“I wanted to.”
Acheron answered without hesitation.
Thalia had expected him to offer some kind of explanation.
Even if he had said the kiss was an accident, that would have been easier to respond to than this.
But he explained nothing, as though kissing her had never required an excuse.
It hadn’t been part of her treatment, or because of the dark mark on her leg.
He had kissed her simply because he wanted to.
Thalia looked at the man so close to her and found herself at a loss for words.
She could still feel the warmth of his kiss on her lips, and her heartbeat had yet to settle.
Acheron kept looking at her, his expression so calm that anyone might have thought he had said something perfectly ordinary.
In the end, Thalia was the first to look away.
“You really don’t care what anyone else thinks, do you?”
“You’re only realizing that now?”
She had no answer.
Instead, she put her hands on his shoulders and tried to move out of his arms.
It was only then that she noticed his hand was still around her waist.
He hadn’t let go since earlier.
What unsettled her more was how long it had taken her to ask him to.
Perhaps she had noticed all along and simply hadn’t said anything.
Thalia pushed the thought aside, smoothed her clothes and changed the subject.
“Now that it’s taken care of, can I go back?”
“Not yet.”
“What now?”
“The mark has only just disappeared.
I need to watch it for a while.”
Acheron glanced at her right leg.
The darkness beneath her skin was gone, and the cold sensation hadn’t returned.
But the mark had come back once before, and he clearly didn’t want her leaving too soon.
Thalia was worried about it herself, so she didn’t argue.
His hand, however, was still resting on her waist.
After putting up with it for a moment, she asked, “If you’re going to keep an eye on it, shouldn’t you let go of me first?”
“I can.”
She waited for him to move his hand.
Several seconds passed.
It stayed exactly where it was.
“Didn’t you just say you could?”
“Yes.”
“Then what about your hand?”
Acheron glanced down.
“It’s here.”
Thalia stared at him, torn between exasperation and laughter.
“I know where it is.
I’m asking you to move it.”
Acheron looked up at her.
They were already close.
When their eyes met, the words she had been about to say slipped away.
There was something different about his gaze.
The usual distance in it was gone, and he simply watched her in silence.
She leaned back a little without meaning to.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
His gaze dropped to her lips.
After a moment, he met her eyes again.
“You didn’t push me away when I kissed you.”
Thalia fell silent.
She could claim she hadn’t known how to react the first time.
But the second time, Acheron had stopped and waited.
If she had pulled back even a little, he wouldn’t have continued.
She hadn’t moved away.
She had even caught hold of his lapel.
Her face grew warm at the memory.
“I just…”
“Didn’t have time to react?”
Thalia closed her mouth.
“That might explain the first time,” Acheron said.
“What about the second?”
She avoided his eyes.
Admitting that she hadn’t disliked the kiss, that she had even wanted him to continue, was more than she could manage.
After a long silence, she said quietly, “I didn’t push you away.
That’s all.”
They were close enough that Acheron heard every word.
His hand tightened slightly at her waist, closing the small distance she had put between them.
Thalia noticed at once.
“Acheron.”
“Yes?”
“What are you doing now?”
“I haven’t had enough.”
She froze, still trying to think of an answer when he lowered his head and kissed her again.
This time, he didn’t pull away after the lightest touch.
Thalia instinctively drew back a little, and Acheron steadied her by the waist.
When she placed a hand against his chest, he stopped.
If she pushed him away, he would let go.
But her hand stayed where it was.
Through his clothes, she could feel his heartbeat, much steadier than hers.
He was the one who had kissed her, yet she was the one whose heart was racing.
Annoyed, Thalia curled her fingers.
In the end, instead of pushing him away, she caught hold of his lapel again.
Acheron looked down at her hand.
The look made her even more self-conscious, and before she could stop herself, she asked, “Are you going to kiss me or not?”
She went still as soon as the words left her mouth.
The sitting room was quiet for two seconds.
By the time she realized what she had said, it was too late to take it back.
A faint smile appeared in Acheron’s eyes.
“I am.”
He lowered his head again, and Thalia didn’t move away.
A log shifted in the fireplace with an occasional soft crack.
It was dark outside, but the sitting room was warm and quiet.
Thalia’s grip on his lapel gradually loosened.
Her hand moved over his shoulder to rest against the side of his neck.
When she realized what she had done, she left it there.
The kiss lasted longer this time.
