41. Thyra
Chapter Forty-One
Thyra
Triggered by the Dragonstone Blade.
Clearly, Maxim wasn’t aware of the binds until now. I certainly wouldn’t have known about them if it weren’t for my vision, but it was possible he could have been able to see them when nobody else could. Apparently not.
I attempt to breach the distance between us, but his hand flies up.
“No,” he growls, shaking his head and backing farther away from me. “No.”
I dig my bare toes into the gritty earth, fighting the instinct to launch myself at him, acutely aware of my nakedness.
Maxim was kissing me. Without fear. Without burning me.
I lost myself in that kiss, that fearlessness. I wanted more. So much more. My body was warm, comfortable, my senses heightened, a perception of safety filling me that, even minutes ago, would have seemed impossible around Maxim.
The illusion is breaking.
“Don’t come near me, Thyra,” he warns.
My eyes widen. “Maxim, wait. Don’t—”
Fire bursts across his chest, forcing me back.
Through the flames, I can see him turning, arms already pumping as he breaks into a run, taking himself and the danger away from me.
I poise on the balls of my feet, humming for my armor, welcoming the threads as they wrap around my body. Safe to do so now.
My hand feels empty. Lacing my fingers with Maxim’s was the bravest thing I could have done. Until that kiss.
Yet kissing him felt far too safe.
It felt like coming home.
I have to go after him. I don’t have all of the answers, but we can find them together. I may have been Antony’s hope for a while, but Maxim is now my hope.
Just as I would break into a run, a blast of starlight cuts across the sky from behind me, a strike so powerful, I’m knocked to the ground.