Page 35

SYLVIE

T he first light of dawn found them limping back toward town in tattered clothes, pine needles tangled in Sylvie's hair and mud caked to Nicholas's boots. His truck had failed to start after being corrupted and damaged from the relic.

Her legs trembled with each step, partly from exhaustion, partly from the lingering sensation of his body against hers. Every few feet, Nicholas would brush his fingers against her wrist, as though reassuring himself she was still there.

"You know they're going to ambush us the moment we show our faces," Sylvie muttered, pulling Nicholas's torn shirt tighter around her shoulders. Her own clothes hadn't survived their encounter. "And you look like you went three rounds with a wood chipper."

Nicholas grinned, golden flecks dancing in his amber eyes. "Worth it. Besides, you aren't exactly walking the runway yourself, sweetheart." He plucked a twig from behind her ear. "Though I do like this whole forest nymph aesthetic you've got going."

She batted his hand away, but couldn't suppress her smile. "I'd hex you if I had the energy."

"No, you wouldn't." He pulled her against his side, lips brushing her temple where a smear of ash remained. "You like me now."

The searing mark on her hip, a perfect impression of tiger claws, tingled in response, and Sylvie fought the urge to touch it through the fabric of her skirt. The reality of what they'd done, what they'd become to each other, settled over her like an incantation.

As they rounded the corner onto Main Street, the Moonshadow Apothecary came into view. Light blazed from every window despite the early hour, and at least half a dozen shadows moved behind the curtains.

"Looks like the cavalry assembled," Nicholas murmured.

"Great. Just what I need—an audience for the walk of shame."

"Shame? I'm calling it the stride of pride."

Before Sylvie could retort, the shop door flew open.

Missy Sage stood in the doorway, her silver hair wild around her face, hands planted on her hips.

Behind her loomed Rollo's massive frame, Millie Grace's delicate silhouette, and Nico's lanky form, all crammed into the narrow entrance like they'd been playing supernatural sardines.

"Three more minutes and we were sending out a search party," Missy's eyes narrowed as she took in their bedraggled appearance. "Though from the look of you both, seems like you found exactly what you were searching for."

Heat flooded Sylvie's cheeks. "We're fine. The relic's gone."

"Oh, we know," Nico pushed past Missy, their usually immaculate hair sticking up at odd angles.

"Mayble called at midnight, hysterical about shadows exploding and golden light ripping through the forest. Then your protection wards went haywire—" They paused, eyeing their state of dishevelment. "But I see you two sorted it out."

Nicholas's arm tightened around Sylvie's waist. "The relic shattered. It won't be hurting anyone else."

And the binding spell? Millie signed, her gentle eyes focused on the place where their bodies touched.

Sylvie hesitated. The original purple thread that had sparked between them was gone, but something else had replaced it. "It changed."

"Into what exactly?" Rollo's deep voice rumbled with curiosity.

Nicholas met Sylvie's gaze, a question in his eyes. She nodded slightly, and he tugged down the waistband of his shredded jeans just enough to reveal the golden claw marks gleaming on his hip. Sylvie lifted the edge of her borrowed shirt, showing the matching mark.

Missy let out a low whistle. "Well, would you look at that. You two are gloriously doomed."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sylvie scowled.

"It means," Missy said, eyes twinkling, "that you found the real thing. The kind of bond that burns worlds and rebuilds them. The kind that makes the universe sit up and pay attention."

Sylvie rolled her eyes. "Always with the dramatic pronouncements."

But she couldn't deny the truth of the words as she turned to Nicholas, whose face was softer than she'd ever seen it.

Without hesitation, she rose on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his.

His arms encircled her, lifting her off the ground as she wound her fingers through his wild hair.

The kiss tasted like possibility and promise, like every candle she'd ever lit in the darkness.

"Get a room!" Nico called, though their voice betrayed their delight.

Nicholas broke the kiss just enough to murmur against her lips. "Already did. Several times. Against a tree."

Sylvie pinched his side, forcing him to set her down. "You're impossible."

"And you're stuck with me," he replied, the tiger's satisfaction rumbling beneath his words.

Millie clapped her hands together before signing, Well, this calls for celebration tea!

"And explanations," Rollo added, crossing his thick arms. "Mayble said something about time distortion and shadows with teeth."

Sylvie exchanged a look with Nicholas. "It's a long story."

"Which can wait until after you two have showered," Missy declared, shooing them toward the stairs that led to Sylvie's apartment above the shop. "Separately or together, I don't care, but you're tracking forest floor all over my clean herbs."

"Your clean herbs?" Sylvie raised an eyebrow. "Since when is this your shop?"

Missy waved a dismissive hand. "Details. Now go make yourselves presentable while we prepare the questioning chamber."

Nicholas chuckled, his breath warm against Sylvie's ear as they moved toward the stairs. "Think they suspect what we were really doing in those woods?"

"Every single one of them knows exactly what we were doing," Sylvie whispered back. "Except maybe Millie, who's too polite to say it."

His teeth nipped her earlobe. "Worth it."

And despite the impending interrogation, despite the mud and scratches and exhaustion, despite everything that had tried to tear them apart, Sylvie couldn't bring herself to disagree.