Chapter 42 #3
He looked breathtaking.
And impossibly serious.
"I take it you've brought me here for an inspiring pre-Selection speech?" I tried to joke.
Inside, however, I felt anything but amused.
Every instinct in my body had gone rigid, as though bracing for something I couldn't yet see.
I took a few steps toward him.
Then, suddenly—
a firm pull at my back sent me stumbling the rest of the way.
The next thing I knew, I was pressed against his warm body.
"What are you—"
"I want to remember this moment."
His voice was quiet enough to melt into the flowers surrounding us.
His fingertips brushed lightly across my collarbone, leaving a cool trail against my skin before the warmth of his lips found the side of my neck.
A quiet breath escaped me.
My back arched instinctively.
As though every muscle in my body already knew the rhythm of his touch.
"Airis..."
My voice came out softer than I intended.
My fingers tightened around the richly embroidered fabric of his jacket.
Somewhere inside me, every coherent thought dissolved, replaced by nothing but warmth and the impossible awareness of how close he was.
His hand drifted higher, grazing the bare skin above the neckline of my dress with featherlight care.
"You look beautiful," he whispered.
"So unbelievably beautiful."
He kept kissing me.
Kept tracing my skin with slow, lingering touches, as though trying to convince himself...
me...
and the entire world...
that this was what he wanted.
My body responded instantly.
A sharp ache settled low in my stomach.
I wanted him.
God, I wanted him.
The passion I'd kept buried inside me rejoiced now that I'd finally surrendered to it.
Forgetting everything and everyone around us, my fingers found the buckle of his belt, trying to undo it.
"Not now," Airis murmured.
One of his hands caught my wrists, pinning them gently above my head while his body pressed me against the wall of flowers.
"That's not fair," I whispered, leaning in for another kiss.
I kissed him as though I'd spent all twenty-five years of my life saving every ounce of passion...
every ounce of tenderness...
every bit of desire...
just for him.
And it felt as though he was doing the very same.
Until—
he froze.
For the briefest moment.
I was about to ask what was wrong, but I never got the chance.
His kisses suddenly turned fiercer.
Possessive.
Almost desperate.
Something inside me answered that darkness.
Wanted to become a part of it.
"Airis... I want to touch you."
I pulled back just enough to look into his eyes.
And in that instant, my heart dropped.
He had never looked at me like that before.
Never with such coldness.
Such hardness.
Then, without warning, he stepped away.
So easily...
As though putting distance between us cost him nothing.
As though only seconds ago he hadn't made me feel like the most desired woman in the world.
"What happened?" I asked quietly, hating how vulnerable I sounded.
He didn't answer.
He simply kept looking at me.
The longer the silence stretched, the more frightened I became.
There was fire in his eyes...
yet at the same time, an unbearable indifference.
"I got carried away," he said at last.
"What do you mean?" I asked immediately, no longer caring how desperate I sounded.
"When I told you I wanted everything."
I swallowed hard, frozen in place.
I tried to silence my heart.
To quiet my soul.
To stop my mind from falling apart.
But he just kept looking at me.
Without regret.
"I..." My throat tightened.
The knot inside my chest made it impossible to breathe.
I clenched my fists until my nails dug into my palms, trying to distract myself long enough to put at least a fragment of my pride back together.
"I don't understand."
My voice still trembled.
"It seems..." His voice remained painfully calm. "I was only interested in your body."
I couldn't say a word.
I honestly had no idea what I was supposed to say.
Airis lowered his gaze, turning his head slightly as though listening to something beyond the pavilion.
As though the outside world still existed.
Mine had vanished.
I felt my power gathering in my palms, racing through my veins at the speed of light.
I couldn't even think about stopping it.
It was faster than I was.
Flames burst from my hands, rushing to shield me behind a wall of fire.
But another force—
air—
stole that chance from them.
"I hate you." The words tore from my lips. "I hate you."
As if proving them true, my fire erupted with even greater force.
This time, Airis wasn't fast enough to stop it.
The flames spread through the flowers, consuming them so quickly it was as though they'd been dead all along.
Within seconds, every blossom collapsed, burning away until nothing remained but the pavilion's stark white frame.
The walls disappeared.
And suddenly...
the entire world could see us.
Airis frowned.
With a simple snap of his fingers, the fire died.
Unfortunately, that was all it took.
"Excellent work, Fireling." His voice was calm, almost detached. "Now I'm certain you'll make it through the Selection without putting yourself at risk."