He eyed her for a moment, then called back, “You’re not here because of a coat and book, Valcotta.”
Looking anywhere but at him, she was silent. Then she lifted her beautiful face, shadowed eyes latching on his. “Seeing you, speaking to you… it’s forbidden. You are Maridrinian, which means you are supposed to be my enemy.”
Something had happened. Something had changed. “Supposed to be.” He tilted his head. “Except I’m not.”
“You are!” Not even the waterfall was loud enough to drown out the frustration in her voice. “If we met on the battlefield, I’d kill you without thought.”
“Handily, I’m sure. I’m not a particularly gifted fighter.” Sarcasm pushed its way into his voice despite his best intentions because her words stung. “If you don’t want to be here, then why are you?”
“To tell you it’s over. To say goodbye. To give you back your goddamned things so I don’t have to look at them!”
“Well, you’ve said it, then. And the gap between us has grown too large to jump, so feel free to toss said things over the edge if they cause you such consternation. I care not.”
“Fine.” She tossed his coat into the falls, and Keris cursed under his breath because he’d liked that coat. But when she held up the book, clearly intending to throw it next, he found himself stepping forward. Not because of the book itself, for it was neither rare nor expensive, but because of what it represented. A moment that he didn’t want thrown into a spillway to be lost and forgotten.
Valcotta hesitated, withdrawing her outstretched hand to press the book against her chest, the simple action making his own chest ache.
“What is it that needs to end, Valcotta?” he called across the water. “What part terrifies you so much? Because I don’t think it’s me.”
Her shadowy form shivered. “You don’t understand. I need to be a certain way. I need to think a certain way. Because if I don’t, not only do I risk losing everything I’ve worked for, but I risk losing myself.”
“Or maybe you’ll find yourself.” His hands fisted, and he wasn’t sure if he was talking to Valcotta or to himself. “You told me once that if you truly believe in something, you should be willing to suffer for it. To die for it. Well, I think that if you truly believe in something, you should live for it.”
Valcotta stiffened, staring at him, then she twisted on her heel and strode down the dam.
He’d pushed too hard, and in doing so, had pushed her away. Keris shoved his hands through his hair, desperately searching for the right thing to say to get her to come back. “Valcotta, wait!”
She slid to a stop, turning to face him, and his heart leapt. Then she shouted, “Back up.”
Back up? Realization slapped him in the face. “Valcotta, no! Valcotta, it’s too far!” But she was already sprinting toward the gap. A gap a full foot wider than it had been the last time she’d failed to make the leap. “Stop!”
She jumped.
30
ZARRAH
Book still clutched in her hand, Zarrah sprinted toward the gap. It drew closer with every step, the blackness seeming an impossible to distance to leap, the deadly water rushing through it fighting the volume of her thundering heart for supremacy.
“Stop!”
Gathering herself, Zarrah took one final stride, and without hesitation, she jumped. She flew across the gap, stumbling slightly as she hit the far side. And then his arms were around her, pulling her away from the edge.
“Have you lost your mind?”
His breath was warm against her face, and she tilted her head up to meet his gaze even as she inhaled the scent of spice filling her nose. “An unreasonable accusation, given how often you jump across, Maridrina.”
“That’s different.” He still hadn’t let her go, his grip on her arms tight, their bodies only inches apart. Except those inches felt like miles when what she wanted was the press of him against her. To experience in the flesh what she’d only felt within the confines of her dreams.
“Why is it different?”
He exhaled softly. “Because watching you jump was the most terrifying moment of my life.” And before she could answer, his lips descended on hers.
What her imagination had conjured was a pale shade to the sensation of his mouth on hers, the kiss fierce with terror and desire, the intensity making her knees tremble. Still holding the book, she wrapped her arms around his neck, eliminating those cursed inches between them, her fingers pulling loose the tie holding back his hair, the locks that spilled around his face like silk against her skin.
His hands moved from her shoulders, sliding down to the small of her back even as their lips parted, his tongue delving into her mouth and chasing over hers with soft strokes that Zarrah swore she felt down to her core. Shivers burst over her skin, a tight curling sensation filling her belly, and an aching pulse rising in intensity between her thighs. Then he pulled away, resting his forehead against hers. “Not here, Valcotta,” he murmured. “If I’m going to have you, it will be somewhere I can do it properly and without interruption.”
It was madness to consider going into the city with him. She was a general and the future Empress of Valcotta, and he was a Maridrinian whose name she didn’t even know. But none of that felt as important as the need to have his lips back against hers and his body between her legs. “Where should we go?”
With her hand in his, the Maridrinian led her through Nerastis, the people filling the streets paying them no interest, their minds all for their own pleasures. Stopping in front of a building less derelict than most, he took her inside, the main floor dimly lit by a handful of lamps.
“Room,” he said to the greasy man sitting behind a counter eating equally greasy pastries.
“An hour?”
The Maridrinian snorted, then said, “The rest of the night,” and Zarrah’s stomach flipped, a fresh rush of desire making her skin burn hot.
The greasy man rolled his eyes. “Lass like that and you’ll be down in half an hour, but it’s your silver coin.”
The Maridrinian didn’t answer, only sent a piece of silver flipping through the air, catching the key the man tossed to him in return.
Zarrah’s heart pounded in anticipation as he led her up the stairs and then down the hall, fumbling with the lock and nearly dropping the key before he got the door open, the slip making her smile.