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“Casteel let go of my hands and stretched up, cupping my cheeks. He leaned in, pressing his forehead to mine, and I swore I felt his hands tremble. 'Always,' he whispered in the breath we shared. 'You heart was always safe with me. It always will be. There is nothing I will protect more fiercely or with more devotion, Poppy. Trust in that- in what you feel from me. In me.”

“It turns me on when you're armed with something sharp.' 'There's something so entirely wrong with you.' He came around to my front. 'But you like what's wrong with me.' 'There is something wrong with me, too,' I looked up at him. 'Because I do.' 'I know.' He touched my cheek. 'I've always known you like that I enjoy when you make me bleed.”

“Kieran moved forward, clasping Casteel around the back of the neck. 'If you get yourself killed,' Kieran said. 'I'm going to be pissed.' One side of Casteel's lips kicked up. 'I won't fall, my brother.' Casteel pulled him in for a tight, one-armed hug. 'That, I can promise you.”

“What I feel? Like how I want to take your pain away and yet throttle you at the same moment? How your stupid dimples are infuriating, look for them every time you smile because I know that's a real smile. I don't know why I look forward to arguing with you, but I do. You're clever, and you are kinder than even you realise- even though I know you have earned the title of the Dark One. You are a puzzle I want to figure out, but at the same time, don't. And when I realised You have so many masks- so many layers, I kept wanting to peel them back, even though I fear it will only hurt more in the end.' I shook my head as I curled my fingers around the collar of my tunic. 'I don't understand any of this. Like how do I want to stab you and kiss you at the same time? And I know you said that I deserve to be with someone who didn't kidnap me, or someone I don't want to stab-' 'Forget I said that,' he said, closer to me when I looked up. 'I have no idea what I was talking about. Maybe I didn't even say that.' My lips twitched. 'You totally said that.' 'You're right. I did. Forget it.”

“Your heart, Poppy? It is a gift I do not deserve.' He placed his hands on my knees as he lifted his gaze to mine. 'But it is one I will protect until my dying breath. I don't know what that means.' He stopped, curling his fingers into the leggings, into my skin. 'Okay. Fuck. I do know what that means. It's why I'm in awe of everything you say or do- everything you are. It's why you're the first thing I think about when I wake and the last thought I have when I fall asleep, replacing everything else. It's why when I'm with you, I can be quiet. I can just be. You know what that means.”

“I wish you'd gone with Alastir and Kieran,' he said quietly. 'You would be far away from here. Safe.' I opened my eyes. Casteel stared into the darkness. 'But I'm glad you're here. Spessa's End needs you. I need you.' He looked at me then. 'But I still wish you weren't here.' I could accept that. 'I wish you weren't here,' I whispered.”

“I saw that. That little grin.' He leaned in, dipping his chin against the side of my neck. 'Why are there times you still hide your smiles from me?' His chest roses with a heavy breath as he sat back. 'You have a beautiful smile. That and your laugh. And you... you never laughed enough as it was, but when you did...' I closed my eyes. 'When you did, it was like the moment the damn mist finally cleared. Like when the first rays of sun break through the clouds after a heavy storm,' he said without an ounce of embarrassment. 'Your laugh is as beautiful as your smile, and when I told you it was like hearing something familiar? It wasn't a lie.”

“You're beautiful when you're quiet and sombre, but when you laugh? You rival the sunrise over the Skotos Mountains.' He sounded so genuine, as if he truly meant that, and I couldn't understand it. 'Why do you say things like that?' His gaze searched mine. 'Because it's the truth.”

“I felt your hunger, Casteel, and I don't need to do this. I stopped doing things I didn't want to do the moment I took off the damn veil. I want to help you. Because as stupid as this may make me, and only the gods know why, I care about you! So, yeah. I don't want to have my throat ripped open, and I also don't want to know that you're suffering for no reason.”

“Don't cry.' He lifted my hand to his mouth and kissed the centre of my palm. 'I'm not crying. I'm not sad,' I told him, and he grinned. The stupid dimple in his right cheek appeared. 'I hate that stupid dimple.' 'You know what I think?' He kissed the tip of my finger. 'I don't care.' The dimple in his left cheek appeared. 'I think you feel the exact opposite when it comes to my stupid dimples.”

“No matter how much death I've seen, it never gets easier.' His lashes lowered, shielding his gaze. 'It's never less shocking. I'm glad for that, because I think if it ever does stop shocking me, I might stop valuing life. So, I welcome that shock and the grief. If not, I would be no better than an Ascended.”

