Thornhill Academy (By Sheridan Hartin) novel Chapter 106

He smiles, slow and quiet. “They suit you.”

The compliment sends a strange warmth through me, chasing away the last of the fear. “So… these won’t go away?”

“They may dim when you are far from my realm,” he says, “but they will always return. They are the mark of balance and of unity.” He glances down, eyes flicking to the faint blue tracing his own skin where our wrists still touch. “And of belonging.”

I don’t know what to say to that, so I just look at him. The morning light hits his face, cutting gold across his dark features, and for a second, I think I understand what he meant about control. Not the rigid, cold kind, but the quiet knowing that comes from being seen and accepted exactly as you are.

He notices me staring and tilts his head. “Do they trouble you?”

“No,” I say honestly, “I think… I like them.”

His grin widens, a flash of perfect teeth. “Good.”

Something brushes my ankle and I glance down. His tail, of course, has done a full circle of my waist and is not locking around my legs.

“Rhaziel,” I warn.