He didn’t deny it.
Instead, he reached up slowly—fingers brushing lightly against a spot just beneath my jaw. I flinched, but not from pain. From heat.
“You’re covered in ash,” he said simply, voice low and rough like it always got when he wasn’t wearing his usual armor of cold detachment.
I swallowed.
“So clean it off.”
His lips twitched faintly. A spark passed between us—literal this time. Static snapped against his glove and my skin.
“Abby,” he murmured like it was a warning.
But I didn’t back down.
Not this time.
A gust of wind swept through the clearing, stirring my hair around my shoulders. I shivered slightly from the chill—and the weight of Alaric’s gaze on me. It wasn’t just professional anymore. It hadn’t been for a while.
And it wasn’t just because of the battle.
It w