“Your scars are beautiful,' he said, and there was a swift, swelling motion in my chest that couldn't be deflated no matter what my brain yelled at it. 'But I refuse to allow your body to be scarred again.' My heart started thumping once more. 'You say that like you mean it.' 'Because I do.”

“Have I told you that you're beautiful?' 'What?' The shift in conversation threw me. 'I might have, but I couldn't remember if I did,' he went on, tugging gently on the strap. 'Then I thought that it wasn't something you could say too often. You're beautiful, Poppy.' My stupid, stupid heart skipped. 'Is that why you decided to wake me up in the middle of the night?' 'You're beautiful.' HIs head tilted, and I gasped at the feel of his lips on the longer scar on my cheek. He kissed that one and then the shorter one, above my eye. 'Both halves, and you should never question why anyone would find you utterly, irrevocably, and distractingly beautiful.' The skipping was back, but I ignored it. 'That is a lot of adjectives.' 'I can come up with more.' 'That won't be necessary,' I advised. 'So, now that you've told me this, you can get off me.' He smiled against my cheek. 'But you're comfortable, Princess.”

“There is one more thing I need. Something that I've needed for days. Weeks. Months. Maybe forever.' The bridge of his nose brushed mine. 'But I know you won't allow it. Not like this.' The pounding in my chest moved lower. 'What... what have you needed for so long?' 'You.' I shuddered. 'So, maybe, just for a few minutes, when no one is looking- when there's no one but us- we can pretend.' Leaning into the cupboard, I felt dizzy, as if I weren't getting enough air into my lungs. 'Pretend?' 'We pretend that there's no yesterday. No tomorrow. It's just us, right now, and I can be Hawke,' he said in the heated space between us. I shook once more. He touched my cheek, sending a bolt of awareness through me. His fingers drifted over my chin, my lower lip. 'You can just be Poppy, and we can simply share a kiss.' 'A kiss?' He nodded. 'Just pretend.' His lips now a whisper against my cheek. 'Just a kiss.”

“You did what you needed to do to survive. I hope you truly believe that.' Casteel didn't answer, and when I looked over at him and saw the vast emptiness in his expression, my heart ached. Because I knew. I knew he didn't. And all I wanted was to bring warmth back to him. 'I still want to stab you.' His head shot in my direction. 'Just not as frequently,' I amended.' One side of his lips curled up, and then he laughed. The sound was rough and a little hoarse, but it was real. 'I would be disappointed if you didn't.' I looked forward, smiling. 'That is such a weird statement.' 'What can I say? I have a thing for women with violent tendencies.' 'That doesn't sound any better,' ...”

“Did you really think you'd escape me?' Casteel asked softly. Anger was sharper than any blade, far more welcomed than the hopelessness. 'I almost did.' 'Almost means nothing, Princess. You should know that.' I did. 'I'm not walking back to that keep.' 'Would you prefer that I carry you?' he offered. 'I would prefer never to see your face again.' 'Now all three of us know that's a lie.”

“There's a lot we need to talk about, Poppy.' 'There is.' Namely the whole marriage nonsense. 'But talking doesn't require you to be shirtless.' 'Talking doesn't require any clothes at all.' That smoky grin of his returned. 'I can promise you that some of the most interesting conversations take place with no clothes to speak of.''' Heat blasted my cheeks. 'I'm sure you've had a ton of experience with those types of conversations.' 'Jealous?' Propping his elbow on the arm of the chair, he rested his chin in his palm. 'Hardly.' The grin increased, and even though I couldn't see the dimple beyond the fingers splayed across his jaw and cheek, I knew it had to be there. 'Then... distracted?' 'No,' I liked, and then lied some more. 'Not even remotely.' 'Ah, I understand. You're dazzled.' 'Dazzled?' A surprised laugh almost broke free. And there it was again, the slight widening of his eyes, the parting of his lips, and the absence of arrogance. It was like watching him slip off a mask, but I had no idea if what was revealed was just another mask, especially when the look disappeared as his features became unreadable again. I exhaled slowly. 'We don't need to talk about your over-inflated ego. That has been long since established.”

“Your name isn't Hawke Flynn. You're him! You're the Dark One.' 'I prefer the name Casteel or Cas,' he replied then, his tone hard and distant. 'If you don't want to call me that, you can call me Prince Casteel Da'Neer, the second son of King Valyn Da'Neer, brother of Prince Malik Da'Neer.' I shuddered. 'But do not call me the Dark One. That is not my name.”