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What was it about her he was so drawn to? “No.”

“If you could be any other race, what would it be?” Katana asked. She always said things he wasn’t expecting.

“I’ve never thought about it before.”

“Well, think about it now.” She flashed him a bright smile and with that he’d probably give her any answer she wanted.

“A dragon.”

“Why?”

“They’re ferocious. Good hunters. The second most lethal race in the realms.”

She giggled. “I should have guessed that since you are the god of war. I think I would be a forest nymph.”

“Why is that?” They were said to be gorgeous maidens, rarely sighted by men but could capture their hearts with nothing more than a look. She may very well be one already.

“So I could wander the woods singing and collecting flowers, and I would be beautiful of course.”

“You’re already very beautiful,” he countered. “More so than any nymph.”

“Have you ever seen one?”

“Once, long ago.”

“But I could turn into a tree if a random male wanted to hunt me. I would never be found if I did not want to be. They are mysterious, and I should like to be that.”

He’d never met anyone like Katana before. Even after being abused and traumatized, she was still bright—it was cliché to say it, but she reminded him of the sun. He was so used to death, violence and war, as was everyone around him, but she hadn’t been tarnished by it. “I think you’re mysterious.”

“Do you?” Her lavender eyes sparkled.

“Yes. I can’t understand how you are so—happy. You haven’t let what happened change you for the worse.”

“I will not lie and say there were not periods of my life that were gloomy and dark, or that I do not still struggle at times. Youhave seen me struggle, but one thing about the sun, Thane, is that it always rises.”

The weight of the silence that followed and her stare made Thane’s body buzz even more. He gripped the chair harder as if it was the anchor holding him down. He was a rock. He had immeasurable control. He’d resisted every single maiden who’d thrown themselves at him and even waited months for Layala to give into him. He could resist her. But gods above, it was like she was pulling him in with a chain, a hot chain that would not break.

“Can I ask you something personal?” Katana licked her bottom lip.

“Yes.”

“Does it still hurt?”

He knew exactly what she was asking. “Yes, but not as much as it did a few months ago. Can I ask you something?”

“It is only fair.” She brushed her bright hair behind her shoulder and slowly ran her fingertips over her collarbone. Did she have any idea that her touch drew his attention there? Did she have any idea he was on the verge of igniting, and she was ten feet away?

“What are you thinking about?” he asked.

“I was thinking that I like the way you are looking at me right now.”

He nearly choked on the saliva he swallowed down and swore under his breath.

She giggled, throwing herself back on the bed. She stared up at the ceiling for a moment then turned her head. “And I was thinking that maybe you do not simply want to just look.”

Heat flooded his body, and he pressed himself harder into the seat cushion. “What are we doing, Katana? What areyoudoing?”

She sat up, dangling her feet off the bed. “I am not sure what you mean?” The bottom lip tucked between her teeth told him she knew exactly what he meant.