Eagle and Shark were once as close as petals closed for evening. Not even a strong wind could tear them apart.
—COLLECTED FOLKTALES
Jack left his office well after midnight and trudged out into the soggy night. The rain had tapered to a light mist, matching his downcast mood. He wound his way through the narrow lanes of the base until he reached the supply building where Jasminda was staying.
There was no place in the barracks secure enough for a single woman, and Jack wanted to make sure Jasminda was protected. Sleeping space was at a premium, so a cot had been set up for her in this small warehouse.
He opened the door; a tall stack of boxes cluttered the entryway, blocking his view.
“Jasminda. It’s me,” he called out, rounding the mountain of crates to find her crouched on her cot, a knife in hand. Her skirt had rucked up, revealing the garter that had housed the blade.
Warmth shot through him. With a shy look, she set her skirt to rights. He swallowed and forced his gaze up to her face. She was looking anywhere but at him, so he pulled up a box and sat beside her. “How do you like the accommodations?”
“It’s no cave floor, but it will serve.” Her eyes finally rose to meet his, and he relaxed a notch. For some reason he’d needed to see her after this endless, excruciating day.
He reached for her hand and threaded his fingers through hers, drawing comfort with every breath they shared so close together.
“Are you all right?” she whispered.
“I’ve been worse.” He tried to inject lightness into his voice but failed. Guilt had nearly paralyzed him, and now grief threatened to finish the job.
“And you’ve been better?” She dipped her chin to meet his lowered gaze.
“Haven’t we all?” He stood on a tightrope with doom on one side and failure on the other, but in only a handful of days Jasminda had become the bar he gripped to balance him. Under his fingertips, her velvet skin soothed him. “How is your skin so soft?”
“It’s the balm.” She shrugged off his question, but he could not recall even the hands of the gently bred young ladies often trotted out before him being so smooth. How was it that a girl who worked a farm could have skin like this?
Her eyes narrowed, as if seeing inside him. “Something happened. Before we left the Citadel.” Her soft voice clung to him in places unused to such tenderness.
“You mean besides discovering that I’ve nearly singlehandedly brought down the Mantle myself?”
She squeezed his hand. “Unless you’ve developed a Song in the past day, you did not.”
“I led him to it. It’s the same thing.”
“It’s not. And that’s not why we left the tent so quickly.”
He swallowed, closing his eyes. “My brother … is dead.” Saying the words aloud made them all the more real. Alariq was gone, and with him, Jack’s chance at a normal life.
“I-I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Jack.”
Her emotions showed on her face, but his were buried. He was not supposed to tell anyone yet, but he found himself opening up to Jasminda. “He was piloting his airship and ran into a thunderstorm. The craft crashed. He was thrown through the window.”
Imagining his elder brother broken in such a way was simply too much. He pushed the vivid images out of his mind. Jasminda stared, sorrow and pity in her eyes. He took a deep breath. “I haven’t told you all you need to know about me.”
His mouth opened, but no more words would come. Pain clawed at his heart.
“Will you tell me?” she asked.
He would have to. It would soon become unavoidable, but this day had already gone on for too long. “I want to, but let us wait until tomorrow, if that is all right. It is not something I want to think about now. Worries on top of worries.”
“Of course.” She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. He had no wish to make her unhappy, however, his heart was too heavy for much more. “Was he your only family?”
The sole relative he still spoke to, if only occasionally. He shook his head. “My mother lives in Fremia now.” He didn’t mention her abandonment. He supposed Jasminda would find that out soon enough.
“Has she been told?”
“She’s in seclusion. But we are half brothers. Were … His mother is long passed. He and I were never close. We didn’t see eye to eye, but…”
“But he was kin.”
Jack nodded. “Kin. And now it falls to me.” He stroked each of her knuckles and massaged the delicate skin between her fingers.
“What falls to you?”
“I…” He dropped his head. Shook it. “It is late. You should rest.”
“Tomorrow, then.” Her hand slipped out of his. He wanted to grab it again, but he wasn’t being completely honest and perhaps didn’t deserve her touch.
He should leave, and yet sat firmly rooted in place. Was it only last night she had slept in his arms? Could he admit to her that he wanted to do so again?
Her voice shook when she spoke up. “Jack, what do you see when you look at me?”
He was tongue-tied. Beauty. Bravery. An intensity that took him by surprise, even when it shouldn’t. He wasn’t sure what to say.
“Your men … they see me as the enemy. How is it you don’t?”
His back straightened. A haze of anger colored his vision. “You’re not the enemy. Did someone say something to you?” She grabbed his arm when he went to stand. He didn’t know what he was going to do, but it involved finding whomever had caused her pain and inflicting some of his own.
“No, no. Just … they think it.”
He froze. “Does Earthsong tell you that?”
She shook her head. “I can just tell.”
“You’re safe here, I promise.” He was responsible for this base and these men. He’d reiterated to them that if something happened to one of the refugees, it better be because one of the Lagrimari had caused some bodily harm, else a court-martial was in store. But he would protect Jasminda himself.
She smiled weakly and lay down on her cot looking over at him. Without consciously thinking about it, he slid onto the ground, stretching out beside her.
