Page 43 of Glimmer and Burn (Unity #1)

Chapter Twelve

T he carriage stopped well clear of the marina, but hints of brine and fish managed to laced the air even here. Or perhaps that was just sobriety.

Now that Devin wasn’t suppressing his Aura Sight, all of his senses were returning to normal.

Vision was that much sharper. Peripheral that much wider.

Reactions quicker, stability that much sounder.

He could smell each distinct note of perfume from the women beside him and somehow differentiate it from the scents outside.

Over the years, he’d adapted to the inebriation, found ways to compensate for what he lacked. His tolerance allowed him to function at baseline human levels. Without the alcohol, the parts of him that didn’t conform to humanity were becoming glaring. He felt other again. He felt fae.

Lady Wilde set off ahead as soon as they stopped, not bothering to wait.

In a few moments, there would be no turning back. Their course would be set and whatever fate had in store…there’d be no escape.

Devin caught Miranda’s arm before she could follow her mother.

His hand lingered, not willing to release her, yet knowing that under her mother’s stare and the grim circumstances he might not be able to touch her like this again.

She didn’t protest, but there was a distance in her gaze that had grown since talking with her father.

It didn’t take imagination to guess what was said between them. The disapproval and objections, the outrage that she would choose someone like him to debase herself. The confident, bright colors of her aura were edged in the faintest, almost translucent shade of lavender doubt.

Doubt.

He steeled himself for the worst. Because there was a chance he would not survive this mission and there were things he wanted to say.

“I don’t know if we’ll get another chance to talk and,” His hand eased her closer, instinctively, because he was lost at sea and her touch alone kept the waves at bay. “If the worse should happen, I…”

Her gaze was open, waiting. Hanging on his words and he knew there were seconds left to him before her mother noticed they weren’t following.

Yet the words died in his throat, trapped, choking him.

Because this was all too new and he was afraid.

There was no red thread connecting him to her.

There was no certainty there ever would be one.

And was it fair to stick her with a declaration that would do little more than tether her to a memory if the worst should happen to him?

“Yes?” She prompted, inching closer like she needed to hear him say it, like she knew.

He kissed her.

If he couldn’t tell her that she made him finally want to live, that he found something that meant more to him than his blasted revenge, then maybe he could show her.

He poured all of himself into her, hand cradling her cheek, arm wrapped around her waist so his fingers could sink into the dip of her hip.

It was a kiss loaded with promise, with the unsaid.

He kissed her to say that if he survived this, he was never going to stop kissing her for as long as she let him.

He kissed her to promise that if he saw tomorrow, he was hers forever.

He didn’t stop kissing her when tenderness melted into carnal, or as her nails started to bite or as his mouth shifted from adoring to ravenous. He pressed his luck as their undeniable chemistry teetered on combustion.

Devin pushed fate until the fear of Lady Wilde tossing him into traffic won out. He pulled away to press his forehead to hers, lingering for only a breath of a moment before meeting her eyes. The uncertainty and doubt lingered. But she continued to hold him, like she was just as afraid to let go.

“We have to get my sister back,” she started, “But after…we can figure it out, after.”

He desperately hoped there would be an after.

“We should catch up to your mother before she kills me,” he said.

He suspected Miranda had left her own words unspoken, but when he checked the lavender band of doubt it was starting to become translucent. The relief of it washed through him, easing the heavy dread that had been smothering him.

Lady Wilde was farther ahead than Devin anticipated.

As he and Miranda rounded a corner and the marina opened before them—a U shape of roads with docks and tethered ships—he couldn’t find her in the crowd, though he could make out the obvious patrolling routes of Graves’s enforcers.

Miranda motioned to a shadowed alley between two buildings.

A crumbling wood fence with jagged holes and uneven boards provided some cover and a way to look out at the street.

Salt thoroughly saturated the air, he could almost taste it, and the distant crash of waves and incessant cry of gulls bordered on distracting.

“I will not ask what kept you,” Lady Wilde’s voice was clipped, just behind them. “But I will ask that you do not delay again.” Her eyes locked on Devin and he matched her stare with his own.

