Fall of Ruin and Wrath (Awakening, #1)

He chuckled again. The sound was still nice, which seemed completely at odds with, well, everything. “I’m sure the blossom was pleased to find itself being attached to such a lovely mortal. Though, I can think of far more interesting places I would’ve attached myself to.”

I blinked once.

Then twice.

And then my mind decided to take a quick jaunt where it shouldn’t go, conjuring up all those interesting places. A sudden aching twist curled deep in my stomach. I shifted on the grass, left unsteady by the intense pulse of desire— by yet another stark reminder of what he was.

“So, were you looking for the sōls?” the Lord questioned, lifting a hand. He made a soft humming noise— a gentle, melodic sound.

A heartbeat later, a buttery glow appeared in the tree above us, slowly descending through the branches and vines. Then another. And another. My lips parted. A little over a half dozen floated through the trees.

“You can call them to you?” I asked.

“Of course,” he answered. “We are a part of everything that surrounds us. They are a part of us.”

I watched as one of the sōls drifted above me. “They’re beautiful.”

“They appreciate you saying so.”

A brow rose. “They can understand me?”

“They can.” He lifted his chin, gesturing to one of the sōls. “See how their lights have grown brighter?”

I nodded.

“That’s how you know.”

“Oh.” My fingers tingled with the urge to reach out and touch one without the gloves, but I figured that was pushing it. I peeked at the Lord, wishing I could see more of his face. His eyes. But it was probably a blessing that I couldn’t at this point. “What . . . what is your name?”

“Thorne.”

There was a strange whooshing motion throughout my chest. After all these years, I finally had a name for him. I didn’t know how to think of that, but it felt strangely life-altering.

I cleared my throat. “I . . . I should probably be on my way.”

He inclined his head. “Probably.”

Relieved yet unnerved that he’d agreed, I rose.

“But I would be bereft if you did,” he added, and I seriously doubted that. “I have so many questions.”

I halted. “About?”

He stood so quickly, I hadn’t seen him move. One minute he was sitting and then he was standing. “About you, of course.”

My heart gave a sharp lurch. “There’s not much to know about me.”

“I cannot believe that’s true.” He was nearly in the shadows of the wisteria now, but somehow he seemed closer. “I’m willing to bet there is, starting with how we met.”

A fine shiver skated across the back of my skull and down my spine. The ground felt like it was shifting again. “How . . . how we met?”

“Tonight,” he clarified. “Is this how you normally spend your nights? Alone, chasing sōls when you’re not rescuing those in distress?”

“Yes,” I admitted. “I normally don’t travel this part of the gardens at night.”

“But tonight was different.”

I nodded, once again deciding to err on the side of half truth. “I heard voices and was concerned that something bad might happen.”

“So you decided to intervene? Again?” The surprise was evident in his voice. “With no weapon, and still, apparently no knowledge of how to defend yourself?”

My lips pursed. “I suppose so.”

There was a moment of silence. “Once more, you’ve proven just how brave you are.”

“I just . . . I just did what I thought was right.”

“And that often takes the most bravery, doesn’t it?”

I nodded, telling myself I needed to shut down this conversation. There was a whole slew of reasons why. It had to be late, but I hesitated. . . .

That smile of his appeared once more. The slight, tight curve of his lips, and again, there was a sharp, taut curl low in my belly. My mouth dried a little.

“I’m assuming you call Archwood Manor your home?” Lord Thorne asked, and although I hadn’t seen him move, he was closer.

I nodded. “I . . . I spend a lot of time in these gardens,” I shared, and I wasn’t even sure why except for the edgy nervousness that always led to me rambling. “That’s why you smelled catmint on me.”

“I wouldn’t have even entered them if it had not been for Nathaniel,” he said, head turning as he scanned the gardens. “Strange how that worked out.” His gaze returned to me. “With you.”

Yes, it was strange.

“I’m sorry about your . . .” Friends? It was obvious that neither Muriel nor Nathaniel had been a friend. “I’m sorry about what happened with them.”

His head turned back to mine as he went quiet. It was the same reaction he’d had the night before when I apologized for what was done to him.

I swallowed. “There’s something I’ve been wondering all day about Muriel. He set you up, didn’t he?”

Lord Thorne nodded.

“Why would a Hyhborn be involved in the shadow market?”

He was quiet for several moments. “That’s a good question. One I would like to know the answer to, but I do have another question for you.”

“What is that?”

One of the vines moved to the side as, this time, I saw him step forward. He hadn’t touched the vine, but as he’d said, he was part of the realm in a way lowborn could never be. “How did you spend your day wondering why a Hyhborn would be involved in the shadow market when you did not know until tonight that he was a Hyhborn?”

Shit.

My heart tripped over itself. “I . . . I just assumed he was.” My thoughts raced. “You said you were to meet him at the Twin Barrels. I figured it would be another Hyhborn.”

“Ah.” Another wisteria stem spun without his touch. “It should be I who apologized, for what you had to witness and experienced these last two nights. I’m sure that’s not something you see every day.”

“I . . . I wasn’t expecting to find Hyhborn on the verge of killing one another.”

He let out a dry laugh. “You may be surprised to know that isn’t all that uncommon an occurrence.”

My brows rose. I was surprised. Then again, I knew little of what occurred in the Hyhborn Courts.

“You must think I’m a monster now?”

“No, that hasn’t changed. I mean, he was going to stab you, which seemed like a really poorly thought-out decision based on how that turned out for him. And well, Muriel was going to kill me, so fuck him,” I went on, flushing at his low chuckle. “Why did he set you up?”

“Besides the fact he was a fool? He was scared.”

“Of?”

“Me.” One of the sōls moved over his shoulder, nearly grazing mine as it passed us by. “So, he thought it best to have me dealt with.”

I didn’t really know Lord Thorne at all, but he didn’t strike me as the type one attempted to force into anything. “I guess both were making more than one poorly thought-out choice tonight.”

“You’ve guessed right.” His fingers drifted over one of the wisteria stems once more.

However, it seemed to me that it was more than Muriel just being afraid of Lord Thorne. Granted, that would be enough reason for most, but they’d spoken in those brief moments as if they were alluding to something else— something that was likely not my business, but I was curious.

“Well, I . . . I hope you find whatever it is you were looking for,” I told him, and his head tilted again. “It sounded like you were looking for something that he claimed to have information on.”

“Yes, but now I’m not sure if he spoke the truth or not.”

I started to ask what it was that would possibly anger the King, but Lord Thorne touched a wisteria blossom, drawing my gaze as his fingers drew them down the length of the vine, not dislodging a single blossom.

Another sōl appeared, joining the other as they floated over us, casting enough light that when Lord Thorne turned his head toward me fully, I finally saw his face clearly once more.

A tingling sensation started at the base of my neck and spread throughout the entirety of my body as my gaze lifted to the golden-brown hair brushing against powerful shoulders and a throat the color of warm sand.

As a young girl, I’d found him to be beautiful and terrifying.

And that hadn’t changed.

A lock of hair fell across his cheek as an eyebrow a shade or two darker than that wavy lock of hair rose. “Are you all right?”

I gave a small jerk. “Yes. I’m just tired. It’s been a strange two nights.”