Lily could actually feel his restraint, the way his muscles tensed, but she felt no control herself. She kissed him fervently, standing on her tiptoes to taste him more deeply. A fire burned inside, spreading a fresh wonderful heat all through her.

Her hand found the curls on the back of his neck, and she wrapped them around her finger. It was something she did, almost without thought. She just wanted to pull herself closer to him, but it made Lux weak. It was like he felt too much – too much happiness, too much pleasure – and he could hardly stand.

Lux stopped kissing her, but he held her in his arms still. She untwined her fingers from his hair and rested her hands against his chest, staring up at him as they both struggled to catch their breath. His skin trembled.

“You’re shaking,” Lily said, sounding concerned.

“So I am.” Lux smiled at her.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m better than I’ve ever been,” he assured her, and she smiled up at him.

He pulled away from her before he couldn’t resist kissing her again. They had wasted enough time sleeping. She had needed it, but he had to get her somewhere safe soon, not that he even knew where somewhere safe might be. But keeping her on the move was his best for now. He didn’t know of anywhere that Valefor couldn’t go if he wanted to, but Lux knew staying in the same place would make them easy targets.

“I’ve dropped all the berries.” Lily’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment, and she bent to pick them up.

“It’s alright. I’m not very hungry anyway,” Lux said. He surveyed the area around them, trying to decide which way to go, but it was hard to think clearly after that kiss.

“Are you certain?” Still crouched on the ground, she looked up at him. “Because I could find something other than berries, if you don’t want any of them.”

“No, I’m fine, but we need to get moving.”

“Oh.” Lily looked hurt, afraid she’d done something to offend him, so he held out his hand to her. She took it, and he helped her to her feet, but he didn’t let go of her hand.

“This way.” Lux gestured to the west. The palace lay to the east of them, and Valefor’s lair to the south.

“Are we going somewhere?” Lily asked as they started walking, and then realizing how silly her question sounded, fumbled to clarify. “I know that we’re going somewhere, but is it somewhere in particular?”

“I’m not sure yet,” Lux said honestly.

“Because I have a friend in the woods, or at least I think I still do.” Her face crumpled when she thought about Wick. “I don’t know what became of her last night.”

“What happened?” Lux asked, looking over at her.

“Wick sensed something coming. She’s a witch, but a good witch, and she knew something was after me. So I left out the window, and she stayed behind. Then the canu chased after me, and you found me.” Things started occurring to Lily, and she stopped walking so she could look at Lux straight on. “What are we running from? Why didn’t you want me to go back to the palace?”

Lux avoided her gaze. “It was just a gut feeling I had.”

“No, it wasn’t. It was more than that,” Lily insisted. “You were trying to protect me. From what?”

“I don’t know.” He swallowed hard and wouldn’t look at her.

He couldn’t tell Lily what he knew because he’d have to tell her how he knew. And it was more than just being a part of her kidnapping. He’d have to explain exactly what he was, and he knew he’d lose her forever. She’d be disgusted and hate him.

“You took me out to the woods on a whim?” Lily looked at him with disbelief. “You abandoned me here in the middle of the night only to come rescue me the next night, and you don’t know why?”

“Your friend Wick, she senses things?” Lux grasped at anything, looking for any explanation that would keep her from discovering the truth. “I can do that too. I sensed something horrible and…” He trailed off, knowing how empty his words sounded. “Do you trust me?”

“Yes,” Lily said.

“Everything I’ve done has been to protect you,” Lux said, and he felt better knowing he was being honest. “Since I’ve met you, I’ve only tried to make sure that you were safe and happy. And I can’t explain the things that are happening, but… I need you to just trust me.”

“I believe you,” Lily looked up at him, her eyes searching his. “But why can’t you tell me? If something dangerous is going on, I should know about it.”

“Please,” he pleaded with her. “Just trust me for now. I promise you’ll understand everything later. But for now, can you just trust me?” 

“Fine,” Lily relented, but only because he looked so pained. “But we should go to the cottage to see if Wick is alright.” Lux looked in the direction she pointed and shook his head.

Wick’s cottage was closer to the palace, and Lux didn’t want to head that way. He wasn’t sure how powerful Scelestus really was, but he didn’t want to deal with her. More importantly, something had found her at the cottage last night, and while he wasn’t certain it was Valefor or another of the peccati, the canu had found her too. They needed to get away from here, fast.

“We need to keep going,” Lux looked at her apologetically.

“But she helped me survive until you got here,” Lily insisted, and guilt stung through him. He never should’ve left her alone, and he’d never forgive himself for that. “The least I can do is make sure she’s fine or see if she needs any help.”

“She sent you away last night while she stayed behind to fight?” Lux asked, and she nodded. “She didn’t sacrifice herself so you could go back and get yourself killed today. Whatever happened back there, it’s not safe for you, and she’d want you to go on.”

“Maybe,” Lily said, her face scrunching up. “But I don’t feel right leaving her like that.”

“We need to go, Lily.” Lux looked at her seriously and squeezed her hand. “Please.”

“Once you’re sure we’re safe and this – whatever this is – is over, I’m going back to repay my debt to her,” Lily said firmly.