Dance of Thieves

“I have no mouth, but my hunger is fed,
With glimpse, and touch, and kindness said.
I have no eyes, but see a soul,
The only one that makes me whole.
I swell beneath a soldier’s palm,
Its touch my breath, my blood, my calm.
I am utterly lost, but completely found,
Captured, taken … a prisoner bound.”

“Le pavi ena.” I gasped. “I love you, Jase Ballenger.”

“and I won’t take it back. I love you, Kazi of Brightmist, and I will never stop loving you, not through a thousand tomorrows. Come back with me. Please.”

“The queen will get here when she gets here, but if you wake my baby daughter one more time, I’ll pop your head from your shoulders. Understand?”

Justice for thousands, or justice for one.

“I love you. I love you with every breath, with every thought that’s inside me. I’ve loved you from the first time I kissed you on that ledge. Even before that.”

You must find the magic, my chiadrah.

I nestled closer to Jase.

Maybe I had.

“Yes, I want to kiss you, Jase Ballenger. Not for show or to make the best of it. I want to kiss you because I want you, every part of you, even the parts that infuriate me beyond telling, because you’ve infected me with a poison that I don’t want to flush out, because you’re a mad viper twisting around my middle, cutting off my breath, yet I want you more than I want to breathe. Yes, Jase, I want to kiss you, just because I do, but the one thing I cannot do is promise you any tomorrows.”

And I want you to kiss me back. But this time I don’t want it to be because we’re only making the best of it. And I don’t want a kiss that’s for show or has any conditions. I want you to kiss me just because you want to. Because you deeply want to. No one’s watching now. You can walk away, and I won’t say a thing. I promise, I won’t ever bring it up again.”

Jase looked at me, his eyes dark with concern.

I blew out a long, cleansing breath. “Don’t worry. We’ll figure it out,” I said, “but this time there will be no secrets between us, and we’ll be working on the same side.”

He smiled. “The Ballenger odds have just doubled.” He nudged my shoulder until I was lying back on the grass, and he kissed my cheek. “Before I forget, I still owe you something.”

“What’s that?” I asked.

“The riddle I promised you. The good one. It took me a while. Turns out it’s not that easy to find the right words.” He lifted my hand, kissing my fingertips as if he cherished each one. “But sometimes you need to say what is in your heart while you can, because you might not get a chance later. Every word is as true as I can make it, Kazi, so I may as well tell you now.”

He pulled his shirt loose from his trousers.

“Jase,” I said. “Just what are you—”

“Shhh,” he whispered. “Wait.” He took my hand and slipped it beneath the fabric, pressing it flat to his chest. His skin was hot under my palm, and I felt the light beat of his heart beneath my fingers. “Ready?” he asked. “Listen carefully, because I won’t repeat myself, Ambassador Brightmist.”

I smiled. “Don’t worry, Patrei. I’m a good listener.” He began, still pressing my hand to his chest.

“I have no mouth, but my hunger is fed,
With glimpse, and touch, and kindness said.
I have no eyes, but see a soul,
The only one that makes me whole.
I swell beneath a soldier’s palm,
Its touch my breath, my blood, my calm.
I am utterly lost, but completely found,
Captured, taken … a prisoner bound.”
My throat ached. I knew the answer, but I played the game. “A key? The wind? A map?” His lips brushed mine between each wrong guess.

“It may take me a while to figure this out,” I said.

His mouth was warm against mine, his tongue gentle, his hands curling through my hair. “Take as long as you like.”

We were in no hurry.

We were alone, we had each other, and we had a whole wilderness ahead of us.