What the holy hell was that?

Adele had never told anyone off like that. Never. And certainly not anyone as imposing as Bron.

Sure, she’d daydreamed about it, but fear always swallowed the words before they could make their way out of her throat. The terrible truth was, the more people riled her up the more she kept her mouth shut. Most times she tried to rationalize it as being diplomatic, but deep down she knew—she stayed quiet to avoid conflict.

But not today.

Today it was as if something inside her had snapped, and the words had flowed out of her. She’d told him exactly how she felt.

And who could blame her? He’d just kept riling her up, pushing her for confessions she didn’t want to give, manipulating her emotions.

Still, she couldn’t imagine where that courage had come from.

Well, that wasn’t completely true.

She’d felt that swell of boldness at least a couple of times in the last twenty-four hours.

Keeping her back to Bron, she slipped the necklace out of her shirt. She smiled down at the crystal glowing bright and warm in her hand. A fresh wave of sparkles swirled around the edges, filling her palm with a soft, comforting light.

At least someone had her back…even if that someone was a magical soul trapped in a piece of jewelry. It wasn’t like she could afford to be picky when it came to friends.

She lifted the crystal and pressed a quick kiss of appreciation to its silver edge. The friendly warmth spread from her hand all the way to the center of her chest. It was the first truly comforting feeling she’d felt since the Redcap had burst through her door.

Too bad the emotion didn’t last long.

“I’m going to have to go out for a little while.”

Adele spun around at Bron’s declaration.

“What?” she asked, even though she’d heard him clearly. “Why?”

Reflexive questions raced through her mind. Had she made him angry? Had her words been too harsh? Had she gone too far and pushed him away?

No. She wasn’t going to second-guess herself. She drew in a breath and pushed her panicked, reactive mind back. It wasn’t easy, but she forced herself to listen to her rational side instead.

Bron was a grown man. One who’d obviously been through a lot—a hell of a lot worse than her. He wasn’t the type to be scared off by a little rejection.

At least, she hoped he wasn’t.

A smile lifted his lips as he stared across the room at her. She prayed he couldn’t read the internal struggle going on inside her.

But who knew? Maybe he could. Apparently, he could tell every other emotion that roiled inside her.

He pulled the black T-shirt she’d thrown at him over his chest before walking across the room.

“Everything’s all right,” he said. “I won’t be gone long. I only need to go out for supplies. Food and a change of clothes for you.”

“Now?” she asked, her voice a little shakier than she liked. “Won’t the Redcap be out there looking for us?”

“That’s why I need to go now. Before he has a chance to lock on to our trail.”

“I should go with you,” she said.

He shook his head. “It’s too dangerous.”

“Too dangerous for me, but not for you?” she asked.

“Exactly.”

Dear God, he wasn’t listening. Without thinking, she reached out and grabbed his arm.

“That doesn’t make any sense,” she said. “What if he finds you out there?”

Bron’s gaze slid to her fingers circling his forearm, but she didn’t let go…and he didn’t pull away.

“Then you’ll still be perfectly safe here,” he said. “If I don’t return in an hour, you should make your way back to Emily’s. The rest of the exiles can protect you there.”

“You don’t get it, do you?” she said, shaking her head. “I’m not worried about me, you big oaf. I’m worried about you.”

Bron’s brows pulled together. “Why? I thought you were upset with me.”

Adele rolled her eyes. How could one guy be so smart and still be so dense? There was no way around it. She was going to have to put it all out there as plain as possible.

“I’m upset with something you did,” she said. “That doesn’t mean I don’t care about you.”

He narrowed his gaze. “You care about me?”

“Of course,” she said. “Why wouldn’t I? You’ve been patient and kind during some rough situations. You’ve stayed and protected me when you could have just as easily walked away. I know you don’t want me to call you a hero, but you’re sure as hell not the bad guy.”

“Then you forgive me for angering you?”

“Whoa, there, tiger. I didn’t say that. Not yet, at least,” she said. “But I probably will…once you apologize.”

“All you want is for me to say I’m sorry?”

She shook her head. “No. I want you to mean it.”

The line of his jaw tightened. For a long moment he didn’t say a word. He simply stared at her, looking deep into her eyes, not moving back or pressing forward.

For the first time Adele didn’t feel the urge to squirm under his gaze. Her eyes stayed steady as she looked at him.

This time, he was the first to blink.

“My apologies,” he said. “My intentions were to distract you from your troubles, not make them seem worse.”

Adele couldn’t help but smile at his sincerity. “Apology accepted.”

He looked at her a second longer before turning and then heading for the door.

“Be careful out there,” she called.

His hand stilled on the doorknob. “I’ll be back soon.” He looked at her over his shoulder. “I promise.”

The door closed with a loud click. Now she was alone.

Well, not completely alone.

She cupped the crystal dangling around her neck. The soothing presence swept through her again. The silver sparkles in the crystal shimmered bright. Apparently, one of them didn’t mind being left in this place.

And maybe she shouldn’t either. This was the first real moment she’d had to herself since Bron had crashed into her life…or, more accurately, since she’d crashed into his…and she knew exactly what she wanted to do with it.

Adele went over to the bed. She sat down on the mattress, pushing her back flat against the wall and pulling her legs underneath her. She looked down at the soul cupped in her palm.

“All right,” she said, letting out a deep sigh. “I’m thinking it’s time we get to know each other.”

* * *

Bron gripped the paper bag in his fist as he climbed the stairs of the shabby Tenderloin hotel. He’d been true to his word. He’d purchased the needed supplies and made it back in record time.

