As Azura and Takeo toured the citadel, the tension between them was palpable, thick and heavy with words unspoken. Azura pointed out the buildings as they walked: the dormitories, classrooms, hospital ward, and kitchens. She could feel the weight of his gaze on her, burning her skin, but she refused to meet his eyes. She worried that if she did, she might fall into them, and lose the vise grip she held on her emotions.

She led him into the armory, where a master moonburner, dressed in navy, was sparring with a girl wearing the light blue samanera uniform. Azura and Takeo watched in silence as the two threw blow after blow of moonlight at each other, blocking and striking.

Azura smiled, watching the girl, her silver hair held back in thin braids.

“You know her?” Takeo asked, the first comment he had made to her all evening.

“Yes,” Azura said, still not looking at him. “Her name is Nanase. She is one of my closest friends.”

“And a promising moonburner, it seems,” he said.

“It comes naturally to her,” Azura said. “Like breathing.”

“Not to you?” he asked.

“My talents lie elsewhere,” she said, her face coloring as soon as the words left her mouth. She hadn’t meant it to sound like that.

“What comes naturally to you?” he asked, mercifully letting the moment pass.

“Healing,” she said. “Through moonlight, medicine, or herbs.”

“That suits you. Is that what you would do if you were not your mother’s heir?”

It was a heady thought—to be a regular moonburner. Or a regular woman. To heal, to help, to live a life free to make her own choices. It was a dream she dared not dream.

She turned to him then, her eyes finally catching his. She stared at him, choking on the words she longed to say. His expression was careful and neutral, but beneath, there was longing. Suddenly she was caught up in the dream. A free life. A free life with him.

She didn’t answer his question. She finally tore her eyes from his, bringing them back to the ring. Her friend Nanase had finished her sparring, and was watching her, wiping her brow with a towel. She raised an eyebrow slightly at Azura.

“Let’s go,” Azura said, avoiding Nanase’s questioning look. “More to see.”

Their tour continued with the library. The fireplaces were dark and the rows of books were quiet as Azura led Takeo into the cavernous space. Master Vita must be elsewhere. They walked through the grand room and Takeo took it all in—the row of high windows letting in moonlight, the impossibly tall shelves filled with multi-colored volumes. The heels of his boots sounded on the tiles of the floor, echoing in the silent room.

“Are there books on Kita?” he asked. “I wonder what they say about us.”

“Of course,” she said. “There are books on everything.” She was familiar with the cataloguing system, and so she led him down a dark row, to the shelves that housed the books on Kita and the sunburners. “I’m not sure how accurate they are.”

When she turned around, her heart skittered, and she realized her mistake. His outstretched arm rested against the row of books, blocking her path.

“Wilea,” he said softly. “Azura. Why did you hide your identity from me?”

She swallowed thickly. She couldn’t stop herself from examining the planes of his face, the thin lines around his mouth that hinted of past smiles and laughter, the strong muscles and sinew of the arm outstretched before her.

“I just…sometimes I need to get away. From what it means to be Azura. I didn’t know you were the King’s captain. I didn’t know we would…” She trailed off.

“What am I to do now?” he said. He ran his hands through his flaxen hair and turned from her, pacing away from her before turning and closing the distance. “Regardless of what you might think, I don’t just go around kissing strangers in meadows.”

“Neither do I,” she said, shaking her head.

“When I got into the city, you were all I could think about. I saw your face in every window I passed, I saw it every time I closed my eyes. And now… am I supposed to stand back and watch you marry Ozora? Knowing…”

“Knowing what?” she asked, her voice small. She knew she shouldn’t have said it. She should have run from here, run from him.

“Knowing that I have already fallen in love with you.”

He kissed her then, pressing his lips to hers, rocking her body back against the bookshelves. He filled her senses, tasting of menthe, smelling of leather. She wrapped her arms around him, running her hands over the muscles of his back, twining her fingers in his curly golden hair. She pulled him closer, letting him explore her mouth and envelop her in his warmth. It seemed she couldn’t pull him close enough.

A tiny voice in the back of her head told her to stop, told her it was madness. But it didn’t matter. She didn’t care. Her better judgment was powerless before the sweet warmth spreading deep inside her. She had obeyed and followed orders all her life and what had it gotten her? She had never felt as alive as she did in this moment.

He pulled away abruptly. She practically whimpered from the space that rushed in between them.

“Is that…” he asked, holding a finger up to indicate silence.

Footsteps. Close. Adrenaline flooded her body and she stepped back from him, wiping her mouth hastily.

“Azura? Is that you?” A figure appeared at the end of the row, spectacles lowered on his nose as he examined them.

“Master Vita!” she said, a bit too brightly. “May I introduce Takeo, captain of King Ozora’s guard.” She strode out of the row, Takeo in her wake. “My mother asked me to give him the tour,” she explained. She willed her heart to cease its staccato rhythm.

“I asked the lady to show me the books on sunburners,” Takeo added.

See? She thought. Nothing suspicious here.

“Pleasure to meet you, Takeo,” Master Vita said slowly, looking back and forth between them. “You are very welcome at the citadel. If I can be of assistance while you are here, please let me know.”

“Thank you,” Takeo said, inclining his head.

“Lots more to see,” Azura said cheerfully. “Come on, Takeo.”

“That was close,” he mouthed as they walked out the library doors, into the courtyard.

Azura had never realized how many hidden places the citadel held, but it seemed that she and Takeo found every one of them on their tour. By the time she led him back to the guest wing, her lips were sore and her heart was flying. She was in serious trouble.

“My chambers are right up that hallway,” he said with a devilish grin, as they paused in the antechamber of the wing. “Third door on the right.”

“I can’t imagine why I would need such information,” she said, grinning back.

He ran his thumb over the palm of her hand as they stood, drawing a shiver from her. For a moment she was torn. She couldn’t accompany him to his room, could she? It was madness! Yet…

“Takeo! Keeping the best company for yourself, are you?” a brash voice called from the doorway.

They stepped apart hastily and turned to meet the newcomer. Part of her was cross at the interruption, the other part relieved that the choice had been pulled from her grasp.

A huge sunburner that she had seen at the feast strode across the room, bowing deeply before her. “We were not formally introduced princess,” he said. “I am Ipan.”

“A pleasure,” she said. “I trust you are enjoying your stay here?”

“Most definitely,” he said. “I hate to interrupt, but the king is finished with his meetings and requested Takeo’s presence. I hope you don’t mind me stealing him from you.”

“Of course not,” she said. “We were just finishing our tour. I wouldn’t want to keep him from his duties.”

“Excellent,” Ipan said, clapping Takeo on the shoulder. “Let’s go.”