Free mythean arcana 06 - master of fate by Linsey Hall

wouldn’t want to share such information either. 
    So she pretended that the dim light hid the scars and said, “They’re beautiful.”
    He stayed silent, but his muscles relaxed infinitesimally. He was still tense as a stone, but slightly better than before. She could feel his gaze burning the top of her head and glanced up.
    The heat in his eyes made her heart jump. The dim light filtering in from the small window highlighted his full lips and the stubble on the lower half of his face. 
    The air became hotter and heavier as she stared up at him. They’d once had something insanely hot between them. They could have it again.
    His face was still a foot and a half above hers, but she leaned up, slowly closing the distance. Her heart began to pound in the sticky heat. Oh, how she wanted this.
    He looked like he wanted it too. His lips parted slightly, his silver eyes flashing with dark heat. The air vibrated between them, tickling her skin. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of his hand reaching for her.
    Yes. Touch me.
    He jerked upright suddenly, the motion so fast and hard that she almost fell backward off the bench. His gaze shuttered as he climbed down faster than a sylph.
    “No’ a good idea.” His voice was rough as he quickly made his way out of the sauna.
    Then he was alone.
    Shit.

 
     
     

    CHAPTER SEVEN
     
    Aurora shot out of bed, a scream building in her throat. She cut it off just before it escaped and pressed a hand to her chest, gasping. 
    The dream. Always the dream. She was drowning in cold darkness until someone tore her apart. She shook her head and petted Mouse with a shaking hand.
    Once she’d caught her breath, she got up and dressed, then grabbed her bag and headed out the door of the second bedroom that Felix had loaned her for the night. She glanced behind her at Mouse, who’d curled up again under the down comforter, her tail just peeping out of the covers. Mouse didn’t like the cold either.
    “I’ll yell up the stairs when it’s time to go,” she said.
    Mouse meeped and Aurora took it as confirmation that she’d come down when called. She found the kitchen empty but redolent of ham and eggs. Two covered plates sat on the stove—one small and one large. The stove was a big old iron thing that still radiated heat. She uncovered the plates to find identical meals in two sizes, both still warm.
    A smile twitched at the corner of her mouth. She walked out into the living room and called up the stairs, “Mouse! Breakfast!”
    Like lighting, Mouse streaked down the stairs in a blur. She was up on the stove eating from the small plate when Aurora returned. Her purrs echoed loudly in the kitchen, no doubt from the warm stove under her paws as much as from the food. Aurora stood next to her at the stove, enjoying the warmth, and shoveled the food into her mouth.
    It was good. Nice of Felix to make it, though he was clearly still avoiding her. She tried not to dwell too long on what his issue might be, though she found it poking at her mind pretty much every other second.
    When they finished their meal, she used a little blast of magic to clean their plates. She should conserve it, because once the power was expended, it was gone and she’d have to replenish it from someone else’s immortal soul. Since Felix was so damn powerful, and hadn’t yet expressed a complaint over her power-sucking, she figured it was fine as long as she didn’t do it often. 
    She rifled through her bag and found another jacket, along with a thicker hat and scarf. By the time she had them all on, she felt like the kid from that Christmas movie she’d seen with Esha last year, but after last night’s trip across the glacier, it was necessary.
    “What do you say we go find our ride?” she asked Mouse.
    The cat hopped down from the counter and preceded her through the living room and out the door closest to the barn. The sun was just starting to gleam over the horizon. Since it was late November