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I tear my eyes away from the room. “It’s daylight. I’m safe.”

“I’ll call Orion when you need to go back.”

“You won’t be working today?”

His face falls. “I know… it’s been busy since the festival, and they need me. I should be more reliable. Can’t believe I got taken out by a stupid cold, of all things.”

“It’s just that I’ve missed you.” My cheeks warm, but I press on. “It’s not your fault you’re sick.”

“I used to lie about being sick, you know.” A thread of darkness enters his eyes and he snorts softly. “A couple years ago. I’d call out and get one of the other guys to cover for me when I was actually fine. Well, physically fine. It was all in my head.” He taps his temple, a self-deprecating smirk flashing. “Couldn’t handle the pressure.”

“Ezra.” I capture his hands. His eyes lock on me, surprise, confusion, and unhappiness swirling in them. His flushed face is tense. “Are you okay?”

His eyebrows knot together, and he doesn’t say anything for a long moment. The silence curls in my gut. I was right — I’ve missed something.

“Truthfully, I don’t know,” he says finally.

“Tell me what’s wrong.” I step closer.

He exhales softly. His gaze is dark and intense, and my heart pumps faster just from the weight of it. “It’s complicated, Lys. Sometimes I feel like I’m running in place. Getting wiped out and missing work just brings me back to a dark time.”

Emotion tugs me toward him. “I want to understand. I want to help you the way you’ve helped me.”

His eyes flicker down. “Everything is so clear when I’m wearing the amulet. It’s a good dream I get to be part of. But when I’m here, alone, and it’s hard to keep from spiraling. In this world… my life is far from a dream. I’ve fucked up and let people down. I’ve made mistakes — big ones — and as a result, I’m deep in a hole of my own making. Makes me wonder if I deserve all the things that come with the amulet. Makes me…”

“Scared?” I ask softly.

“Yeah.” His breath flutters out.

“I’m scared, too. Constantly. Over everything.” The springy hair on his knuckles bends under the pads of my fingers as I move them back and forth. “You must know that. But when I’m with you, it’s like my fears all melt away. Maybe we just need to be together all the time.”

His mouth quivers and he breaks into a hoarse chuckle. “It’s the obvious answer.” He ducks his head, brushing his lips over my cheek. “You’re really special, you know?”

I fall silent, breath pushing hard against the stiffness in my throat. After a moment, Ezra disentangles from me.

“Sit here,” he says, pulling out a stool. He goes into the kitchen and starts pulling things out of the cupboards. “I think we need hot chocolate.”

I hesitate. Can I admit to him that chocolate is bitter and I don’t like it?

Ezra boils water and scoops spoonfuls of powder into the mugs, then takes out a bag full of white blobby things. He plops them into the liquid and slides the mug across the counter to me. “Be careful. It’s hot.”

I lift it to my nose. It smells sweeter than I expected. Carefully, I take a tiny sip.

“Oh!”

“I thought you’d like that.” He grins.

I take another sip. The warm, velvety sweetness rolls down my tongue. “Wow. It’s not like chocolate at all.”

“The stuff Syril keeps in the kitchen, you mean?” Ezra chuckles. “Syril has high-class taste buds — that chocolate is for connoisseurs. This stuff is for the masses, like us.”

“Pardon you, but I’m a prince,” I say snootily, but I take a much larger sip, my eyes drifting shut at the comforting taste.

Ezra’s laugh is warm and rich as the drink. “Come to the living room.”

I sink into his deep couch, clutching the mug. He sits across from me and puts his own drink on the low table, taking a deep breath.

“You deserve to know the truth about me.”