you doing out here this early?” I asked, letting him warm me. He’d tucked the coverlet around me so I didn’t have anywhere to turn…but it felt wonderful. The heat of him contrasted with the icy air across my cheeks. I wondered if he’d bathed already because he smelled clean and fresh, no lingerings of poison or infection.

He would leave soon, I knew. There would be no reason for him to stay.

“Tell me about the glowflies,” he murmured, nudging his chin toward the five nearly hidden hives on the outskirts of the garden. Each hive was situated close to their favored plant. “A peculiar hobby. An incredibly dangerous one.”

“You saw them,” I pointed out. “You were out here a couple nights ago with me.”

“Yes,” he said, “but I knew better than to get too close.”

“Afraid of glowflies?” I asked, my tone teasing. I felt relaxed against him. This newness, this unpredictability when it came to him was exciting. Exhilarating. I wondered if he’d steal a kiss while he had me close.

I was so used to being alone…and I was used to Allavari men. Most were too proper that it bordered on being cold. Most didn’t show their feelings and very rarely acted on them. Allavari, like the Kylorr, were raised to show little emotion. To never let anyone see you struggle because that was not the Allavari way.

“Terrified,” Lorik responded, and I heard the smile in his voice without looking up at him.

Most Allavari men would certainly never admit to being scared of anything after plastering a woman against them. That was what I’d always liked about Lorik. He was unpredictable. Even in the market, when others looked at him with half-hidden wariness. Confident in himself, he didn’t seem to care what others thought of him or how a certain action would be perceived.

“You have abraydusas a companion and glowflies as your garden keepers,” Lorik said, his tone wistful. He shook his head, his good arm sliding down my spine, before he hooked a hand around my waist.

My cheeks warmed, and I grinned, trying to hide it beneath the curtain of my hair when I ducked my head.

“Are you sure you aren’t from the Below after all?” he wondered.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Glowflies, like yourbraydus, were once native to the Below,” he told me. “How do you think they have all their magic? They are literally bound in it.”

I looked up at him. “You sure know a lot about the Below and all its creatures.”

“Oh, I’m an expert.”

“I’ve never heard that before,” I told him. “Glowflies are rare, yes. But I managed to collect all of them from across the Black Veil, re-homing them here. I chose this place to build my cottage because there was already a wrathweed hive lodged in the trunk of that tree there and a patch of the stuff growing wild.”

I gestured to the tall river tree on the west of the property. I’d dug out the hive and moved it years ago, but the hollow in the trunk remained.

“Peek likes to lie in there sometimes. His little hideaway,” I told Lorik.

Lorik waved his bad arm—making him wince—toward the cottage, toward the bench he’d been sitting on a couple nights ago.

“Yourbraydushas been watching my every move,” he informed me.

Sure enough, Peek was sitting on the bench, staring right at Lorik, his long tail curled around his legs. His ears were straight up in the air. Though Peek had slept in the bedroom last night, he’d always been on alert—a stranger in his domain, no doubt, making him uneasy.

“He’s keeping the Severs away, remember?” I teased.

Lorik’s jaw tightened. He looked back to the hives, evenly spaced around the night garden. “Wrathweed. Fire cup. Brightbell?”

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