Page 54 of Antiletum (The Nocturne #1)

“But of course you did! I don’t get much time away from our estate, and certainly not without a watchful eye.

” No sense informing him on the full reasons why.

The truth would probably cause him to flee from her vicinity immediately.

“You’ve hand delivered me a much needed taste of freedom and brought brightness to my day. ”

“You’re saying that I’ve made you happy?”

“Yes, I suppose I am.”

“I’m happy to have been of service.” Just barely, Sebastian’s lips pulled up again. Another teasing threat of a smile .

An explosion of satisfaction fluttered in Delaney’s stomach from that one simple twitch of muscles.

Sebastian was beautiful in a sharp, masculine manner. Absolutely extreme. And beneath his stoic expressions, he looked sad. A melancholy kindred to hers in a way. One that brought forth such a deep, inexplicable urging to blurt out, “I know how you feel,” even if unsure that she did.

At that moment, she wanted nothing more than to elicit more of Sebastian’s shy, tentative smiles until they were open and bold and he gave them to her freely.

Hardly recovering herself, Delaney continued. “Besides, I’ve never been to Omnitas before. I’m going to go out on a limb and assume you’re familiar with the city?”

“You could say that.”

“Perfect.”

Delaney looped her arm through Sebastian’s, his skin warm and frame slight.

Despite his slimness, broad shoulders sat beneath his loose, worn shirt, sleeves pushed beyond his elbows.

Delaney wondered what he might look like with a couple months of regular, solid meals and days not spent wandering the streets.

“You can show me around while I think of a way to repay you.”

Sebastian glanced down at their contact as if he discovered some new place and he couldn’t quite believe he had the freedom to explore.

“Unless you’re busy, of course,” Delaney hurried out to fill his silence. Deos , why did her heart beat so very fast?

Sebastian met her gaze again, unsure. “You don’t know me,” he said slowly. “I could be dangerous.”

She scowled at him playfully, batting away the phantom voices of her parents in her head, trying to make her agree. “Obviously I don’t know you. But I think I know enough. ”

Delaney might regret it later, giving him her blind trust. But a vexing, powerful instinct told her that Sebastian regarded her safety in his hands. Not to mention she very much craved the company of a friend. This one in particular.

She smiled. “Maybe I’m the one who’s a threat.”

“I have no doubt at all that you could absolutely destroy me.” The way he said it—so sure and honest. Delaney was existing outside of herself, riding the wings of this strange new joy Sebastian was intent on instilling within her.

“I suppose we’ll just have to find out.”

“You would wander around with me? Without knowing a single thing about me at all?”

“I know your name,” she rationalized.

Another twitch of his lips. “The barest minimum, Delaney.”

Her smile answered the teasing of his own, especially at the sound of her name. She thought for a moment, and then asked, “How old are you then?”

Another small frown, stealing away the joy she was infernum bent on producing. “Around sixteen. I think.”

“You think ? You mean you don’t know?”

A slow shake of his head. “Not precisely, no.”

Her heart faltered, implications falling into place. Not wanting to scare him off by digging too deep, she offered, “Well. I’m fifteen. Not so far off from you. There. We know that about each other now.”

“Won’t you be in trouble?” Sebastian asked. “If you’re gone too long?”

“Of course, I will.” Unbothered, Delaney tugged at their looped arms, urging him out into the sunny street.

Against his skeptical words, he eagerly followed.

Like he could never resist her, even if he tried.

Delaney shrugged. “It’s already done. Might as well make it worth the trouble now.

Have something grand to ruminate on while I’m forced to do something painfully tedious to atone. ”

“Such as?” he asked, slightly dazed, allowing Delaney to lead him, never mind the fact he was meant to be her guide.

“Writing lines. Or sweeping out the spirlinary . Maybe even shovel out the stalls of the stables.”

“I believe I recall threats of flaying.”

“Tenna is dramatic. My punishments are never quite so terrible.”

“Make trouble often then?” Sebastian asked, humored, the ghost of his smile returning. He adjusted his arm, more stable and sturdy for her hand, taking over to slide them effortlessly through the crowd.

The sun baked against Delaney’s cheeks, sitting high on her face with her wide smile. “You could say that.”

“I don’t mind trouble.”

“Well, you’re the first person I’ve ever met who doesn’t. How very fortunate for me.”

At this, he laughed. A real, rumbly thing that vibrated in Delaney’s chest. “I’d say I’m the one who found fortune today.”

