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“Your leg doesn’t need any more damage,” he told her. Without room to argue, he scooped her up like she was a child.
Thessa prayed the moonlight concealed her reddened cheeks. “Again, this doesn’t mean I forgive you,” she reminded him.
“Acknowledged,” he said, biting back that smirk.
Her muscles relaxed a bit, and she spent the rest of the walk listening to the hum of night insects.
“We’re home,” Soren blurted, breaching the threshold of his tent.
After setting her down she rolled her eyes. He had no idea how she felt about that word. “Let’s just get this over with.”
The old spellbook was perched on its tree stump.
“I’m surprised you left it unguarded.”
His eyes fixed on hers. “I’ve already found what I was looking for.”
She frowned at him before hobbling over and easing ontothe floor. Soren tried to help her down, but she’d swatted his hand away.
Seated beside her, he opened the grimoire to their placeholder. Thessa shook her head while reading the page.Glamour Spells.“It’s a shame these only work on mortals, imagine glamouring the Elementals to burn themselves to a crisp? How simple.”
“You’re terrifying.”
“Thank you.” Flipping the page, she muttered, “You know … my spellcasting professor said the success of any spell depends on thewill of the witch… I think Eiliana is what made this spellbook special, above anything else.”
“You may be right, but you’ve got more will than Hades.”
“Are you comparing me to my horse or a god?”
He flicked his gaze to meet hers. “Both.”
“I’m not sure if that’s a compliment.”
He chuckled.
She shifted to a serious tone. “Is talking about Eiliana difficult?”
“Not as much as I thought it’d be.”
She refocused on the book, unsure why she’d bothered to ask.Cloaking Spells.“Forbidden, but useful.”
“Illusions will work better.”
She agreed. “There’s got to be more in here.” Flipping to the next page, she was greeted with a pair of ravens, one on each side with their beaks meeting in the center spine. “While her art is lovely, it’s also covering half the book. I’m not sure what everyone was fawning over for a century.”
Darkness swelled in his onyx eyes, like something was trapped within them, itching to get out. “I meant what I said, Thessa. What if I wasn’t meant to find the book, at all?”
Her brows twitched. “What do you mean?”
“What if I was meant to find its new owner instead?”
Vague memories of the goddess rambling from her stupor resurfaced. Was her gift meant to bring them together? She was not willing to admit this was all some fated attraction. Rejecting the hypothesis with the shake of her head, she said, “To be fair, I found you. Then saved you. Which, by the way, you’ve yet to thank me for, so I guess that makes us even.”
Soren slapped a flat palm over the page. “Tell me you know how sorry I am.”
“Yes, Soren, I know you’re sorry. Does that make any of it okay? Does that make me feel better? It doesn’t. Stop worrying about your petulant feelings and focus on the grimoire. If you’re looking for support, perhaps yourpetcan provide that.”
His jaw ticked. “Okay, maybe I deserved that.”