He was not going to apologize.

She bristled, but continued, “Now, what is the plan?”

“We need to be sure Cordelia is inside before we make any move that we can’t take back,” Miranda whispered.

“Any ideas on how?” Devin said, “There’s no windows within reach.”

“The roof,” Lady Wilde chimed, nodding toward the top of the warehouse.

It wouldn’t be easy to reach, but it was tiered, one section higher than the other, and a series of vents lined the upper tier. Presumably, one could look through and see inside the entire warehouse.

“I don’t see a better option and Miranda is right, we can’t be discovered until we know that Cordelia is inside. I don’t intend to waste my energy on needless combat,” said Lady Wilde.

“What about procuring some disguises?” Devin suggested, preferring that to attempting to climb onto the roof without being noticed. “There’s plenty of his enforcers around and they did us the favor of hiding half their face as part of the uniform.”

“We should split up,” Lady Wilde said. Though her voice was steady, her aura suggested doubt and reluctance.

“Are you sure?” Miranda asked.

“Of course I am,” she snapped, then took a breath. “I’m sorry, Miri. I’m as sure as I can be. I know you can do this. You and Devin should get disguises and get inside. Whoever is in a better position to get to Cordelia, that is their priority. The other can signal the Watchmen.”

“We have to be careful we don’t alert Gideon too soon,” Devin said, “Not while Graves still has Miss Wilde.”

“You’re right, a sound observation,” Lady Wilde conceded, though it seemed to cost her great effort.

She pulled Miranda into a hug and kissed the top of her head.

“I trust you, my dear, because you’re strong and capable.

I know I’ve been hard on you, wanting you to settle down, but it’s never been out of spite or necessity.

Marriage to your father has made me the happiest I could ever hope to be, and that is all I want for you.

A partner, a friend to share life with so you don’t have to do it alone.

You think independence is strength, but love is strength, Miri.

Having the courage to tether your life with another’s is the greatest risk we can ever take, but worth every second if it is with the right person.

” Lady Wilde speared a look at Devin, contradicting the implication of how her words might relate to him.

He was thankful that guardians didn’t have Aura Sight, or Lady Wilde might see his disappointment.

Lady Wilde attempted to blend with the burly crowd of workers, sailors, and enforcers.

Even hiding her face and outfit under the cloak she’d taken from her carriage, it was obvious that she didn’t belong there.

Thankfully, no one stopped her and soon she was out of sight, looking for a way to climb to the roof unnoticed.

Devin’s eyes kept shifting to Miranda, who had closed off at the mention of marriage and the lavender began bubbling over the other colors of her aura, darkening into almost purple.

She was silent while they waited. Devin intended to follow her lead, but the colors churning around her were becoming alarming.

He opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off.

“Now,” Miranda said, “How do we get disguises? There are about twenty enforcers and they all seem to be in pairs or threes. We can’t just grab someone and run off with them.”

Devin pulled his eyes from her shifting colors.

He needed to focus on what was happening in the present.

What he wanted to do was pull Miranda aside and demand to know what she was thinking, because the guessing was driving him mad.

She was not hard to read, even without insight into her aura.

But that wasn’t the same as talking or hearing directly what the hell was going on in her mind.

First, save her sister.

It helped if he kept repeating it.

He let out a breath through his nose, casting his gaze out at the street until he found two enforcers with auras that were thinner than the others, drawn and tired. The pair walked toward a secluded section of the marina, settling themselves to lean against some crates out of view.

“There,” he motioned with his head. “Those two are nearing their limits. They will be easily overpowered and they’re already positioning themselves out of sight.”

Miranda squinted, trying to pick out who he was referring to. “How do you know?”

He licked his lips. The instinct to lie about his gift was still habit. But if he had any hope of building a life with Miranda, it couldn’t start with lies.

“I have Aura Sight. Those two are exhausted and likely looking for a way to rest without getting caught.”

“I knew it,” she breathed, “I knew it had to be something. Is that why you were always drinking?”

“It is, but I’ve recently decided to quit.”

“Why?”