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His hand slides upme closer Everywhere he touches is bliss Complete, utter bliss The hand on my shoulder sinks lower It slides downon my hip Only my thin, satin dress separates us, but if I closethat , i skin to skin with hirabs ering as if this is his last breath As if this is the only breath in his life that has ever mattered Then he locks eyes with the sword-master

"You have competition now"

He backs away before Kyol can kick his ass and gives h my body I take a step toward him, but he disappears into the crowd

SEVENTEEN

"MCKENZIE?" KYOL’S HAND tightens on my arm "Are you okay?"

For a handful of heartbeats, I stare at the path Aren took Humans have blocked it off now, but I can alering heat from his touch

An edarratae leaps up o of me quickly, as if he’s unsure if his touch is welcome Still unbalanced, I stare into his face until , until the silver storround me

It’s over I wait for a rush of relief, but it doesn’t engulf me Instead, it trickles in

"Kaesha?" Kyol’s brows are lowered with concern--concern for me--but he should be worried about hi havoc on his chaos lusters They’re all but constant on his skin

I shake et out of here"

"McKenzie" My name comes out on the end of a shaky breath There’s so much pain in his eyes I take a step back Could Aren have done so to him? He doesn’t look hurt He lookson his hand again This ti seedown the stone steps to the lower terrace A handful of hu toward the back of the gardens, toward the cemetery where Lorn fissured me and where Aren fastened diaet rid of this necklace If the Court finds out it’s imprinted, they’ll find Aren

Aren God, he’s a fool, trustinglike this

Kyol’s face is hard, troubled, as he scans the garden’s shadows I have to jog to keep up with his long stride

"Kyol"

He doesn’t slon

"Kyol, stop" I dig in ?"

"I" He sucks in a breath "I’m sorry, kaesha"

That injured look is back, injured andguilty?

"I’m okay, Kyol Really"