ARIA
The sky exploded.
I startled against him, my head jerking up just in time to catch a cascade of colors spilling across the night. The sea lit up beneath us, every ripple glimmering like liquid fire as more bursts of red and gold followed, crackling high above.
For a moment, I forgot to breathe.
"Fireworks?" I whispered, like saying it out loud would make sense of it. "In the middle of the sea?"
I turned to him, already knowing. Of course. Kael Roman didn't do coincidences.
His lips curved, infuriatingly calm, though his eyes still burned with that hunger he hadn't quite tamed. "What can I say? I like my timing dramatic."
I shook my head, a laugh slipping out despite the ache in my chest. "Of course you do."
He didn't answer, not directly. He just looked at me, like the fireworks were nothing compared to me. And that was worse. My stomach twisted, my throat tightened, because how could a man like him, dangerous and unhinged and maddening, plan all this just for me?
