The Hidden Crystal

Chapter 21

"Iris. Iris!"

Char's voice was one with the whispers, urging her to wake up. She was cold, but not frozen through. The warmth of the amulet flowed through her hand, finding the tip of her nose where the biting wind struck her, the ends of her toes where ice clung to her shoes. A cozy, pervading warmth wrapped around the rest of her. Char pushed the hood of blankets back and cupped her face in his hands. She opened her eyes and looked up at him, his expression tense and worried.

"I'm fine," she said reassuringly, trying to sit up. His lips met hers with an intensity that took her breath away. "I'm fine," she repeated, and he kissed her again, his warmth chasing away the lingering cold. "Char, stop," she said when he pulled back to take a breath. "I'm really okay." She sat up, pushing the layers back and looking around. They were in a stone room, but not a cave. Human hands had cut and mortared these stones together. She was sitting on a bed, and Char was sitting by her side, his hand stroking her hair. A faded rug covered most of the stone floor, its design too far gone to be made out. Candles in wall sconces sent strange shadows dancing across the walls. A bureau was the only other furniture in the room. Wind whistled past the frosted glass panes of the single window. There was only a shifting wall of white outside that window.

"Where are we?" she asked, looking up at Char.

"A mage's tower," he replied evenly, his green eyes studying her face. "You were blue last time." His eyes dropped to her chest, where she was still holding the amulet in her right hand. He looked up at her eyes again and smirked. "You're still blue."

That was when she realized she was still wearing the royal blue party dress. Heat flooded her cheeks, and she shoved him away and jumped to her feet, pulling her skirt down and fumbling for the package of clothes among the blankets. He was chuckling behind her, and she blushed even more, memories of their time at the party running through her mind. She found the package and tore at the twine.

"Wait," she said, spinning to face him. "A mage's tower?"

He was casually leaning against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest and that smirk sharpening his gaze. "Yes."

She stared at him, her heart pounding in her chest. "But-"

He pushed off from the wall and stepped toward her, sliding his hands around her waist to her back and pulling her flush with him. Her heart's rhythm was changing. His green eyes were smoldering, coming closer to her face, and she found herself licking her lips in anticipation.

"You said you trusted me," he murmured.

"I...did," she said hesitantly.

"So trust me." He kissed her, and she thought for just a second that maybe she should push him away, maybe this shouldn't be how he convinced her to listen to him, but that thought vanished when his tongue pushed past her lips. Her knees went weak, and she leaned into his embrace, letting him invade her senses and make her head spin. She was panting when he pulled back, and she closed her eyes and rested her cheek on his chest, trying to remember what led to that kiss in the first place.

"Good to know it's not just a drunk thing," he commented, rubbing his hand up and down her bare back.

"Why did you do that?" she asked breathlessly.

"Isn't it obvious?"

She pulled back slightly to look up at him. His eyes were filled with her, only her, as they had been all night at the party. But whenever she'd looked away from him then, she saw other girls looking at him, saw them giving her the occasional dirty look, and she was filled with doubt until she looked back into his eyes.

"You've kissed a lot of girls, haven't you?"

He shrugged. "A few."

"And danced with a lot of girls, too."