“Hmm,” she hums, voice low.
I move to the far side of the wall and sit down, close enough to hear her breathing but not enough to touch. The space between us feels charged.
She watches me and I realize she isn’t angry at all. She just looks…sad.
I think of how she looked when I went to her room. How she’d cried out when she touched herself, and it felt like I was home. There is a very real chance I will never hear those sounds again.
So I let her watch me. I want to let the time stretch.
But I wasted so much time under the mountain. I don’t want to waste the meager morsels we have left. With a bit of food in my belly and the knowledge she is well, I feel bold.
“Do you remember when we were forced to share a bed in the Sisterhood’s Enclave?” I ask, trying to cut through the tense silence.
She doesn’t answer right away.
In fact, I’m almost sure she won’t when she says, “I didn’t mind that night.”
“But you mind having me here now,” I say, attempting to draw more thoughts out of her.
She looks away. “I…”
She takes a deep breath. “I am glad not to be alone anymore.”
Something stabs through my heart. A heart that has since sped up with the nearness of her.
“I didn’t mind sleeping next to you that night either, even though I’m sure I seemed like I did.”
She glares at me. “You have a talent for fucking things up.”
I laugh softly. “Forgive me for that as well, Firelocks.”
She blinks rapidly, and something in her body language softens. I take it as an invitation to keep trying.
“So you still have the curse inside of you?” I ask. This is something that has concerned me since we were reunited.
“I don’t think I’m cursed anymore, and neither is she. Technically, she fulfilled her half of their bargain. Now she is just…a companion. A strength?”
I don’t know if I like how that sounds.
“Are you sure? What if she is manipulating you? She is loyal to Arion in some regard.”
“She is not,” she answers.
“But she is dangerous. She can take control of your body—that’s what’s been happening during the trials. Right?”
“Afraid we might kill you in your sleep?” Arlet asks, saccharine sweet.
“I would welcome death if it meant you would touch me again,” I breathe.
She freezes. I can practically feel her mind spinning. Instead of waiting for her to respond, that I might flirt once more, I continue.
“Would you say you have made friends with the demon in your mind?”
She seems grateful for the change in tone. “Yes. I would.”
“Do you plan on… letting her stay?”
She purses her lips. “I don’t know if that’s possible, despite what Lord Castien says.”