I was dragged into the lightless hollow of an ancient oak, my back colliding with a broad, solid chest.
Before I could shout, a leather-clad hand wrapped around my mouth, stifling my protest.
I fought against him, my heels digging into the dirt as I kicked back, but I met only empty air as he sidestepped my attack.
He pulled me tighter against him, pinning my flailing arms to my sides.
“It is me, little flame,” Talon whispered. “You need to be quiet.”
I froze, the scent of ozone and smoke enveloping me.
I sagged against him, my neck craning to peek through the gaps of the oak roots. I watched the pale vine sway in the clearing, its eye darting back and forth, as if searching for the source of the scream.
“They are watching,” he murmured, his breath fanning across my temple.
“Who?” I breathed against his palm, my lips brushing the cool leather of his glove.
“The High Court.”
Talon dropped his hand as the vine finally retreated into the upper branches, its form melting into the silver bark.
“What?” I hissed, turning in his arms. The space was so narrow that my chest pressed extremely close to his. “How could they know I was coming?”
Talon remained silent, his expression unreadable.
“No,” I said, shaking my head as the realization hit me. “She would not jeopardize my safety like that.”
Talon sighed, his hands tightening in the fabric of my robe. “Then how else would they have known, little flame?”
“I do not know,” I admitted, my hands coming up to rest against his chest. It was firm, the muscle beneath it reminding me exactly how much strength he possessed. “But it was not Keeper Sora. She cares for me.”
Talon nodded hesitantly, though his jaw remained tight. “Okay. But you must be wary of what information you share with her from now on.”
My eyes searched his, watching the worry and a flicker of something like anger fighting for dominance in the ocean depths of his gaze.
“Okay,” I whispered.
My eyes moved down to his cloak-covered arms, my stomach tightening in a sudden, traitorous appreciation of his physique.
He was broad, lethal, and truly too handsome for a monster.
I cleared my throat, suddenly overwhelmed by the heat between us, and wriggled from his embrace.
Talon’s arms dropped and he took a single step back.
“How did you know I was coming here?” I asked, trying to regain my composure.
He raised a dark brow, a ghost of a smirk playing on his lips.
“Right,” I sighed. “You were watching me in the Archives?”
He smiled with a small nod, looking entirely too proud of himself.
“There is no reason to be proud of stalking women,” I told him, crossing my arms over my chest.
“I do not stalk women,” he countered. “I stalk you.”
My eyes wanted to roll, but a small, fuzzy part of me hummed at the thought that I had his absolute, undivided attention—no matter how wrong or dangerous it was.