ELIA
"Reth?" she said, her voice too high. "Grateful for what?"
He sighed heavily and sat back so there was more room between them. Inside she cursed—he'd been about to kiss her!—but that feeling inside her was churning again. As if she'd been here before. As if she'd seen him in the dark before.
"Reth, what's going on?"
He still held her hand, and his fingers trailed up and down under her wrist, lighting shivers and goosebumps up her arm. It wasn't fair, really, that he could make her tingle just by touching her so lightly. So she pulled her hand away so she could focus.
Even in the dark she could see his silhouette. His shoulders sagged.
"Elia, there's a reason the wolves chose you."
She nodded. "Because I'm weak and they thought Lucine would beat me easily."
"Yes, but there are many weak, virginal orphans in the human world. They looked for you personally because they knew it would unsettle me."
She frowned. "Why?"
