All That Glows by Ryan Graudin

Author:Ryan Graudin
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2014-02-10T06:00:00+00:00

“What happened?” Richard asks as soon as his bedroom door clicks shut. It’s the only place we’re certain to be alone. I can tell he’s been dying to ask the question all evening, fighting every temptation to speak with me.

I collapse onto the bed. “You looked! I told you not to look!”

“You said my name!” he protests. “I can’t help my reflexes! It’s like telling me not to swear when I stub my toe!”

The mattress gives a large squeal as Richard flops beside me. His added weight dips the bed, slides me closer to him.

“Well, now Breena knows.”

“Breena?”

“Right.” I forget how little he knows, how much I have to tell him. “She watches your sister. We’ve been friends for a long time. . . . She’s the oldest of the Guard—the oldest who can handle the sickness without unraveling or going mad.

“She’s my best friend. The closest thing I have to a sister,” I add, thinking of everything Breena and I have been through. “She knows me well.”

“What did she think?” Richard props his head up onto his elbow and stares down at me. From this angle, I can see some imperfections—the little things that make him clearly and wonderfully human. One of his nostrils rounds larger than the other. There’s a thin patch in his left eyebrow, making it look the slightest bit crooked.

“She doesn’t approve. Not that I expected her to. But I think she’ll keep the secret. She won’t tell Queen Mab.”

He reaches out and picks at a lock of my hair, curling it absently around his forefinger. “What would the queen do?”

“She’d send me away, most likely. I’d go back and do scouting patrols in the Highlands.” Or she’d strip me of my magic. My teeth grind together at the very thought.

“And you’d have to go?”

“Her word is law. I can’t fight it.” Unless I gave up my magic altogether. Willingly. But this is something I don’t want to bring up.

“Then I’m glad Breena won’t tell her. I want you to stay.”

I close my eyes and feel the cool evening breeze wash through the open window. It’s this weather, this lazy, chilled twilight that I’ve loved since my younger years. Something about the wind soothes my nerves, makes it easier to breathe.

Richard lets the rest of my hair unravel from his finger before his hand moves even closer to my face. The very edge of his fingertip brushes my cheek. His barely-there touch shudders through me.

Being so close, yet so far from him, is agony. I feel danger lurking just beneath the surface of me, like a Kelpie under black waters, waiting for just the right moment to strike. I have to pull away, keep him safe. But Richard draws closer, enveloping me in the heated scent of his cologne.

Just one kiss. It’s what we both want. I let his lips find mine. I savor the taste of him, rest in its warmth.

But this time Richard doesn’t stop. He pulls me closer—our bodies fit together with skin-tingling perfection.

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