Again, fluttering wings beat in her stomach. Without thought, she blurted out, “Your smile is beautiful.”

Embarrassment fully took hold when he stopped walking abruptly.

“You think something about me is beautiful?” His brows pinched, completely taken aback.

Delaney’s heart pounded in her throat. “I think everything about you is beautiful.”

She held her breath, beginning to think that perhaps she was being too bold. A trait not at all becoming of a young woman. Especially one with an aristocratic background .

But Sebastian lifted a hand, paused, and when she didn’t move, he brushed a thumb over her cheek. Like he wouldn’t believe she truly existed until he did. “You’re the loveliest thing I’ve ever seen.”

Their honesty lingered with exhilarating freshness, the undeniable pull between them new to both, solidified in place the moment their eyes first met.

Someone bumped into Sebastian’s shoulder, shaking them back to reality, resuming the world’s normal pace.

Lighter, they began walking again, Sebastian fully leading them now.

Delaney cleared her throat, tried to steady her breathing and dampen the silly grin living across her face. “What do you suggest then? For a girl with one chance to explore the city?”

His steps were knowing and sure, and he obviously had a destination in mind. “Why would it be your one chance? Surely you’ll be here often, given your family.” Sebastian sounded downright hopeful.

“Rainah—my sister—she’s the only one relocating to Omnitas full time right now.”

“Ah,” Sebastian sighed knowingly, side stepping a cart selling food set precariously half on the sidewalk and half on the street. “So your sister is our future Lady, then. Quite the illustrious role.”

“That it is. I’ll be going back to Thorngrove with my parents after she gets settled here. Plus, I don’t socialize much.”

“That doesn’t seem fitting for you. I would have guessed the exact opposite.”

He had a point. If she had a different gift, a different upbringing, Delaney might have been a very outgoing creature.

She must have been silent too long. Let some of her jovialness briefly fly away .

“I didn’t mean to upset you,” Sebastian said softly, guiding her under an ornate stone bridge dripping with brittle, thirsty ivy, leading towards a fountain.

Barely anything flowed from the stone statues of the Nocturne at its center. Only a shallow covering of water sat in the pool due to the intensity of drought plaguing the area.

Delaney plastered another smile on. “It’s not you. I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be morose. Especially not with the potential for such a lovely day.” Lovely day indeed. Spring and the sun not sitting so close to the earth that it scorched the air and ground. If only it would rain.

“It’s okay,” Sebastian urged. “You can be morose and we can still have a perfect day.”

We.

Delaney very much liked the sound of the word in reference to she and him.

“I want to know you, Delaney Thornridge,” Sebastian said, encouraging her trapped words. “Everything about you.”

She found that she wanted to spill a sliver of her heart to this strange boy who she had only just met but felt like she had known all her life.

“My parents keep me very sheltered. They worry I’ll tarnish the reputation they’ve built for Rainah.

I’m not usually let off the estate. Nor am I allowed to mingle much when visitors come to us. ”

“That’s cruel.” The bite to Sebastian’s voice spoke volumes. The rapid change in his tone gave her pause, but fondness flooded her for the way someone else felt so strongly about her situation. Especially him.

“As you’ve already deduced, I’m prone to finding and causing trouble.”

“That’s a terrible excuse—to keep you caged. How do you spend your days then? ”

“I spend most of my time in the spirlinary on our estate. Or in my rooms. Or just roaming the grounds. Swimming. Picking flowers.” Raising things from the dead.

She very much wanted to tell him and only barely held herself back from doing so.

Delaney blinked against the pressure behind her eyes.

“I suppose your parents don’t keep you on such a short leash then? ”

She knew her slip before he even responded, recalling his lack of knowledge regarding his own age.

“I don’t have parents,” Sebastian said plainly, just as she expected and before she could apologize.

Embarrassment rolled through her, furious over being so tactless. “I’m sorry. I—”

Sebastian cut her off with a gentle squeeze on her arm. “Don’t be. How could you have known? And I want you to know me just as much as I want to know you.”

They stopped at the edge of the fountain, surrounded on the other three sides by tall buildings. The courtyard, caged with a pergola, was empty other than them.

Sebastian said, “I would have brought you here, even if we hadn’t been so close. It’s practically an Omnitas right of passage.”

Delaney raised a brow. Glanced around the empty courtyard.