Not that anyone had tried to stop him. He hadn’t seen a single sign of danger. No sign of the Redcap at all.

So why couldn’t he let go of this tension that had gripped him between his shoulder blades?

The answer was clear as the midday sky. This uncomfortable feeling didn’t have a thing to do with the goblin. It had everything to do with Adele.

She cared about him…and he cared about her. He must. He’d never apologized to anyone in his life. He’d never had any reason to.

But when he’d looked into her eyes and seen the pain he’d caused her, he’d felt pain. That was new. New, and a little uncomfortable. Now he wasn’t just responsible for her physical well-being, for some reason he’d taken on responsibility for her emotions as well.

Just like she’d taken on his. All because when she looked into his eyes she saw kindness. She saw goodness. No one had ever seen those qualities in him. No one had ever called him patient or kind. Just her.

Bron slowed as he reached the top of the stairs. The sounds of the hotel echoed down the hall—footsteps and hinges and creaking springs…and another that was far more familiar.

Adele’s muffled voice.

Bron strode toward the room, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw the door was still intact. So, who was she talking to? He threw open the door.

He found her sitting on the bed, her hands cupped in front of her face, her face bathed in shimmering light. Her head snapped up the second the door slammed against the wall. Panic flashed in her eyes for a brief moment, but was quickly replaced by relief.

“You’re back,” she said, a huge smile spreading across her face.

“I am.” He kicked the door closed behind him. He glared pointedly at the crystal in her hands. “I see you’ve kept yourself entertained while I was gone.”

Her brows pulled together. “You sound upset.”

“I just don’t understand why you would want to communicate with that thing,” he said, putting the bag down on the counter. “It’s dangerous.”

She shrugged. “So are you, but we still manage to hold conversations.”

“That’s different.”

She raised a brow. “How?”

“You’ve only seen a sliver of what those do,” he said. “Phoenixes have been known to burn entire cities to the ground.”

“Before or after they were hunted down, stuffed into jewelry, and forced into slavery for their immortal souls?”

Bron pressed his lips together tight. “I’m just saying those things can’t be trusted.”

“And I’m just saying Silver’s a living creature, no different than you or me.”

“Silver?” he said. “You gave it a name?”

“Yeah,” she said with a smile that lit up her whole face. “After her sparkles. Do you like it?”

Bron let out a groan and turned his back. He wasn’t about to go down this road. Not while he had more important things to do. He dug into the bag and started unloading supplies. A moment later, the bed springs creaked behind him.

“Did everything go okay?” Adele asked, appearing at his side.

“No sign of the Redcap yet,” he said.

“Good,” she said, cupping her hand over his arm. “I was worried about you.”

Her touch was light, and his chest tightened, right around his heart. He wasn’t sure how to respond to the sensation.

“You were worried?” he asked. “About me?”

“Of course.” She smiled up at him. It was a sweet sight.

He wasn’t sure how to respond to her show of concern. His words came out haltingly. “Thank you.”

Her smile only grew at his awkwardness. “So what did you get?” she asked, tactfully turning her attention to the bag.

“Bread. Meat. Cheese,” he said. He also pulled out a bag of apples.

“The basics,” she said. A teasing light shone in her eyes. “Well, I’m sure we won’t get sick of this for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.”

“What does that mean?” he asked.

“Nothing,” she said with a laugh. “Just, if we survive this—”

“When,” he corrected her.

“Okay, when we survive this,” she said. “You and I are going to go out for a real dinner, one with vegetables and sauces.”

“And more bottles of wine?” A smile tugged at the corner of his lips. He couldn’t help it. There was something infectious about the light quality of her voice.

She shook her head. “No more wine. After last night I think I’m done for a while.”

“What a shame,” he said. “I liked the way it made your skin glow.”

A blush lit her cheeks. “What else did you get?” she asked, quickly changing the subject.

He pulled out two pairs of jeans, a couple of shirts, and a pair of simple canvas shoes.

“It’s nothing fancy,” he said. “But they looked comfortable, and they’ll help us blend in with the crowd.”

“They’re perfect,” she said, grabbing the pile from his hands. One by one, she held the pieces up, nodding in appreciation. “You did a good job guessing my size.”

“I didn’t guess,” he said. “All I had to do was close my eyes and I could see your body.”

Her blush grew even brighter. Almost as bright as her hair.

“Well, thank you,” she said. “Anything else?”

She lifted herself up on her tiptoes and peered into the bag.

“Just some books,” he said. “I haven’t done much reading since being exiled and I thought it might help us pass the time together.”

She pulled out a small stack of novels and flipped through the covers. “Romance novels?”

“I thought they looked interesting,” he said.

She bit into her lip, almost as if she were trying to hold back laughter. “Well, there’s no denying that.”

“Is something funny?” he asked.

“No.” She shook her head a little too hard. “Nothing at all.”

“I was hoping I could learn from them.”

Her brows shot up. “Learn what, exactly?”

“The back covers said these were love stories,” he said. “In order to break the curse and get back to the Realm I need to fall in love.”

“Right. The curse. Almost forgot about that,” she said, straightening up. She put the books down on the counter and shuffled back a step. “And you think these books can teach you that?”

His brows pulled together. “You don’t think it will work?”

“No, I think it’s a great idea.” A bubble of nervous-sounding laughter burst from her lips. “You and me stuck in a tiny room with tons of free time and nothing to read but a stack of romance novels. What could possibly go wrong?”