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Alora frowned and Garrik dropped his expression in apologetic grief.

“My mind is sound and guarded, but if you are there with me, I will be swayed to keep you safe more than dealing withKerimkhar’s trickery. Please, do not make me ask twice. I need you to stay.”

He was right—she hated to admit it. She only nodded, eyes drawn in nervous disappointment. “What if you need me?”

Garrik’s eyes softened for a moment, then narrowed as he spoke. “No matter what you hear, do not come for me. Do not cross into the forest.”

“I hate you for asking me this.”

“I know … I will return. I promise.”

She stiffened. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”

Garrik’s eyes took her in. A look so long that quiet, unspoken words could translate into a chilling connection. His eyes. They seemed as if he thought this was the last time he’d ever see her again. Alora felt tempted to give into her every prickling nerve and tell him that she wouldn’t stay. That she wouldn’t allow him to do yet another thing alone.

But that look in his eyes.

It froze her solidly to the tree.

Her mouth opened to speak, but she didn’t have enough time.

Garrik, without a word, pushed from the bark and grasped her cheek, thumb tracing a lazy circle. The calluses of his hand scratching against her porcelain skin as he leaned forward. Those icy lips brushed against her forehead as she closed her eyes, taking in the incredible feeling of him, of his power rippling underneath.

His lips hovered there, much longer than she expected, before he pulled away. But she didn’t let him go far before her hand gripped his, stopping him.

“Alora.” His voice was low yet unsurprised. “I need to go. There is not?—”

“Much time. I know.” She swallowed at the feeling of his lips beginning to fade away. “Why do I feel like I won’t see you again?”

Garrik’s sigh was devastating. “I have told you before. Wherever there are shadows, I will always be.” Softly, Garrik’s arms wrapped around her, folding her against him while she basked in his uneven heartbeat.

“Don’t do anything stupid, mighty prince. We need you.”

Icy fingertips gripped her chin, lifting her gaze to meet his. Garrik pressed another kiss to her cheek. But she couldn’t fight off the sudden flutter in her heart or whatever pulled at her own lips.

Alora turned her head, brushing her own lips against his.

This time … something was different. This kiss was … different.

Feltdifferent … like the way she imagined a first kiss would feel like.

Garrik closed his eyes too. Unhurriedly—carefully—moving his against hers as his other hand cupped the small of her back. His lips moved as if he wanted to memorize every bit of her against him. Not lust, but something … so much more radiated from his lips. It mystified her. Made her think that perhaps her flames were strong enough to ward off the cold and his shadows all-consuming enough to smother the heat in equal measure.

Until he slowly—painfully—pulled away.

Until her hand gripped his chest, silently begging.Don’t go. Please, don’t go.

“Wait for me,” he breathed with a smile so unlike him.

Panic surged through her body as she held him there against her. Something critical flashed in her eyes, and she was frantic enough to say it. “Don’t go.” Tears lined her lashes. “Please.” Desperation flooded the word as much as her heart.

Garrik’s fingers laced through her hair and thumbs rested on her cheeks. That grin widened into the most beautiful smile she had ever seen, and she scorched it into her mind, never wanting to forget it. “Make no mistake, my darling, there is no reality in which I would not return to you.” Garrik’s thumb traced her lips. “The thought of never seeing you again … feels like dying.”

Before she could say a word, his lips pressed into hers.

Smokeshadows curled slowly around his body. She felt him slipping from her palms, no matter how hard she closed her fists on his leathers as he misted away. No matter how hard her lips clung to his.

He disappeared on a smoke-covered wind into the darkened forest—the only way she couldn’t follow him.