Page 22 of Shadow & Stars
“Take these.” Xavier handed each of us a battered copper tankard.
“Thank you.” My fingers brushed his, exquisite electricity sparking across my flesh. I held his stare, ready to melt into him, every urge to crush my lips to his blooming to life.
A wayward strand of platinum blond hair fell across his eyes. He pushed it back into his swept-back tresses, the action enough to make my knees weaken. I wobbled, leaning on Darcy for purchase.
“Are you okay?” Xavier stepped forward.
I held up a hand. “I’m good. Water will help.”
Darcy steadied me, patting me on the back. “Have a seat if you want. I can get us some water.”
“I’m fine. Really.”
He nodded, giving my spine one more pat.
“End of the hall,” Xavier said.
Stealing another glimpse of him, because why the fuck not, I left the room with my bestie, passing a closed wooden door and more earthy walls on our way.
“I feel like a mole,” Darcy complained as we entered the bathroom at the end of the hall.
“Wait outside,” I told Margarite, who’d followed us.
“Of course, My Shadow.”
I shuddered at the way she said my nickname. Too light, too easy-breezy. Nothing like my ex-boss.
Another muddy room greeted me, a pile of rocks in the corner. Water bubbled from the top, trickling down into a pool. A tiny stream flowed through the room, vanishing into the eastern wall.
And what heavenly water it was. Darcy and I filled our tankards first, gulping down the liquid bliss. Once we were happily watered, we crouched by the edge of the pool and splashed our faces, wet our hair, cooled off, all that good shit. An actual bath would’ve been amazing, but I took what I was given with buckets of gratitude.
“I hate the way Butterfly looks at me,” Darcy said.
“Want me to threaten him?” I sprinkled some water down the back of my top.
“No. I can do that myself. I just don’t want to cause too much drama until we get what we need from him.”
“I’m not having you feel uncomfortable all the time, though.”
He stood up, stretching his limbs. “Don’t worry about me too much.”
“But I do. All the time.”
He smiled. “Ditto.”
“How does it feel being human again?” I asked, splashing my face some more.
I never wanted to leave this pool.
“Amazing. Intend to enjoy it as long as I can.”
Shit. “Maybe we can figure out how?—”
“No, Roman,” he cut me off. “I’ve resigned myself to my fate. I’ve enjoyed a good life with you. I’m happy to be a rat again if it means this madness ends.” His brown eyes glistened.
“Darcy…”
He sniffled. “I did this to myself. I played with magic too hard.” He shook his head. “I won’t pretend it doesn’t hurt, though.”
