Durkhanai dropped her hand, but couldn’t seem to move away, despite knowing she should. This close, she had to look up at him, and he was gazing down at her. He was heavenly warm against the cool night, the space between them a perfect cocoon.

One more second, she told herself.

She took a deep breath.

And stepped back.

Durkhanai cleared her throat, biting her lip. She looked up at the stars, away from Asfandyar, intent on distracting herself from the burning on her hand where his mouth had been.

The night sky was awake: throbbing and pulsing with a thousand glittering stars. It took her breath away, frightened her with the grandeur. It seemed impossible, like a dream thing come alive, a being on its own. An angel, a monster, something that would swallow her whole, and she would let it, willingly, gladly, if only to catch the glimmer of beauty for a second more.

This is what is meant to be mesmerized, astounded. This was brilliance made real, a thousand diamonds shimmering in the black velvet cloak of night, crystal and clear.

“Look,” she whispered, tilting her head further back as if to drink the night sky. “It’s breathtaking.”

“Indeed, it is,” he said. But when she looked, he was staring at her with a soft expression. She bit her lip, nervous all of a sudden. She expected him to look away, flushed, but as usual, he had no shame whatsoever. Besharam.

“What?” she asked. She had meant to sound irritated but the question came out softer than she intended. She bit her lip.

His lips curved in a half smile, but he said nothing, just kept staring. She felt like he was stripping her bare with just his gaze, though it never traveled past her eyes. The blacks of his eyes were glistening like the night sky.

“What?” she said again, though this time she couldn’t quite keep the quiver from her lips.

“Nothing,” he said, shaking his head and smiling.

She wanted to devour the smile from his lips with her own.

“I agree,” she said, cutting off her thoughts. She cleared her throat. “We should work together to find out who was behind the summit attack.” She swallowed. “So you can go home and we can both go on with our lives. Allies?”

She put her hand out to shake, and he did. His fingers brushed against her palm. A shiver ran down her spine. Asfandyar lifted her hand to his lips.

“You should rest,” he said, kissing her palm. “Sweet dreams.”

He turned and went, and she was left standing there, watching him go.

Chapter Ten

The next day, Durkhanai felt more settled than she had in weeks. Though she was tired from being out for most of the night, there was satisfaction that came from doing good work. And now, her mind was clear enough to consider investigating who was behind the summit attack.