The Burning Shadow (Origin 2)

“Oh.” The heaviness returned, settling in my chest. “That’s really sad.”

“Yeah, it is.”

The weight of his hand on my knee drew my gaze. I placed my hands over it, tracing the bone of one finger to his knuckle. I then looked up, taking in the unfamiliar room. “Everything has changed. I guess it has been a continuous stream of things changing.”

“It has been.” His thumb moved over my knee. “It’s been a lot.”

It had been so much that I thought back to the day he’d taken me to Harpers Ferry, and that afternoon felt like a lifetime ago. “What happens next?” I turned to him, finding his gaze in the dim light. “What if we talk to Eaton tomorrow and he has all the answers? He can tell me why this was done and what’s going to happen, but then what? We can’t…”

“We can’t what?”

I drew in a shallow breath. “We can’t stay here forever, hidden away. That’s not the kind of life I want.”

“That’s not the kind of life I want, either.”

“So, what happens next?”

“We dance.”

I blinked. “What? Right now?”

“Yes.” He lifted me off his lap and onto my feet. He rose, extending his hand.

“But there’s no music.”

“We’ll make our own.”

I lifted my brows. “That was…”

“Extremely romantic and charming?” he suggested.

“That was pretty cheesy.”

“Cheese is awesome, though.”

“Yes, it is.” I grinned. “But it’s also very random.”

“Most of the best things are.” He wiggled his fingers. “Dance with me, Evie.”

Shaking my head, I placed my hand in his, and he tugged me to him. One of his arms circled my waist, and then he lifted me up so that I was standing on his bare feet. My hands landed on his chest. His skin was cool from the shower.

Luc started to sway, and within a few moments, we were dancing even though there was no music. He did all the work as I stared up at him, wondering if there was ever a time that I hadn’t been in love with him.

And wasn’t that the craziest thing? I was sure I fell in love with him when I was Nadia, and here I was as Evie, and we were in the same place. I loved him.

I reached up, cupping his cheek and drawing his mouth to mine. I kissed him slowly at first, and when his lips parted, I took the kiss deeper. My tongue moved against his, and I loved the way it felt, the way he tasted. The kiss was dizzying in its intensity, and when I pulled back, I felt stripped bare. Would it always be like that?

I had a feeling that it would.

Always.

We’d stopped dancing.

“You asked what we do next?” Luc’s lips grazed mine, and my breath caught. “We find the people responsible for this, and then we burn down their entire world. Nothing will stop us.”41There was a part of me that hadn’t expected to fall asleep. Not after everything that had happened or with what awaited us in the morning, and not in such a strange place as someone else’s home. I didn’t feel like a guest. I felt like a squatter, but the moment my head hit that pillow beside Luc’s, I must’ve passed right out, because when I opened my eyes, there was a sliver of light seeping in under the blinds, traveling across the foot of the bed.

And I was wrapped around Luc like I’d been worried in my sleep that he’d disappear or something. Thin sheets tangled at our hips. One of my legs was somehow tucked in between his. I had an arm tossed over his waist and his was curled around mine, lax and pleasantly heavy. My cheek was resting on his bare chest.

Waking up like this was different. It felt entirely new. Intimate. And I … I liked this. A lot.

Closing my eyes, I took a deeper breath. The fresh scent of soap mingled with the lavender that clung even to the sheets. Luc was surprisingly comfortable to lie on. We hadn’t gone to bed like this. We’d been together, me on my back and Luc on his side, facing me. Whatever drew us together in our sleep was just as powerful as it was when we were awake. Was it chemistry? All the tiny things that made me who I was and made him who he was were just attracted to each other? Was it the shared past even if I couldn’t remember it? Or was it everything that I did remember, everything that came after?

Whatever it was, it didn’t matter, because I really loved this, and that … that felt wrong after losing Kent and Clyde, Chas, and my mother while Emery and Heidi were still out there, slowly making their way here. It felt inappropriate given that we’d taken over the home of someone, possibly even a family that had perished. It made me think it was unfair that I kept getting all these chances when no one else did, and I didn’t even know if I deserved them.