Page 92 of Close Quarter
He did, opening his eyes in time to see his hand missing from the length of his arm before he snatched it back from a swirling mass of... something. Light? Dark? The hole in the air snapped shut.
Rhys flexed his fingers. The sword was gone.
"Well done." Silas kissed the back of his neck and pulled him tight against his warm body.
Holy hell.Rhys stared at the spot where the sword had been. The tingling in his spine had nothing to do with Silas for a change. He looked at his hand. "Why'd you want me to memorize how the sword felt?"
Silas's chuckle vibrated against his back. Hot breath caressed his ear. "Because now you're going to pull it out."
Put his hand back in there? "You've got to be kidding."
"Frightened?" Amusement in that honey voice, and just the hint of mockery.
"You're an ass. You know that?"
Another kiss to the nape sent a shudder through Rhys. "Yes, actually, I do," Silas said.
Bastard.
Terrified was a more apt description. The freezing slickness that had wrapped around his hand while it was not here chilled him to the marrow. But knowing how to draw a sword out of thin air... Well, that could come in handy.
He clenched his hand, shook it out, then closed his eyes and plunged it back into that awful place.
God, it was cold. Something that felt like feathers tickled across the back of his hand. Where the hell was the sword?
Silas's voice rang in his ear. "The hilt, Rhys.
Remember."
He did. And then it was there in his hand. He tightened his grip and pulled the sword free. When he opened his eyes, the blade was there, diamond edge sparkling in the sunlight pouring in from the windows.
"Well, shit," Rhys said.
Silas laughed, rolling peals of pure amusement and love.
This time the tingling in Rhys's limbs had everything to do with Silas. "You're going to tell me I shouldn't be able to do this, aren't you?"
"It's a fae trick, to store things in the Aether.
You've enough fae blood."
"But it's your sword."
"Ah, yes." Silas sobered. He took the sword from Rhys's hand, then stepped away to twirl it in the sunlight. He frowned. "The Messengers gave the blade and the burden to me. But you've used it once. You may need it again." In a flash of light, he slid the sword into nothingness.
"How do you do that so quickly?"
"Practice," Silas said. Then he smiled.
Shit."Again?"
"Until you can draw it without thought."
"Really, really an ass."
Silas stepped forward, cupped Rhys's chin, and pulled him into one of those devouring kisses that set every nerve in his body on fire. When Silas broke it, he spoke. "Yes."
God, this man."Fine."
