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“It’s enchanted, too,” he said. “It’ll support the weight of any book, no matter how massive or delicate.”
She threw her arms around him, and he exhaled, the tension draining from his body.
“I’m sorry.” Osric’s voice was barely a whisper, but it echoed through the silent shop. “I’m so, so sorry, Hali.”
Her back was still to him, tension bunching her shoulders, and he could imagine clearly the way she worried at her lower lip with her teeth. She said nothing, and he pressed on, the words tumbling out in a rush.
“I never meant to hurt you. I never wanted to deceive you. But I did, and I understand if you can never forgive me. I just wanted you to know that everything I did, I did because I thought it was right. But that doesn’t excuse the pain I caused you, and I’ll spend the rest of my days trying to make it right, if you’ll let me.”
He fell silent, his words hanging in the air. Hali turned to face him, and his heart ached at the tears that streaked her cheeks.
“I never should have taken that grimoire,” he said. “I never should have lied to you. I never should have?—”
“Osric.” Hali’s voice was steady, and she took a step towards him, closing the gap between them. “It’s all right. I understand.”
She reached out, her small, calloused hands cupping his face, and he leaned into her touch, the heat of her skin searing him to the core. “You do?”
“You did a foolish thing, a selfish thing. But you did it for the right reasons, in your heart. And I understand now.” She let her hands fall, and he felt the loss of her touch like a physical ache. “But that doesn’t excuse the deceit,” she said. “And I won’t pretend that it will be easy to earn back my trust. But I . . . I want to try. If you do.”
A lump formed in his throat, and he nodded, his vision blurring with tears. “Yes. Yes, of course.”
She laughed, a fragile, beautiful sound, and threw her arms around him. “Oh, you big, brooding idiot. Of course I forgive you.”
He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close, and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Thank you. Thank you, my heart.”
They stood like that, wrapped in each other’s arms, the past and the future stretching out before them.
“Thank you for giving me a chance.” Osric’s voice was low, intense, and he swallowed hard, the weight of everything that had passed between them threatening to crush him. “I don’t deserve it, but I’ll spend every day trying to earn it.”
He reached out, brushing a lock of hair from her face, and she leaned into his touch, her eyes fluttering closed. She was so beautiful, so strong, and he couldn’t fathom what he’d done to deserve her.
“I . . . I don’t even know what to ask,” she said. “I feel like I don’t know you at all. Not the real you.”
“I want to change that. I want to be the man you see in me, the one you believe I can be.”
She nodded, her eyes glistening, and laced her fingers through his. “Then tell me. Tell me who you are. Who you want to be.”
He was silent for a long moment, the air between them charged with emotion. Then he squeezed her hand, and led her over to the settee in the corner of the shop. They sat, their shoulders pressed together, and he took a deep breath.
“I was born among the Emberforged, one of the most prestigious volcanic clanholds. I showed prodigious mastery of ignan combat magics and lava-shaping from a young age, and it was this gift that drew the attention of the Forge of Vulkan.”
“The Forge.” Hali nodded for him to continue. “Your . . . your secret society, right?”
He winced. “Not . . . not so secret, I suppose. But yes. The order that raised me after my parents were killed. They trained me, indoctrinated me in their ways, and I became one of their most elite agents.”
“Agents.” She said the word carefully, as if tasting it. “What did they have you do?”
“Anything and everything they asked. Assassinations, espionage, sabotage. I was a weapon, honed and tempered in the fires of their training. It gave me a purpose when I’d lost everything, but . . . it was the wrong purpose. I see that now.”
After a tense moment, Hali’s face softened, and she took Osric’s hands in her own. “I understand now why you felt you had to leave. And how much courage it took to come back.”
He bowed his head, his eyes burning. “It was you. It was always you, Hali. I just . . . I needed to find a way to be the man you deserved.”
She smiled, a watery, radiant thing. “Then let’s find that way together.”
He nodded, unable to speak past the lump in his throat, and pressed a kiss to her forehead.
Finally, Hali pulled back, wiping at her cheeks, and took a deep breath. “There’s . . . something I want to tell you.”
