Chapter Twenty-Five
Talen doesn’t move, just stays leaning against the wall. Arms crossed, one boot hooked over the other. Like the stone beneath him isn’t lined with blood and secrets.
He’s in his patrol whites, god, I hate those whites. I’ve seen them cut through crowds like scalpels—no warning, no sound. Just clean uniforms and cleaner disappearances. People gone, families erased. Like they were never there at all.
Part of me wants to rip it off him, tear that spotless smugness straight from his skin. Then I catch the thought, what’s underneath? Heat flares up my neck before I can shut it down. I pivot, quick, like if I move fast enough the wind might scrape it off my skin, and reach for the door again.
Locked, still, of course it is.
Behind me, boots scrape against stone, I whip around. Talen’s standing up right now, head cocked.
“It locks from the inside.” His voice is smug, like he’s delivering the punchline of a joke I haven’t figured out yet. “The only way down is over here.”
Perfect. I just wanted to get this meeting over and done with, get some answers and figure out what he wants. But now I’m locked out, trapped five floors up with one pathetic little railing between me and a straight drop to the stone path that rings the Citadel below.
I glance down and immediately regret it. The path below ripples like it’s breathing. A wave of vertigo hits, hard and sudden. My stomach lurches, and my legs go light.
“I’m not coming over there,” I snap. “What’s stopping you from just pushing me off? You can hear me just fine from here. And seriously what kind of meeting spot is this? Why drag me all the way up here?”
Talen shrugs, casual like he’s got nowhere better to be. “Wasn’t sure how you’d act after our last interaction. So I figured, for our first date some privacy might be safer.”
“This isn’t a date.”
“Come over here and we can debate that properly.” He challenges, lifting a brow.
“I’m perfectly fine right here.”
“Suit yourself.” He replies, then steps back around the turret and disappears from view.
Goddammit. I thought I had the upper hand. Thought he needed me. And now I’m standing on this narrow balcony with nothing but wind, stone and an empty ledge winding around the Citadel beside me.
I want answers. I need answers, but I want to do it without him seeing how fucking scared of heights I am. He can’t see that. But I can’t just stand here. I need to move, I can’t let him see anything that looks like weakness.
“Fine…” I call out, voice flat. Controlled. “Fine. I’ll come to you.”
Slowly, he reappears. “I promise the view from this side is worth it, and the company isn't half bad either.”
“Doubt it.” I inhale, slow and shallow, swinging my legs over the low balcony railing, boots hitting stone as I drop on to the narrow ledge that runs around the side of the building towards him.
Okay. I can do this. I do stuff like this. I’ve walked tighter lines. The Ravine, the wall, but the difference is, there I’m looking up, focused.... Here, I can see everything below me, every window, every level, every goddamn way to die.
Slow and steady, one hand still braced on the balcony railing behind me, I shift forward an inch.
Spine straight, mask locked tight. The ledge is barely a foot wide, but solid, no real risk of falling.
I know that. My brain, apparently, doesn’t.
So as I let go of the railing the world tilts.
Vertigo slams into me like a punch to the chest, legs buckle.
The entire building shifts sideways, or maybe that’s just me.
Heart racing, I drop back on to the railing behind me, hands digging into metal, fuck.
“No, really?” Talen calls over, far too pleased with himself. “Didn’t peg a thorn like you would be scared of falling.”
“I’m not,” I grind out. “It's the height.”
“Do I need to come and carry you across?”
“No,” I snap back, fingers tighten around the railing.
There is no way I’m letting him lay his hands on me just to haul me across like I’m helpless. I’ll fall before I let that happen.
Muscles locked, air burning heavy in my chest, I force myself upright again. One hand still white-knuckled on the railing. Okay. Manageable. Sort of.
Then I start to lift my hand—the ledge sways, vision double. I drop straight back down.
Across the ledge, Talen groans, throwing his arms up. “Oh, for fuck’s sake, Bloom. I don’t have all day. I’ll distract you, you just… walk. Okay?”
I narrow my eyes. “Yeah? With what exactly?”
“I don’t know, aren’t my incredibly good looks enough for you?”
I roll my eyes so hard it’s a miracle I don’t lose balance. “Maybe if I squint hard enough you’ll start to look like someone tolerable.”
“Harsh.” His hand flies to his chest like I’ve wounded him. “I wore my best whites for this.”
I’m not in the mood for games. “Answers. I want answers.”
