Page 130 of The Shattered Rite
She hesitated, caught between instinct and intrigue. “Why tell me any of this?”
“Because you asked.”
She swallowed. “And you’re just that honest?”
“I’m worse than honest, Eliryn.” His voice was low now. “I’m tired.”
She blinked at that. Of all the answers she expected, exhaustion wasn’t one.
“I’ve spent too long in shadows watching people become monsters. Watching good things turn bad.” His gaze sharpened. “But you—”
He stopped. His fists flexed at his sides, a rare crack in his composure.
She watched him carefully. “But me…?”
“I don’t know what you are yet.”
“And that bothers you.”
“It consumes me.”
The honesty of it stole the air from her lungs.
“You don’t even know me,” she whispered.
“I’ve watched enough to want to.”
For a moment, neither of them breathed.
Then she tried for a smirk, though her voice caught slightly. “Maybe you just like the idea of something new. Something unknown.”
His reply was softer. “I know exactly what I like.”
Vaeronth growled softly, unsettled.
Eliryn flicked her gaze skyward. “Careful. You’re going to get yourself incinerated.”
Malric’s gaze didn’t waver. “I think I’d burn gladly.”
That rattled her more than she wanted to admit. She tried to recover. “You’re worse at flirting than you are at spying.”
“I’m not flirting.”
That stopped her.
“I’m telling you I don’t know how to stop watching you.”
The wind stirred between them, cold and sharp.
“I should be afraid of you,” she whispered.
Malric’s voice was softer now, the edge of something broken buried beneath the silk. “Then why aren’t you?”
She didn’t have an answer.
Vaeronth’s presence coiled, tense but silent.
Eliryn drew a slow breath, trying to gather herself, but her words cracked anyway. “Because you told me the truth.”
