Chapter 71 Taera
Taera
“How—how is it even safe?” I stammer, disbelieving.
He reaches out, trailing his finger across the cord of my necklace and leaving sparks across my skin. “This isn’t just glass. It’s a relic.”
My brows pull together.
He goes on. “I didn’t even notice you wearing it, at first, and neither did the Glassmasters. Until you drew attention to it.”
I huff, doubt cooling my veins. “That doesn’t mean my necklace is a relic.”
His gaze is serious. “There are tools to find sources, Taera. Spinners. They go off when magic is nearby.” He reaches over to the desk, retrieving a small round piece of glass. It’s perfectly still. “This one should be spinning right now, with you so close.”
“It could be broken.” I’m not sure why I’m trying to argue with him. It’s just… so sudden.
“I thought that, too. When I searched your village, it went crazy for a minute, then completely quiet. But after I brought you back to the Halls of Glass, it started working again.”
I blink at him. “So?”
“Did you take your necklace off the morning after the sandstorm?”
“No.” I frown. I never take it off. Then, my eyes widen. “Wait, yes.”
Clarice’s father yanked it off my neck. I press my palm to the polished wood and my heart thuds beneath it. Mom has been protecting me all along.
My world tips sideways.
The impossible reality I choked down—the years I would need to spend at the Halls—it all loosens and slips away, leaving me floating. Going home isn’t just a dream; it’s at my fingertips.
I can return to my family. The idea is surreal enough to drift away on. Nikolai is going to bring me back to my family. I stare at him, remembering how to smile, to find him gazing at me like I’m sunlight.
I finally get to go home—where I won’t see Nikolai again… unless he returns to me.
My throat tightens.
This is everything I want, so why does it hurt? Why does the idea of leaving the Halls of Glass behind—as well as my magician—feel like my lungs are being yanked out of my chest. I’m happy; it’s the truth. But I’m also dazed, confused. For the first time, I’m torn.
Despite his lies, Nikolai has saved me again and again.
He shared his bedroom with me, even spitting mad.
He gave me magic when I was nearly drained.
He was my first kiss, my first lover—the first one to set my senses on fire.
He found me a job with Omi, a way to support my family, possibly even a path to becoming a magical healer.
He even brought me home to meet his family.
He’s given me back my necklace, my freedom.
If that isn’t trust, I don’t know what is.
I just thought we had more time.
“I wanted you to know,” he says. “Before you do anything you regret.”
The guarded look on his face stops me. Does he think I just want to experiment? That I only want him for comfort? Or worse, as a stand-in for someone who isn’t a magician? I want to laugh, except that I’m shocked, hurt. I open my mouth angrily, but my eyes widen with sobering understanding.
Nikolai is used to being used. My anger deflates as I realize what he must be assuming: that I want what every other source wants from him.
“I don’t regret anything,” I say, furious for a whole new reason. I’m upset on his behalf.
He gazes tentatively at me, his beauty staggering, until a smile flits across his lips. “What about wearing my sheets?”
I groan, shaking my head, but I return his smile.
If tonight is all we have left, and this is all that was meant to be between us, I don’t want to waste any more of it on fear.
Nikolai doesn’t miss the way my eyes drop to his lips.
“Do you still want me to kiss you?” His silken words elicit a shiver of desire in me.
“I want more than a kiss,” I say.
Those gorgeous lips part, and his emerald eyes darken. “What do you want?”
“Everything.”