For a beat he just watches me, grin fading slow. Then he pockets the talisman and folds his arms, all trace of amusement gone. “Fine. But you take a step first.”
“You’re kidding.”
“Dead serious. One step, one answer. That’s the deal.” His hands stay folded as he leans against the wall, eyes never leaving mine.
God, he’s maddening, but I want answers so I curse under my breath and force my gaze past him—to the weather vane above the roof. Not him, not the drop, never the drop.
Okay, one step, just one. The stone grates under my boot as I shift forward, slow and careful, gripping the wall beside me until my fingers burn.
“There.” I say, stopping an inch away from the balcony behind me. “Now talk. Why did you do it? Why did you kiss me? Save my life... twice?”
“Technically, that’s three questions. But I’ll allow it.” He holds it for a second longer than necessary, then finally: “You intrigue me.” Simple. Too simple, like it costs him nothing. “You’re not the only one with questions,” he adds. “And mine are easier answered with you alive.”
“That’s your answer?” My voice spikes. “You are so—”
“Charming? Handsome? Infuriating? Pick one.”
“I intrigue you is not an answer.”
“Sure it is,” he teases, crooked smile flicking back into place. “Just not the one you wanted.”
My hands curl against the wall before I can stop them. Breathe, he’s just messing with you—don’t let him see he’s getting under your skin. You knew this wouldn’t be clean. Don’t act surprised, don’t show frustration. Just keep moving.
“What's going on with the dragons? Why the attack in the square the other week?”
He shrugs. “Another question, another step.”
I bite down a curse, eyes locked back on the weather vane as I force my boot forward. Stone scrapes under my sole.
“Merrin already told you, juvenile off its migration path.”
“Bullshit.” My voice spikes again. “That thing was no juvenile. It was massive, and everyone knows dragons don’t have black eyes.”
His grin doesn’t move. “Another question, another step.”
Brows pinched, I go to move. But then it hits... why the hell am I playing his game? He’s screwed too. He needs this silence as much as I do. If anyone found out he faked that kiss…
“No. You need me just as much as I need you. If I tell anyone this little romance is fake—”
“They’d drag me off, Reassign me?” He cuts in, unfazed. “True. But I’d like to see you try, considering you’re stuck halfway between me and a locked door.”
He’s only about two steps away now. I turn, glance back. The door’s three behind me. Shit. Doesn’t matter which way I run—I’m boxed in. Trapped.
“If the Veils are breaking,” I force another step towards him. “If dragons are attacking, I need to know. The Outerlands won’t stand a chance. We’ve got nothing out there, no coverage. I need something.”
“There’s nothing wrong with the Veils. But maybe your people should stop waiting for someone else to save them. Wouldn’t hurt if Outerlanders learnt how to do something else other than run.”
I draw breath to argue back, but he’s on me before the words form. Moving fast along the ledge, his hand locks around my arm, dragging me forward. Stone slides under my boots, balance shatters, and suddenly I’m on the other side with him.
“What the hell are you doing? Get off me.”
“Sorry,” he says, unbothered, not loosening his grip. “I was getting bored with how slow this was going. And I’m done with the interrogation. Especially when there are much better things we could be talking about.”
“Like what?” I hiss.
He shrugs. “Like those dreams you keep having. The ones where I’m keeping you up at night? You know I’d love to know what we get up to.”
“Nightmares,” I cut in. “They’re nightmares.” Then I shove him, hard, enough to steal a breath of space between us.
He drops my arm and staggers back; I match him. The ledge widens around the turret, barely, but it’ll do. I press my back to the wall, hands still curled, distance my only armour.
“This is ridiculous,” I mutter. “You really think people are going to buy this? That you went from trying to kill me, avenge your brother’s death, and now suddenly we’re together? They’ll see right through it...”
“Doubt it, I've slept with way worse, no offence, plus everyone saw the way you were checking me out on your first day here. Begging me to come over...”
“I wasn't begging you to come over.”
“Please... Don’t insult me, I know that look. It’s the same one you’re giving me now, Thorn.” He flashes a smile and turns, disappearing around the turret. “You coming?” he calls back.
I pause, steady myself, then move to follow him—only to stop short.
The Realms spill out below us—dense with stone and smoke, cities packed tight along the Veins that carve through the Innerlands like open wounds, raw rivers of power running straight from the moat that circles the Citadel.
From my dorm window, everything looks distant—hazy, bent at the edges, blurred by thick glass. But up here, it’s different. Vast. Wide.
Beautiful.