Page 108 of A Tower of Half-Truths
Though tears stung her eyes, she couldn’t look away. She was as awestruck now as she’d been upon seeing Alain’s tapestry of warding magic for the first time. It was then she realized:shehad placed this magic.Shehad created this beauty.
Alain nudged her shoulder. “Don’t forget to summon your protective ward.”
This spell—the most natural of all—required only a raise of her hand. Under the effects of the Sensing spell, the ward appeared before her in a burst of white, then faded to blue.
“And now, for the augmentation,” Alain said.
He turned and placed his palm flat against her protective ward. He spoke a brief incantation, similar to the first one she’d ever heard him recite. Seeing the magic up close confirmed what she’d suspected before: the base incantation alone was enough to reveal the ley lines. A thread of white light tethered itself to Mavery’s ward and trailed to the stone in Alain’s trouser pocket.
He then reached through the aura as easily as passing his hand through a stream of water, and touched his palm to hers. He hadn’t told herhowhe’d planned to augment her ward, and so, this was a pleasant surprise. The magic rippled at his touch but did not falter.
“This is what you see?” he whispered. When she nodded, he shifted his hand slightly, interlaced his fingers with hers. “This is… Well, I actually can’t find the words.”
She laughed softly. “I’m glad to know I have that effect on you.”
He smiled. “More than you realize.”
A moment ago, the illuminated trees had enraptured her completely. Now, they were simply part of the background, all but forgotten. The only thing she could focus on—the only thing she cared to—was his face, cast in soft blue light.
Her ward rippled again as Alain took another step forward, crossing through it completely. Before now, she’d never fullyappreciated how they stood eye to eye. It made it all the easier to see the flush of his skin, the desire in his eyes that matched her own. Her lips parted, but not a single breath escaped them as he leaned in and kissed her.
It was the softest brushing of lips—too brief for her to return the kiss, much less close her eyes and savor it. Alain broke away instantly, released her hand as he stepped backward. His eyes blinked rapidly, his skin was the reddest Mavery could ever recall seeing it—save for his knuckles, which were bone-white as he clutched his notebook to his chest.
“I-I’m sorry,” he stammered, looking at his feet. “Forgive me, I don’t know what came over me just now. I shouldn’t have—”
Mavery lowered her hand, dismissing her protective ward, then grasped Alain by the lapel. He emitted a small gasp as she pulled him back toward her. Close enough for their breath to mingle, for her to sense the tea-and-parchment aroma that clung to his skin, as though it had long become a part of him.
“Don’t you dare apologize,” she whispered.
She drew him even closer and pressed her mouth to his.
Thirty-Two
Not only had he kissed Mavery,shewas now kissinghim—and more fervently than he ever would have imagined.
Alain’s eyes closed as he lost himself in the gentle friction of her lips, the radiant warmth of her skin. She released his shirt, but only to allow her fingers to rake through his hair, along his temples, across his jawline, as if she sought to memorize every inch of him with her hands alone. The sensation of her exploring touch, coupled with the realization that her actions were driven bydesire, was nothing short of bliss.
His own hands were still gripping his notebook. He tossed it aside, and it hit the ground with a soft thud, though he couldn’t have cared less about seeing where it had landed. All he cared about was giving Mavery the kiss he should have given her over a week ago instead of leaving her at her doorstep like the fool he’d been.
With his hands now free, he cradled her face between his palms. She responded by trailing her fingers down his neck. He shivered, and she smiled against his lips before parting her own.
She took his upper lip between hers, gave it a gentle tug. A visceral sound resonated from the back of his throat. Her efforts to heighten the kiss awakened something within him, and any notion he’d had of kissing her with tenderness turned to mist. His lips moved against hers with a forcefulness that hadn’t been there amoment ago, while his hands traveled down to her waist.
She brushed his lower lip with her tongue, and he answered by tilting her head back and deepening the kiss. The taste of her was as complex as a rare vintage, heady enough to leave his mind reeling. He was rewarded with a soft moan that made him fully aware of the warm desire that was pooling further down his body, threatening to strain the fabric of his trousers.
With a sharp inhale, Alain broke the kiss and opened his eyes. The Sensing spell had worn off, and so the forest had dimmed. Mavery’s lips were still parted as her eyes fluttered open.
“Well…” he said. He doubted he could manage vocabulary more complex than that.
“Well,” she echoed, and her smile brightened the world around them once again.
A moment passed while neither of them spoke. But instead of being wrought with tension or burdened with expectation, this silence was…comfortable. As he pulled her closer, her palms rested against his chest, his arms against the small of her back. He nestled his face in her hair, breathed her in as though he could fill himself with her very essence. He wanted nothing more than to continue holding her like this, with no worries about spellcraft, or covenants, or even the passage of time.
But that was not their reality; they needed to acknowledge what had just happened.
He sighed. “As much as I enjoyed that…it probably shouldn’t happen again.”
Mavery pulled back slightly, frowning. “If this is about those ridiculous Covenants—”
