Page 158 of The Stars are Dying

The gentle splash of water told me he was dipping into the bath. Then, with his hiss from the sting of his raw skin, I imagined him submerged in the milky water beyond sinful distraction.

“You should have let me tend to those,” I said as I turned around.

Nyte waved a lazy hand as if it were nothing, and that splintered something deep in me. His head tipped back contentedly, eyes slipping closed. He propped his arms up on the too-small bathtub and,stars above, his glistening torso was godly. Mapped with scars and gold markings. He was mesmerizing.

“I’ll heal in a few days,” he said. “Maybe a week.”

“How?”

“My fae blood will start coming back around now I’m out of the damn ward. Paired with the small vial I consumed of yours—I only needed it so I’d have enough strength to get you out of there when you came.”

“You’re fae.” It was all I heard, greedily adding pieces of him to the map I was charting.

He slipped one eye open as if to gauge my reaction. “Sort of.”

That made my eager expression drop, and as that eye closed again, a slow curl of amusement grew.

“You need a haircut,” I said flatly.

Nyte didn’t even look, pointing his finger across the room. “There should be some scissors in one of those boxes if it disturbs you so much.”

As it turned out, he could be just as insufferable on this side of the veil.

I wandered over as he dipped his head underwater. I looked in several containers, finding the scissors, but I paused, drawn to an ornate purple box. I unlatched it, and when I lifted the lid musical notes began floating from it. Two dancers spun while the song played, and I watched, mesmerized. The inside of the box was navy-blue, beautiful constellations decorating the fabric, so it was as if the figures were losing themselves to each other in the sky. And the song…

“I’ve heard this before,” I said vacantly. Then I was transported back to the market, back to holding that tiny box while cranking the lever, and these were the same notes—I was sure of it. I looked over my shoulder, momentarily distracted by how devastating Nyte looked with droplets falling off his midnight tresses while his face gleamed with the light of the moon that had replaced the sun.

“You have.”

“Was that…you?”

His jaw worked as if he were debating the answer. “Yes.”

I closed the lid with more force than necessary. “Why?”

All this time he’d been following me, helping me. Soothing my doubts and making sure I never felt truly alone. And I’d accepted it all as a desperate, tragic soul. What I didn’t want to confront was thewhy.Why he’d chosen me.

“I hoped you would remember it for times I could not reach you.”

It didn’t answer my question; his reply only weighed down on me, pricking my eyes with unexpected tears.

I asked again. “Why?”

“We have one night before the world goes to shit. I’d rather not waste it on the past.”

I was reluctant to let it go so easily, but more so, I shuddered at what he meant by that. Of course the king would be hunting for me. He’d be hunting for Nyte too when he discovered he was missing.

“Come here.”

It was unnerving how easily he could read my emotions. Perhaps my rise of fear was written all over me, but I snapped out of it, finding myself distracted by my racing pulse the moment I stood by the bath’s edge. I got to my knees, close enough that Nyte could reach out a hand and slip a finger through my hair, watching the silver curl of it.

“Much better,” he purred. “You could join me.”

“You hardly fit in there yourself.”

“Is that all that’s stopping you? I’m certain we could make it work.”

“Just…let me cut your hair.” I could hardly handle the giddy thrill taking over me. The thought of our wet skin against each other’s with no barriers was too tempting.Toodamn tempting. Before he could read that too, I shuffled behind him.

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