Page 66 of Ties of Legacy

She smiled tremulously. “I hope you know I meant what I said at the beginning. Once I’ve completed my mission with Bolivere, I will help you. It’s unfortunate that our best hope lies in Halbury, but we can easily travel there after Bolivere.”

“If the people of Bolivere are willing to give up the lamp,” he said lightly, unable to feel his usual fear at the question.

Avery was standing so close, the sunset rays dancing over her, and his mind was too full of her to focus on anything else. He took a small step closer, and she didn’t pull back. She didn’t even seem to notice, despite her hand still resting on his arm. Her mind was elsewhere, and she bit down on her lower lip. He swallowed.

“Elliot, I—” She looked up at him, her words dying as her eyes widened.

Had she finally noticed how close they were, or could she read everything he was feeling in his eyes? He took the final small step that closed the distance between them, and her eyes darkened.

She licked her lips and tried again. “Elliot?—”

His name sounded different on her lips the second time, a world of meaning behind the simple word. Looking into her eyes, he saw his own heart reflected back at him. His heartbeat crescendoed, robbing him of breath—or perhaps that was the way Avery shone in the last of the day’s light.

Without thought or intention—as naturally as if breathing—he lowered his head to hers. She tilted up to meet him, her hand tightening on his arm as his wound around her.

It was the perfect kiss, their lips a perfect match. Soft, but with a hint of passion—the beautiful weaving of hope and desire. His heart soared in his chest at the confirmation that she was drawn to him as he had been to her from the very beginning.

After a long moment that was both timeless and too short, she drew back slightly. He rested his head gently against hers while his chest heaved with the effort of steadying his breath.

“Elliot,” she whispered, the name somehow carrying yet another layer of meaning.

“Avery,” he said back, a smile in his voice. He could have said the musical syllables of her name a hundred times.

Avery’s cheeks tinged pink, and she stepped away from him. He couldn’t bear to completely let her go, however, keeping hold of her hand. She smiled down at it, as he wove his fingers through hers.

Tugging her gently along, he led her to a carved wooden bench at the edge of the cottage’s garden, pulling her down to sit beside him. The bag at his side bumped against the seat, and with a jolt he pulled it off.

He draped it over one of her shoulders, smiling down at her. “Your lamp, my lady.”

She stroked the length of the bag, her eyes suspiciously moist. “It means everything that you trust me with this. Thank you.”

“Of course I trust you,” he said. “You trusted me first, after all.”

She nodded slowly, her eyes still on the bag. But drawing a swift breath, she looked up at him.

“You don’t have to worry about what happens after Bolivere,” she said. “The townsfolk have a particular need for this lamp, but they’ll be willing to sell it to you afterward.”

“After what?” he asked, not really thinking about the words. His mind was still too full of their kiss.

“After they kill the beast,” she whispered.

“What?” His head whipped around, and he stared down at her. “What did you say?”

“Not a Glandore Legacy Beast,” she hurried to say. “This one was never a person.”

He relaxed slightly, but the new knot in his chest didn’t entirely unwound. The Glandore Legacy had an unfortunate habit of turning young men into Beasts, but if it wasn’t the Legacy’s work …

“This Beast is a vicious, dangerous creature that lives in a cave just outside of town,” Avery continued, her voice gaining confidence now that she had committed to telling him the full story.

“It came from across the mountains—a true beast fueled by a foreign Legacy. I don’t know how it found a path across, although perhaps it was in less of a maddened state then. Maybe it’s the separation from its home Legacy that has turned its mind so vicious and feral.”

“This creature is killing the people of Bolivere?” Elliot asked, horrified. Had it taken people he knew? His mind ran through the many possibilities. “Why haven’t they banded together and fought it?”

Avery winced. “After it took the first man, they tried to do just that. That’s how it got the second man. The problem is that the creature isn’t one that should exist in Glandore, and its presence has confused the Glandore Legacy.”

Elliot’s breath quickened. In Glandore, the Legacy protected Beasts.

“We’re not sure what is a remnant of its home Legacy and what is the work of Glandore’s own, but it’s proven impossible to catch.”

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