Page 51 of What Blooms from Death

And damn it all if this beautiful specimen of a male was not reminding me of that.

The mingling of our magic didn’t help, either; the buzzing his nearness caused in my power could have been the first sparks of arousal, if I allowed them to be. They felt entirely too similar.

And before I could help myself, I was wondering what sort of response—whether cataclysmic or beneficial—embracing that spark might create.

Talk aboutbonded.

Biting my lip harder, I tried to stay focused. “So, I woke you in that forest. My magic settles yours. If we continued to travel together…what’s in it for me, I wonder?”

“The pleasure of my company,” he replied without opening his eyes.

“Wow. I’m getting absolutely fuckingshortedon this deal.”

I thought I saw the ghost of a smile flirting with his lips, but it was gone as soon as I looked closer.

I wondered, for an instant, what his true smile looked like. Had I seen it in the living realm—maybe when we were children? I must have. So why couldn’t I remember it now?

Why did Iwantto?

Against my better judgment, I kept talking, kept trying to bridge some of the uncertainty between us. “I did feel…something when I approached you earlier. A surge of strength in my own power, perhaps.”

He said nothing; I wasn’t even sure he was listening.

I didn’t want to keep talking. Didn’t want to entertain the idea that we were magicallybondedin any way. But not understanding seemed worse than discovering an answer I didn’t want.

So I said, “The shadows that appear on my skin sometimes…I used to have more control over them. They were always tied to my stronger magic use, but…soon after what happened at Rose Point, they stopped showing up. They had stopped surfacing foryearsbefore I found you down here. And now, they’ve appeared on my skin twice in the span of a day.”

He finally opened his eyes, but he still didn’t speak.

I swallowed. “So, your presence seems to awaken the stronger parts of my power. And my nearness settlesyourpower, as you said.”

“Mm. Though it’s very…fastidious.”

“How so?”

“When you’re close but out of reach, as you are now, you just give me a dull, aching headache.” He rocked up into a sitting position and inched closer to me. “It keeps things from raging out of control, yes, but the finer, more nuanced wielding of my abilities is impossible to manage. I’ve noticed, though…” he trailed off, stopping just short of reaching for me.

The moment stretched into one of painful uncertainty, which surprised me; I didn’t think the King of Light wascapableof showing uncertainty.

Judging by the confusion and exasperation that crossed his face, he hadn’t thought himself capable of it, either.

“Never mind,” he muttered. “It’s strange. Let’s leave it at that.”

“No—explain it.” I moved closer to him without really thinking about it.

He sucked in a sharp breath, as though I’d done something far more intimate than simply closing the space between us.

Intrigued by the reaction, I grew bolder, sliding closer and letting my hand come to rest on his leg.

He went perfectly still, staring at my touch with such intensity that I forgot what I was saying for a moment.

“…When I’m truly close to you like this,” I finally managed to say, my voice more hushed than I intended it to be, “does it bring clarity to you and your powers?”

A pause. Then he raised his hand and his fingertips gripped my chin, lifting my gaze to his. He considered me and my question for another beat, his golden eyes burning into mine.

“Yes,” he said. “For the first time in seven years, I feel like I have a true hold on my powers again.” As if to demonstrate this, a jagged line of light cracked across the hand pressed to my chin. It spread up his forearm and over his bicep, and warmth poured from his skin along with the light, enveloping me.

His gaze seemed to brighten as it raked over my face again, drinking in the sight of me newly awash in the glow his magic created. “Like an anchor dropping in a storm-tossed sea,” he mused, more to himself than me.

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