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The Luminary guard’s grip locked around his sleeve, steady and unyielding, and when Ryneth looked up, the man’s face gave away nothing.

“You’re okay,” Vandor said, low enough that only he could hear.

Ryneth’s skin felt slick with sweat. His chest rose and fell too fast, his pulse kicking hard against his throat while the holo-screen washed the courtyard in pale light.

All he could do was stare upward and hear Daven’s promise ringing through his skull.

Tonight.

19

DAVEN

Daven was exactly where he intended to be when the door opened, sprawled on the couch with his jacket folded over the armrest and his boots still on, one ankle resting over his knee as if the world moved on his timing and not the other way around.

He had been waiting for two fucking hours.

Finally, the lock disengaged with a soft click.

“…I said I’m fine,” Ryneth’s voice drifted in before he did. “You don’t have to worry about me.”

The door slid open.

“…Thank you.”

It closed behind him.

“Worry about you?” Daven’s voice cut through the room. “Who exactly thinks they get to worry about you?”

Ryneth froze mid-step, then slowly lifted his head and saw him. His shoulders locked first, then his jaw, while his fingers curled at his sides as if he were deciding whether to strike or run.

Good Light, his aethera looked wrecked.

His hair was wind-tossed, his collar twisted, and his mouth looked slightly swollen, as if he’d spent the whole day worrying at it with his teeth. There was color high on his cheekbones that had nothing to do with the sun.

He looked devastating.

Daven rose without hurry. “Where were you all this time? And who the fuck were you talking to?”

“Vandor brought me home. After class,” Ryneth said with a sharp sniff.

“Oh?” Daven tilted his head. “So you went on with your day after my public statement?”

“Public statement?” Ryneth’s eyes flashed. “You humiliated me.”

“I claimed you. There’s a big difference.”

Ryneth’s face tightened. “And you did it in front of everyone at the Academy.”

“I did.”

Ryneth rolled his eyes, then let out a furious huff. “Same thing.”

The last word broke on the way out.

His chin lifted like he meant to hold the line, but his eyes were too bright. His breath hitched, and when he swallowed, Daven saw it for what it was.

“Are you crying?”