Once the shadows dissolved into mist, Averic let go of her wrist, but the warmth—or was it the cold?—lingered, crawling along her nerves. She swallowed hard, trying to steady herself.
"Why didn't you… get hurt?" she asked, voice trembling.
"Because I'm not entirely human," he said, his tone low, a shadow of something older lurking in his words. "And neither… are you."
Her pulse stuttered. "Me? I'm just… me."
He shook his head slightly, silver eyes glinting with something unreadable. "You feel things humans shouldn't. You see what others cannot. You are… part of the chain that binds my curse."
Marin's mind spun. Curse? Chain? She felt dizzy, caught between disbelief and the strange pull of fascination.
"Curse?" she echoed.
"Yes," he said, stepping closer until she could feel the faint cold radiating from him. "I've lived a century without truly feeling. No joy, no sorrow, no… love. Until now. Until you touched me. But the awakening comes at a cost. And so does the bond forming between us."
Marin's heart thundered. The air between them seemed to hum, charged with something ancient and dangerous. She could feel it—an invisible tether pulling her closer to him, pulling her into the darkness, into the mystery, into something she didn't fully understand but couldn't resist.
"I don't… I don't know if I can do this," she whispered, but even as she said it, part of her longed to. Longed for the danger. Longed for him.
Averic's lips curved in a faint, dangerous smile. "You already are, Marin. And there's no turning back now."