Candlelight flickered under the door to Kaspar's chambers and, to be kind and not intruding, Faine knocked on the door. She didn't know why her stomach had tied itself into knots on the way over or why her hands shook with nerves. How did someone she'd know for nearly a hundred years have such an effect on her?

They'd laughed together at the beginning when Carlton brought her around. It was a difficult friendship at first, as he never believed it was right for any outsiders to know who they were, but Kaspar molded into her the way a brother did a sister. It wasn't until after Carlton's death that things changed and they looked to each other, not for laughter or deep conversations, but for a way of distraction through the heartstrings.

Feet pattered across the room, from his desk, and Faine wrung her hands. The saddlebags pressed against the floor of the hallway for she didn't know what type of embrace was coming. If he tackled her to the floor, something had the chance to break. The saddlebag itself might've disintegrated before her very eyes.

As usual, he had the five locks on his door already prepped for the night. After a series of clicking, he swung the door open wide with tired eyes that grew wide at the sight of her standing there, smiling sheepishly up at his perfect face.

Kaspar didn't say anything. He rushed at her and wrapped his large arms around her waist and lifted her into the air, spinning her in that small, tight stretch of hall. Faine laughed against his body and squeezed his shoulders as hard as she could, all the while wrapping her legs around his waist.

"I planned to give you two more days," he said once he pulled away. Faine kept her arms wrapped around the back of his neck, thumb just barely raking through the short, snow stained strands. "If you didn't come back in two more days, I was going to drag you here myself."

Faine cocked her head to the side. "I'm here now. You don't have to make an unnecessary journey."

She'd forgotten how handsome his smile was and how relaxed his features became when he displayed it. Only for her, she remembered. No one else received a similar expression or looseness. He cleaved apart worlds and made the strongest warriors shake in their boots, but here he was, grinning at her like a child. That, alone, meant everything to her. More than paying fifteen thousand gold coins for her freedom or making it through these next months without a hitch. Kaspar was worth it.

"You know how much I hate making an effort to do anything," he grumbled as he set her back down and grabbed her saddlebags to carry into the room. It was a relief to plop down onto his bed and stretch her arms wide. "Finally managed to break away, did you?"

"It took some persuasion, but I finally did it," Faine sighed. "If only my mission had been closer."

He scoffed. "Or Tyvni was small enough to fit in your pocket so you could fly around on her whenever you wish."

Faine propped herself onto her elbows. He stood at the edge of the bed and was unpacking all of her belongings, arranging them neatly on the bed. "Speaking of which..."

"I know, I know. It wasn't my fault. I turned my back for one day to go on a mission and she snuck out of her stable. By the time she returned, there was nothing I could do except scold her."

Faine pouted. "You weren't too hard on her, were you?" she asked.

"Of course not. She'd bite my arm off the way she did one of the new members."

At least exhaustion didn't weigh her down enough to forget her ability to laugh. Her body was sore after riding on the saddle for as long of a stretch as she did, but already her muscles were relaxing at the bottom of Kaspar's bed.

"What's this?" he asked.

Faine heard the crinkling of parchment before she looked down. "It's a set of notes I took on a member of Silver Willow. He's a mortal and...I couldn't bring myself to hand him over to Zebulon like that." She rubbed at the bridge of her nose and the inner corners of her eyes.

"You've only been in their presence for three weeks now. Though, I should've expected you to protect someone already." Kaspar shook his head in false disappointment but his small smile said otherwise. He'd said more than once that one of the many things he loved about her was her ability to sympathize with the lesser beings of Pinedon. "His name is Ilian Renaut, he's twenty-four, and he has been part of Silver Willow for...twelve years now." Kaspar raised his brows. "That's impressive."

"Recruited by the leader of Silver Willow herself. He's quite skilled; I've shadowed him since I arrived, and I have to say, it's remarkable what he can do. I've seen immortals with less skill."

"That is definitely interesting," he muttered. Kaspar absorbed each word in Faine's handwriting, and she didn't worry for a second if he might use it for his own benefit. "So, what else is new? Did you go on any grand adventures?"

He plopped down next to her on the bed, shaking the entire mattress. His weight alone sunk it in and Faine involuntarily rolled into the crevice he made without trying. "We went to Echo Market in Olhathas," she recalled. "It's refreshing to steal something and watch them be in awe at my skills. You're never impressed, you know me too well."

Kaspar snorted. "Your missions must not be as lengthy as Rising Eternity's if you have time to steal from Echo Market."

"Actually, I've only been on one mission so far." Faine laid on her side and propped the side of her head onto her palm. "I stopped Steelmaw Pack from using human slaves as their bait to train young sinwolves. All with Ilian at my side, and I must say, he doesn't cringe as much as you do when I start ripping out eyeballs."

"As long as they don't frown on your cruel ways, my muse."

Faine smiled down at his handsome face. How had she gone so long without seeing him? Without grazing the tips of her fingers against the black horns heading south off the back of his head? Kaspar was so...perfect. Maybe it was finally being back in the presence of his warmth or a truth she avoided all along, but Faine wondered if there could be anything more than what they were.