Jasminda shot up like a catapult. “You’re not going to sleep here, are you?”
“I made you a promise, and I plan to keep it.” He settled back, propping his head on his hands behind him. This was better. His muscles had balked at the idea of leaving her, but lying beside her on the unforgiving concrete floor was almost soothing.
“You don’t need to do that. You can’t sleep on the ground!”
“I’ve been doing it for the past few weeks. Another night won’t hurt anything.”
“But you have a whole set of rooms here. With comfortable beds, I’m sure.”
He held her gaze, willing her to feel his truth. “I won’t let anything happen to you. Besides, this is better than sleeping standing up, which I’ve done a time or two. I wouldn’t recommend it.” He grinned, but the worry in her eyes didn’t fade.
She lay back down, then shifted to her side, watching him. Though he could stare at her all night, he forced his eyes to close. There she was behind his eyelids; at least she wouldn’t feel uncomfortable with him gaping at her openly.
Her steady breaths lulled him to the edge of sleep. Then she spoke. “You could probably fit on the cot.”
His eyes flew open. He waited half a moment to be sure she wasn’t joking. When she made no move to rescind the offer, he shot up so quickly she gasped in surprise. In a heartbeat, he was squeezed in behind her on the narrow cot. It was not much more pliant than the concrete had been, and yet the tension of the day flowed away completely as they lay on their sides, his body spooning hers. She shifted her hair out of the way, baring her neck to his gaze.
Her back sank into his chest. He squeezed her waist and exhaled, feeling content for the first time in many hours.
Suddenly, she stiffened. “What’s wrong?” he whispered.
“Nothing. Nothing’s wrong.” She pulled his arm tighter against her abdomen. His shoulders dropped; he splayed his hand out, feeling the rise and fall of her breath.
Her neck was so inviting, smooth, and fragrant, with her unique scent filling his nostrils. He couldn’t resist, his lips met her skin almost of their own accord. Jasminda shivered and pressed even closer to him, so he did it again, whispering his lips across her aromatic skin.
“Jack.” Her voice held a plea that zipped through him, heightening his attraction.
He kissed her again at the spot where her neck met her shoulder.
“I haven’t ever … I mean, I want…” She was breathless and trembling.
“What do you want, Jasminda?” he asked, speaking against her neck. He had wanted to do this for so long, and she was soft and pliant in his arms.
He took a chance and nudged the fabric of her dress aside to press a kiss to her shoulder. “Tell me. I’ll give you anything I can.”
When his lips touched her, she gave a little moan, which made him never want to stop. But then she turned in his arms to face him. Her tears threatened to overflow, halting him.
“Some things are not for me.” She raised her gaze to meet his, sorrow evident, but no regret, to his relief. Her fingers hovered above his lips. He held his breath until they descended in a feather-light touch, tracing his mouth. “You aren’t for me.”
“So why is it that I can’t stop thinking about you?”
She leaned even closer, until she was only a breath away, and then she kissed him.
Jack was drenched in sunshine and light, the gray day and dreary night burning away as he sank into her kiss. He threaded his fingers through her hair, holding her to him. When he prodded her in gently with his tongue, she opened, giving him entry.
He lost himself inside her mouth, her lips, the occasional, sensual clash of teeth. When they broke apart, both breathing heavily, he captured her hand in his and pressed a kiss to her palm. He wanted to kiss her everywhere.
Their foreheads met. He stroked her cheek and slid an arm beneath her before rolling them so he was on his back with her on top of him. His hands rested on her lower back, just above the rise of her bottom. He went no lower, though, merely captured her lips in another scorching kiss.
She wiggled on top of him, brushing against his erection. A pulse shot through him, and he turned his head to the side to exhale the deep longing. “Please don’t move,” he begged.
Slowly, she rubbed her thigh against his hardness again. Any more of that and he could not guarantee his sanity would stay intact much longer. He flipped them over to hover atop her on shaky arms.
There was no shyness in her expression. She leaned up and kissed him, stroked from his jaw down his neck, to his chest. Her hand came to a stop at his belt. Jack swallowed.
When her hand moved lower, he grabbed it and placed it next to her head. Before she could tempt him with her other hand, he grabbed that as well. She was well and truly trapped now. He claimed another kiss before rising from the cot. He adjusted himself, though there would be no relief in that quarter tonight, and settled on the ground again.
Jasminda peered down at him, pouting. “You can come back. I’ll be good. I promise.”
“I don’t want to make you an oath breaker. And I will make no such promises.” He took deep, calming breaths, trying his best to ignore the pull of desire that would have him once again on top of her and far more. “Tonight, we should sleep. I do not want to do something that you will regret.”
“Would you regret it?”
He wanted to laugh but instead reached for her hand and drew it to his lips. “No. But it is not my virtue we are speaking of.” He kept her hand in his as he stretched out on the ground.
Jasminda was an innocent, of that he was certain. And though he wanted her beyond reason, it would not be right. Not here, not now. With so much about to change, the last thing he wanted to do was hurt her. Not in any way.
He gripped her hand and enjoyed the play of her soft skin against his rougher hands. Sleeping on the ground was no hardship when he was near her.