Page 75 of Anchor

“Thisroomis the Vault!” I hissed, just in case he missed it. “You’re in the Vault, Taland. What the hell are you doing—you’re going to get yourself killed!”

If somebody killed him, didn’t he know that I’d be all alone in the world? Didn’t he know that I’d follow him—right after I ruined this entire fucking building with my bare hands?

Goddess help me, I wasn’t even exaggerating here.

“I’m perfectly alive, as you can see,” he said and stepped a little closer. “You look good, sweetness. Much better than when you entered the Iris Roe.” His fingers were under my chin and he slowly raised my head, and that little ball of light came closer to me as if to enable him to see me better.

He analyzed every little inch of me while he licked his lips, and goddess, I couldn’t look away from the perfection that was his face. I couldn’t move away, didn’t want to—I didn’t even want to breathe for fear we’d have to then move on to the next moment.

His hair was trimmed shorter than in the Roe which was also a shame because it looked better on him when it was a bit longer.

He chuckled, and the sound warmed me to my bones. “You’ve always looked best when you spent time close to me, I suppose. My presence nourishes you.”

Yes, yes, it absolutely does,I wanted to say, and because it was the truth even if he was just teasing me right now.

But before I could tell him that he was spot on, that his presence fed my soul and made me come alive, those words he said made me think of something else—something I had just been thinking about.

He looked exactly the same as he did in the Iris Roe in the beginning.

Beforehe walked through the Drainage with me in his arms.

Everything came to a halt—my thoughts, my breath, even my heart. I grabbed his face in my hands before I even realized what the hell I was doing.

“You-you-you…” I shook my head. “You walked through the Drainage.” What I was thinking was a lot more colorful than my words were able to describe right now—what the hell were you thinking when you knew and you saw those bones and you saw what being Mud did to me and how dare you put me before you and how dare you not take care of you first—these things I screamed on the inside, but I couldn’t even begin to bring myself to say them out loud.

“I did,” Taland said, his hands on my wrists as he held my hands to his cheeks and closed his eyes with a sigh.

“Taland, you walked through the Drainage. Can you do magic? Were you drained?” I barely choked out becausethatwas the most important thing.Tell me, tell me, tell me, please?—

“Yeeees…” he said, and I died.

Then his eyes turned up to the ceiling as if he was thinking about it.

“And no,” he ended, and I came back to life again.

“What? What?How?” He made no sense and I needed him to make sense about this so desperately.

“Hard to explain something I don’t understand myself,” he said, pressing my hands onto his cheeks harder until his lips plucked out. “But, yes, sweetness, I can do magic, as you can see.” He looked up at the small light hovering near our heads.

Goddess, he could have put the world in my hands right now and I wouldn’t have been happier. More relieved.

He could do magic. Taland could do magic. He wasn’t drained. The game had been just a game.

Something took hold of me, and I was well aware of where we were and the fact that we had very little time to get the hell out of this place, but I forgot about everything for a second—becauseTaland can do magic!—and I kissed him. His face was already in my hands. I pulled him to me and rose on my tiptoes, and I slammed my lips to his.

We both froze like that, not breathing and not moving, our lips touching and our hands on one another.

I wanted to laugh and cry and dance and shut down all at the same time, but kissing him was better than all the above. Kissing him was proving to myself that he was here. He was okay and I hadn’t cost him his magic and his life—Ihadn’t. He was okay.

And just like that, so was I.

Until I heard footsteps somewhere far away.

My instincts took over. There was no need for me to even think at all. I just heard noise that sounded like footsteps somewhere outside the half open door of the Vault, and I moved.

I grabbed Taland by his jacket, and I basicallythrewhim behind the pillar with all my strength—which was a lot. In moments like this, it was enough to even carry him all the way out of here if I had to, and Taland was too surprised, too shockedto even try to stop me so he stumbled back with his eyes and mouth wide open.

Heart in my throat, I turned to the door.

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