Orrian stopped his frantic dodging and floated properly upright... or as upright as anything got in this place. His expression shifted from panic to something almost playful, eyes glinting with knowledge he wasn't sharing yet.
"Nope!" He did a little spin, fabric trailing behind him like ribbon in wind that didn't exist. "Just unconscious. Locked out of your body for a moment."
Relief flooded through me, sharp and immediate. "How long until I get back?"
He raised one luminous eyebrow, tilting his head with exaggerated curiosity. "Why so eager?" A pause, then a wink that should have been impossible without actual eyelids. "Is the fire queen perharps missing someone?"
Soren's face flashed in my mind... unbidden, unwanted, undeniable.
Those winter-bright eyes. That smile that was equal parts tender and wicked. The way he'd held me like I was precious instead of dangerous, like burning him was a gift instead of a warning.
Heat rose to my face.
Not fire. Worse.
A blush.