When Acheron drew back, she had only just caught her breath before she noticed he hadn’t gone far.
She felt his breath near her ear and tucked her shoulder in.
“Acheron…”
“Yes?”
She had meant to tell him to give her some space, but the words wouldn’t come.
Acheron waited.
When she made no move to push him away, he brushed a kiss beside her ear, then lower, against her neck.
Thalia went still, her hand tightening on his shoulder.
The touch was light and warm, but it tickled in a way she wasn’t used to, and she couldn’t help drawing her shoulder up.
“Wait…”
Acheron stopped immediately.
“What is it?”
Thalia took a moment to steady her breathing.
“It tickles.”
He lifted his head and glanced at her reddened ear.
“It just tickles?”
“What else would it be?”
Acheron didn’t ask again.
But the longer he looked at her, the more awkward she felt, and she tried to move aside.
Her right leg had only just recovered, and she had little purchase where she was sitting.
She lost her balance as she turned.
Acheron caught her around the waist, and by the time she was steady again, she was sitting on his lap.
Thalia looked down, then back up at him.
“Did you do that on purpose?”
“You lost your balance.”
“Then you can put me back.”
“I can.”
The moment she heard those words, Thalia knew what was coming.
Sure enough, Acheron kept his hands at her waist and made no move.
“Do you always agree without actually doing anything?”
“No.”
“Then put me down.”
Acheron was silent for a moment.
“I don’t want to right now.”
At least he was honest.
Thalia considered getting down herself, but her right foot still couldn’t take much weight.
For the moment, she stayed where she was.
Once she stopped moving, she realized this position was even more awkward than the last.
They were face-to-face, close enough for her to feel his breath.
She tried to sit a little farther back.
“Don’t kiss me again.”
“Why?”
“My brother could be here any minute.”
“He hasn’t arrived yet.”
“How do you know?”
“This is my home.”
Thalia couldn’t think of an answer to that.
Mentioning Ivan also reminded her of something else.
“You thought my brother was in the way earlier.
Now you’re willing to let him come here?”
“You needed treatment.
He would only have stopped me.”
“So you sent him back to the museum?”
“Yes.”
Acheron sounded entirely unapologetic.
Thalia looked at him helplessly.
“Next time, at least tell me first.”
“If I can.”
“What do you mean, if you can?”
“I’ll tell you if there’s time.”
“And if there isn’t?”
“I’ll get you out first.”
Thalia was about to reply when Acheron raised a hand and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
His fingertips brushed her cheek, and her words faltered.
“Thalia,” he said, “if those people appear again, don’t let them touch you.”
She hadn’t expected him to bring up the attack so suddenly.
“I don’t want them to.
But if they appear out of nowhere like they did tonight, I can’t exactly reason with them.”
“Call me.”
“How?”
Acheron took her left hand and brushed his thumb over the black ring on her fourth finger.
“It will tell me.”
Thalia looked at the ring.
“Is that how you knew something had happened to me before?”
“Yes.”
“You can sense it wherever you are?”
“I can.”
She thought for a moment, then grew wary.
“Wait.
You can’t tell what I’m doing the rest of the time, can you?”
“I can only sense when something is wrong with the ring.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Relieved, Thalia tried to withdraw her hand, but he was still holding it.
“We’re done looking at the ring.”
“Yes.”
“Then why are you still holding my hand?”
“I want to.”
Thalia had nothing to say to that.
Since kissing her, Acheron seemed less and less inclined to hide what he wanted.
He said it all so plainly that she struggled to argue with him.
More troubling still, she didn’t particularly want to pull her hand away.
Looking at their joined hands, she suddenly asked, “Have you ever been like this with anyone else?”
She regretted the question as soon as she asked it.
Before she could add that she was only curious, Acheron answered.
“No.”
“No one?”
“No one.”
Thalia was quiet for a moment.
To her surprise, the answer made her happy.
She didn’t even notice herself smiling.
Acheron did.
“Pleased?”
“No.”
“You’re smiling.”
“I’m not.”
“You are.”
Thalia pressed her lips together.
“Not anymore.”
The smile in Acheron’s eyes deepened.
“Why do you keep smiling tonight?” she asked.
“Because you amuse me.”
Thalia decided to ignore him and turned her face away.
Acheron’s gaze fell on the side of her neck.
The faint flush from earlier had yet to fade.
