Page 90 of The Iron Flower

I nod, lit up by him. “Yes.”

His full lips twitch into a smile, the gold in his eyes intensifying.

I look back at the ceiling, savoring the sultry feel of his fire shivering through mine.

“Are they going to make you fast?” he asks, his voice gaining an edge.

“If I stay in the Western Realm,” I meet his eyes, an ache gathering in my chest. “But I don’t want to.”

Yvan’s fingers tighten around mine, his gaze suddenly impassioned. “I don’t want you to.”

The thoughts stream through me, unbidden.I don’t want to fast to Lukas. I don’t want to fast to Gareth, either. Or to anyone on the Council Registry. I don’t want any of them.

“Do you see yourself married someday?” I wonder, pain infusing the question.

A shadow falls across his face, and his eyes cool to green. “No, I don’t.”

I want to press, to know why he says this with such terrible certainty, but there’s suddenly so much conflict in his expression I hesitate. That familiar look is back again—like he wants to tell me something but can’t.

“I wish you could tell me everything,” I say, running my thumb over his.

“So do I,” he breathes.

I think of how he healed Bleddyn and Olilly. How he spends every spare moment helping the refugees fleeing east. How readily he jumped in to help Marina.

How kind and incredibly brave he is.

I wish I could fast to you, I think as we lie there, his eyes locked on to mine.

But I can’t say it out loud. So, I let the thought gather in my head, straining for release as we lie there, our hands and fire magic entwined.

Overcome with fatigue, I try to stifle a yawn and fail. “I didn’t realize how tired I was until I lay down,” I tell him softly.

“Go ahead, get some sleep,” he encourages.

I can barely keep my eyes open, they feel so heavy.

“Good night, Yvan,” I whisper, savoring his presence, wanting him to stay here all night long, but too shy to ask him to.

“Good night, Elloren,” he whispers back, his gaze touched with longing.

I drift off to sleep but am roused soon after by a slight movement beside me. I watch through the lashes of my barely opened eyes as Yvan quietly gets up to sit by the fireplace. I’m immediately aware of the chill his departure creates, of missing him and wanting him back. I pull the woolen blanket up, hugging it tightly around my body, before drifting off once more.

* * *

I’m fast asleep when I feel the bed shift again. I slowly open my eyes, my brain fuzzy from sleep.

Yvan is sitting on the bed, staring at me. The room is softly illuminated by the fire he’s coaxed higher, the flames throwing out light that dances on the walls. It’s much warmer now, with only a slight chill from the draft coming in around the window. I can just make out Yvan’s long, lanky figure, his head tilted down toward me. His beautiful eyes glowing with vivid golden flame.

“Yvan,” I say, surprised by his searing expression, the fire blazing in his eyes. I hoist myself up on one elbow and consider him questioningly.

“Can I lie down with you again?” he asks, his voice ragged with emotion.

My heart thuds against my chest, and I lift up the edge of the blanket in invitation. The bed dips as Yvan slides the length of his lean body under the blanket in one smooth motion. He languidly curls up against me, his hand finding my waist as he pulls me close. I press my hand to his chest, tracing its hard planes through his woolen shirt. His heartbeat is strong and steady under my fingers, his fire running in a hot stream.

He’s so close I can feel his warm breath on my cheek. He smells like well-stoked bonfires and something distinctly masculine that makes me want to burrow my head under his jaw and inhale his scent all night long. The glow of his eyes heightens, locked on mine, blazing with a heat I can feel straight through my fire lines. I slide my fingertips along the collar of his shirt, tracing the skin just above it and along his graceful neck. His breathing deepens as I touch him like I’ve yearned to for so long.

“Elloren,” he says, his voice breaking with intensity. “I think I’m falling in love with you.”

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