Page 42 of A Legacy of Storms and Starlight

“I—” Zylah began, but Kopi’s warning cry cut her off.

Raif pulled her behind him, and she ducked to grab her dagger from her boot as a knife clinked off the stone wall beside her. She snatched it up as she pushed herself to her feet. Two hooded figures attacked Raif, a third ran for her. They weren’t guards, but that didn’t mean they weren’t Arnir’s men. They could be mercenaries, willing to split whatever coin the king had offered them for her capture.

Zylah threw the knife and it sank to the hilt into her assailant’s shoulder but didn’t stop them. They lunged for her and she pivoted out of the way, catching sight of Raif fighting with nothing but his hands against the two who faced him. He’d learnt from the best, he’d said.

Kopi called out again, and Zylah spun back around just as her attacker held out the knife, dripping with blood and ready to strike. She took less than a heartbeat to decide, launching towards them, shoulder barrelling into their waist and shoving them back against the wall. They stumbled back and Zylah ducked down at the last moment, just as her assailant went tumbling over the wall, rolling down the slope to the river. She didn’t wait to see what had become of them, she turned back to Raif, just as one of his attackers turned to ash at his touch, and the second turned on his heels and ran.

The breeze picked up and the ash scattered, just as Zylah reached him. “What did you do?” she whispered.

“We need to get back to the safe house. Now.” He turned to look at her, and Zylah could have sworn his eyes were different, but he blinked and they returned to normal. “You’re alright?”

“Thanks to Kopi.” She flicked her chin in the owl’s direction, her heartbeat still far too loud in her chest.

“Nice job, with the river,” Raif said, his wicked grin returning, all hint of whatever it was that had cast over him gone. “I think we can count that as your initiation.”

Zylah laughed. He didn’t have a single mark on him. And he hadn’t used a weapon. Perhaps she should have picked him for combat training instead. She needed to get those bracers as quickly as possible, she couldn’t rely on walking around the city with just her dagger any longer. That would be her first request to Saphi and Rose.

She rested a hand on her shoulder and rolled it gently. She’d need a long, hot bath the moment she got back. She looked up to find Raif looking at her but cut him off. “Let me guess, you know more than one excellent technique to ease muscle tightness.” She couldn’t help the smile that tugged at her mouth as she said it.

Raif offered a knowing smile in return as he turned down an alley she recognised, the narrow space between buildings and the door to the safe house nestled out of sight of the street. He reached to knock on the door but turned back to face her instead, his dimple dangerously close to being fully on display.

“That’s three times you’ve stared at my mouth today,” he said with a smirk.

“Asshole.” Zylah reached up on her toes, hands curling into his hair and pressed her mouth to his. She’d made her decision. And it was her choice, this kiss. Not his. But Raif didn’t hesitate; he pulled her to him, the hard muscle of his body pressed against hers as he kissed her back. His hand wrapped around the back of her neck, eliciting a gasp from Zylah as his tongue swept in and their kiss quickened. Somehow, she’d backed up against the wall, not an inch of space between her body and Raif’s.Gods above.

Zylah pulled back to catch a breath, pushed at his chest. His eyes sparkled, no doubt with all thetechniqueshe intended to demonstrate to her. She pushed again when he didn’t move, her hand remaining until he took a step back, his hands unwinding from her hair. She could go through that door with him, and this would continue. Gods, did she want it to continue.

Kopi flew down from the rooftops and landed on Zylah’s shoulder as she fought to control her ragged breathing. “Same time tomorrow?” she said with a smile. Zylah didn’t wait for a response; she evanesced back to the tavern before she could follow Raif inside the safe house.

“Zylah?” Holt reached for her the moment her feet touched the wooden floorboards of their room. Kopi flew to his dresser, and Zylah pressed a hand to her chest.

She met Holt’s gaze, his eyes flaring and his face paling for a moment before he sat back down on the lounger. He dragged a hand through his hair and let out a quiet breath. “All is well, I trust?”

Zylah sat on the bed, half in a daze, resisting the urge to brush her fingers to her lips. That wasnotwhat she had expected with Raif. And she knew if she’d gone inside with him, training was the last thing they’d be doing right now.

Holt pushed to his feet and began to pace.

“I’m fine. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.” She couldn’t look at him. Not yet. It felt… she didn’t know exactly what it felt. Her skin was flushed, her lips swollen, and for some reason, she felt guilty that he had to see that.In Pallia’s name, Zy.It didn’t matter, did it? Holt didn’t look at her that way.I won’t touch you.He’d made it abundantly clear. He was her friend. It worked;theyworked better this way.

He stopped pacing, sat down, rubbed his palms on his knees. He was far too big for the lounger, even sitting, and he’d never once complained. She should be the one sleeping on it, not him.

“We didn’t work on the other part of your training this morning,” he finally said. His expression was schooled, but he didn’t meet her gaze.

Zylah twisted her hands in her lap, thinking about all the things Raif had told her. “My friend Kara was always giving me books,” she said, a frown creasing her brow. “Her favourites were full of stories of faeries overcoming some terrible struggle and finding their mate.” Zylah laughed as she said it, at the memory of it. “I loved to watch her talk about them as if they were real.” Of all the things she could have mentioned, she’d felt compelled to mention this one particular subject.Excellent, Zy, waste your questions on ridiculous topics.

“Why do you think they aren’t?” Holt arched a brow, but there was no hint of amusement in his expression.

“A kindred soul? A life mate? Only one person for each of us? What kind of cruel fate would that be, if they didn’t choose you, or you never met, or they died?” Rose’s mate had been driven mad from the rejection, Raif said. Had he found someone else, like she had? Or would he never get to feel that for someone again, because of something she decided? “I refuse to believe that. We are capable of loving more than one person. We are capable of deep and meaningful love with more than one person, of course we are.”

“Not all mating bonds are a good thing,” Holt said softly. “Sometimes it goes wrong. Sometimes there are rejections.” He let out a breath. “Finding a mate is rare—complications are rarer still. But when it works—when it all falls into place—that’s a powerful thing.” He looked out of the window, and Zylah wondered if it was the city he was seeing or something else. Someone else. Heat flushed her chest, and for the first time, she questioned if perhaps he already had a partner, a mate even. The heat in her chest became a burning, and she willed the sensation to diminish.

“You’ve seen it? A bonded couple?”

Holt turned his attention back to her. “My parents were mates. They were inseparable. In life, and in death. But their bond got them killed, in the end.”

Zylah’s heart crumpled at that. He’d barely offered up any information about himself in the weeks she’d known him. To know his parents were gone,killed—words failed her. “I’m sorry,” she said quietly.

“It’s nothing to be sorry about. They tried to save each other, and they couldn’t. But their story is unique. I’ve seen bad matches—seen them end just as badly.”

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