By the time Thalia realized he was leaning closer, he had already kissed her there.
“Acheron!”
He lifted his head at once.
Thalia covered her neck and glared at him.
“Didn’t I tell you not to kiss me there?”
“You told me not to kiss you again.”
“What’s the difference?”
“There is one.” He looked at her.
“You didn’t push me away earlier.”
Once again, Thalia found herself without an answer.
She had told him to wait, but she hadn’t actually said he couldn’t kiss her neck.
“Just don’t leave a mark.”
Only after saying it did she realize how that sounded.
Acheron watched her.
“So I can kiss you?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
Thalia tried to explain, but he lowered his head and kissed her again.
This time, she didn’t pull back.
Acheron held her by the waist, and she slipped her arms around his shoulders.
Only when his kisses moved towards her cheek did she turn her head, her breathing a little unsteady.
He touched his lips lightly to her neck, then lifted his head.
He had evidently remembered what she had said about leaving a mark.
Thalia rested against his shoulder for a moment before murmuring, “You’ve been awful tonight.”
“Yes.”
He actually admitted it.
She gave his shoulder a light smack.
He didn’t move, and she was the one who ended up laughing.
For the first time since the attack, the tension she had been carrying began to ease.
Then her phone vibrated on the coffee table.
Thalia picked it up and saw a message from Ivan.
I’m on the estate grounds.
She sat upright at once.
“My brother’s here.”
Acheron didn’t stop her this time.
He helped her back onto the sofa.
Once her feet were on the floor, Thalia hurried to straighten her clothes and hair.
She used her phone screen to check the side of her neck.
There was no obvious mark, and she let out a breath of relief.
When she turned, Acheron was sitting as calmly as ever, as though nothing had happened.
Only a few creases in his lapel gave him away.
Thalia glanced at them, then looked elsewhere.
She was fairly sure she had made those.
Acheron looked down at his clothes.
“You did that.”
“I didn’t see anything.”
The corner of his mouth lifted.
“Don’t laugh.”
Just then, the sound of a car approaching came from outside the manor.
A short while later, footsteps sounded in the entrance hall.
The sitting room door opened, and Ivan appeared, the chill of the night still clinging to his coat.
His gaze passed over Acheron and settled on Thalia.
He quickly checked her face, arms and right leg.
Only when he saw that she was safe did some of the tension leave his expression.
“Thalia.”
“Ivan.”
She started to rise, but he was already striding towards her.
“Stay seated.”
He crouched to examine her right leg.
Her skin looked normal again, with no sign of the strange darkness beneath it.
“Does it still hurt?”
“Not really.
I just can’t put too much weight on it yet.”
Ivan checked once more before finally relaxing.
When he stood and turned to Acheron, his expression hardened.
“Would you care to explain why you took my sister away without a word?”
“There wasn’t time.”
“But there was time to send me back to the museum?”
“Yes.”
Thalia, seated beside them, could already feel a headache coming on.
Ivan’s voice grew colder.
“Acheron, I hope that was the last time.”
“If you get in the way again, I can’t promise that.”
“You—”
“Ivan.” Thalia quickly tugged at his sleeve.
“Let’s talk about what happened first.”
He looked down at her, then held back his anger and took a seat nearby.
“All right.
Who attacked you tonight?”
Thalia looked at Acheron too.
She wanted to know the answer herself.
He was silent for a moment.
“They belong to an organization that has been dormant for a long time.”
“What organization?” Ivan asked.
“The Gravekeepers.”
It was the first time Thalia had heard the name.
“The Gravekeepers?”
“That’s what they used to call themselves.” Acheron’s gaze moved to the black ring on her left hand.
“They’re looking for the ring, not you.”
Thalia looked down at it.
The dark stone caught the firelight, but otherwise it looked no different than usual.
Ivan frowned.
“If they want the ring, why did they need to take Thalia?”
Acheron didn’t answer immediately.
The sitting room fell quiet.
As Thalia stared at the ring, an uneasy thought began to form.
“Because it has chosen her,” Acheron said.
“What does that mean?”
“Once it chooses an owner, no one else can simply take it off.”
Thalia looked up at him.
“If they want the ring,” Acheron continued, “they first have to make it lose its current owner.”
Ivan’s expression darkened.
Thalia looked back at the black ring on her finger.
Only then did she understand what the man tonight had meant when he said—
They could only take the ring if they took her with it.