She had always wanted someone, and she thought Kaspar sufficed in the unofficial way they mastered for so long. But looking down at him, at his golden eyes—stark against grey skin—she wanted something more. The diamond ring on her finger was a sudden weight she had to get used to all over again.

"I missed you," she whispered and ran her fingers along his jawline. The light stubble scraped her skin. "I thought about you every day."

"It wasn't until Tyvni arrived back without you that I realized you were all right. She seemed enough in good spirits, though slightly pouty after you forced her back to the base. I wasn't sure you were even alive until that moment," Kaspar confessed. "It drove me crazy every day knowing I couldn't be one room away to protect you."

Faine couldn't help her blush.

"There is no one there that can hurt me." Her mind was so focused on making such a vanilla statement that she forgot about Eliphas or the undercover mission that would very easily get her killed if anyone found out. The sinwolf wouldn't waste the opportunity to tear her apart, physically and mentally. "You're worrying too much."

"I told Carlton I'd protect you if anything ever happened to him." Kaspar shrugged. "I have to keep my promises."

"You've kept me alive for ninety-nine years; I believe you've done enough, Kaspar."

The feliram laughed outright and shook his head. He lifted the back of it off the mattress to nip at her nose with his fangs. "That's not enough. If I'm to keep my complete promise, it has to be one hundred years. Then, you're on your own, weakling."

Faine gaped and gripped his face in her hand. "You think so little of me—after so long of being partners in this guild."

He made a sound that resembled 'ick'. "Speaking of which, I can't stand taking the rookies on my missions. They're not nearly as quick or as stubborn as you. In fact, they're boring. They make for terrible company."

Faine laid down once more and rested her cheek against his chest. The steady beat of his heart thumped underneath her ear. "I promise to be back as soon as I can," she whispered to that beat rather than Kaspar himself. "And then, once I pay off my debts, we'll do something about finding you a compatible partner to complete your missions."

His fingers threaded into her scalp and lightly massaged. Warm breath leaked from his nose and he pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head. "I don't know what I'll do without you. Who will annoy me?"

Faine craned her neck to look back up at him, met by his broad chin. "Nalea, maybe. I might put her up to the task."

"She's already worse than you are."

Her body was falling back into the old ways of being around him and she laughed again, this time following up the emotion by a kiss to the tip of his strong jaw and then to his neck. A deep growl rumbled within Kaspar's chest and Faine couldn't wait any longer. She'd come to his chambers to reacquaint with him, to tell him everything she'd learned and discovered about Silver Willow, but that was best saved for later. The next morning, months from now, whenever.

Kaspar's desires weren't much different from her own. He rolled on top of her, bracing his weight against his elbow, and kissed her softly. Without trying, Kaspar took the breath from her lungs and stashed it for himself in hopes of returning it to her later when the time was right. When there was no room for air in her body.

"I missed you," she whispered again between kisses. "I missed this."

He kissed her harder.

Faine inhaled sharply through her nose and fumbled with the belt that secured his pants at the hips, and found her hands to be steady. At the same time, Kaspar was pushing her trousers down as he kissed her so passionately that she felt her body slipping, slipping into the abyss that was him. A hot hand slid up her shirt once her trousers were completely kicked off and gone from between them, one less blockade they'd have to grow used to after being nearly a kingdom apart for three weeks.

She buried her hands in his hair to hold on to something and keep her body from outright screaming for him. Every night she'd thought of him, laying with him and doing this, or having a simple conversation about past times. It didn't matter what they were doing, even if it wasn't tangling themselves together. Faine needed him there, at her side, no matter what. She'd save this moment for when she returned to Silver Willow and had no one to turn to in her bed.

"Kaspar," Faine breathed as he trailed wet kisses down her neck. "Kaspar, please." She pushed his pants down the rest of the way as the heat built in her core. His fingers traced over the scar on her abdomen, large and unsettling. No matter how many times she hated it, he kissed that away.

Kaspar positioned himself above her and slowly, with a hand to guide him in, thrust in with one steady, easy movement. Her breath caught in her throat and she squeezed her eyes shut, digging her nails into his shoulders to stall the pressure, and was wrapped up in another stolen kiss that numbed her soul.

"You all right?" he breathed against her neck.

Every time. He asked the question every time. Faine didn't have a better answer than to grab his face and tug his lips back to her own. A feverish kiss began Kaspar's painfully slow movements and Faine couldn't hold back her needy moans after so long of being without him. She wrapped her legs around his waist and kissed everything she could; from his lips to his neck to his chest.

Kaspar buried his face in her neck and quickened his pace, his hands continuing to explore underneath her shirt or build the arousal between her legs. He was familiar; he was home. Faine knew she'd have to leave the next morning and every part of her heart tugged her towards him.

"It'll be over soon," he whispered against her ear and nipped at her earlobe. "It won't last much longer."

He kissed her again and caught her bottom lip with his teeth. She knew he meant the mission, but she hoped being with him would last forever. That it would last longer than every stretch of time imaginable.