"It's raining." He leans back, resting his head against the headboard. “I was kind of hoping you’d let me stay. I'm not going out in the rain."
The gentle tap of water hits the balcony windows. I didn't even notice it had started. I glance between Asher, the door, and back. "My Guardians, they'll call the patrol… you can't—"
"Relax, I'll be gone by daybreak," he murmurs. Soft fingers brush my back, sending a tingle along my spine. "Lay down. Get some rest."
Yeah, like I'll be able to rest with a guy on the bed with me. If Molly or Toby comes in, I'm screwed. Still, my body jerks. It moves back as if each vertebra is lowering itself one by one onto the mattress, my head the last to go. My gaze flicks to the side, but I can't see anything in this light. I turn and look, straight into his open eyes. "I thought you were going to sleep."
"I am."
"Then why are you looking at me?" My voice cracks.
He tilts his head toward me. His full lips part. "Why are you looking at me?"
Yeah, answer a question with a question. Perfect answer.
He flips onto his side, propping his elbow on the pillow. "What are you thinking?"
"I just... it's nothing." I shake my head.
"Aura." Two fingers find their way beneath my chin and guide my head back to the figure now leaning above me.
"I saw a picture in a book in Toby's study once," I say. "He doesn't know I've seen it. It's one of the books he hides in his desk, but I used to sneak down in the middle of the night, pull the book out and stare at it."
He settles back, and rests his head on his hand. "What was it about?"
"There's a couple, on a balcony. Well, the girl is. The guy's climbing up. His hand reaching to her." The picture so clear it's almost as though I can see it in front of me. "She's smiling, and they both have this look in their eyes while they lean forward."
"Romeo and Juliet."
I blink. "How do you know that?"
"Cassian," he says. "I told you, he got some books from the old days. He infiltrated the Archives."
"Oh." The mention of my supposed father creates a strange pang in my stomach. I close my eyes, and hope the darkness will stop the sensation. "I guess so. The nameplate had been blacked out. When I was younger, I used to wonder about love. I know we’re not supposed to think about it," I sigh. "But I'd wonder how it looked, when the world fades away and there's no one but you and this other person. I found that picture and there it was -- love."
"You know they die in the end, right?"
My eyes fly open. "What?"
"Romeo and Juliet," he says. "They're the children from two warring families who fall in love, marry, then die."
"Why?"
"Because their love's secret. Juliet's parents try to get her to marry some other guy, she refuses and pretends to die," he explains. "Romeo is supposed to come take her away so they can flee the city." He blinks, almost waiting for some response, but I won't rise to his bait. He'd think I’m interested. Which I'm not. Am I? "Romeo is supposed to get a letter telling him the plan, but he misses it. He thinks she's dead and goes to die beside her. Juliet wakes up just as he's drunk some poison. Kisses him, and he dies. Not wanting to live without him, she stabs herself."
Well, that's depressing.
"Maybe the Decretum are right," I say. "What's the point in love if all it brings is death?"
He looks at me as if I’m supposed to know the answer. "Because their deaths end the war between their families, and they're laid to rest together. To love forever. Thus with a kiss, I die."
Because riddles explain so much to me. "What?"
"That's what Romeo says before he dies."
My forehead scrunches together. "I still don't see what all the fuss is about. If love is so wonderful, why—"
He runs his thumb across my jaw, traces a line along the bone, and cups my cheek in his palm.
"Asher…"
"Shush." He touches my mouth. Electric. His free hand slides to my opposite cheek, bringing my face closer. Warm breath rushes across my face as he leans toward me.
The thrum in my chest quickens with each centimeter closing the ocean of distance between us. The tip of his nose nuzzles against my own. I can't keep my eyes open. They close like an automatic door while a spark of fire flickers within my nothingness. I can't see, but I know there's no space between us. His firm torso rests near mine, our breaths mingling as he brushes his lips against my own. The faint touch of flesh on flesh.
"Aura, are you awake?"
The door.
My eyes fly open. "Asher, you've got to go."
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