21. Vane

Vane

W hy did I do that?

I lay awake that night, staring at the questionable ceiling of the bakery from my place on the floor. Saoirse hadn't even fought me on it this time, heading straight to bed after we shared a meager dinner in the kitchen. We small-talked, neither of us willing to address the kiss we had shared in the castle, which was probably for the better because I didn't have anything to say.

In theory, I knew why I'd done it. We were about to be discovered, and I'd bet that no one would think twice about two workers making out in a dark corner of the castle. And like always, I was right.

But that kiss... it wasn't just about avoiding suspicion. I'd expected it to be a distraction, nothing more. But when our lips met, like a spark ignited between us, blazing into an all-consuming inferno. Her lips were softer than I thought they'd be, and the way she responded… I forgot where we were, forgot everything except for her. It was like I had lost control.

And I never lost control.

I closed my eyes, trying to push the memory away and ignore the twitch in my cock as I did the exact opposite. The way her hands had clutched my shirt, pulling me closer, like she couldn't get enough to me. There had been something raw in her eyes, something wild, like a mirror into my own soul. A tether that begged to be tamed. During that moment, we had been the only two people in the world.

There was no room for feelings. I hadn't come here to find a wife. I'd come here as a thief, and that was how I would leave. Saoirse was supposed to help me find the shard, nothing more. A Lightlace and a Darkwing could never be together. And yet...

Rolling onto my side, I stared at the outline of her form on the cot. Her breathing was steady, the opposite of the chaos brewing in me. I had to stay focused, to remember why I was here. But every time I remembered that kiss, my focus slipped, my thoughts drifting to the anxious redhead that commanded them.

What was it about her that got under my skin? Maybe it was the way she'd faced down her father, talking back to him in the hallway. Or how she'd fought back against Jephyr with her own skull, even when she was grossly overpowered. I couldn't discount how she'd agreed to help me, a total stranger, on a quest that could easily get her killed, or the way she'd saved my life in turn.

Or maybe it was something deeper, something I couldn't quite put my finger on.

I needed to be careful. Letting emotions get in the way was dangerous, and there was no positive outcome that would ever come of this. Not just for me, but her too. Our world was ruthless, and any affections would be a risk that could get us both killed .

But as I lay there, listening to her breathing, I knew something had shifted. Whether I liked it or not, that kiss had changed something. There was no going back—not for me, not for us.

And that scared me more than anything.