Page 498 - Fourth Wing

“Come with me,” I call over the wind, bracing myself as a gust whips my

skirt against my legs. “Should have gone with the pants,” I mutter and keep
walking.

He’s already coming my way, his strides just as long and confident as if

he was on solid ground, eating up the distance between us as I move
forward slowly until we meet.

“What the fuck are you doing out here?” he asks, locking his hands on

my waist. He’s in riding leathers, not a dress uniform, and he’s never looked
better.

What am I doing out here? I’m risking everything to reach him. And if he

rejects me… No. There’s no room for fear on the parapet.
“I could ask you the same thing.”

His eyes widen. “You could have fallen and died!”
“I could say the same thing.” I smile, but it’s shaky. The look in his eyes

is wild, like he’s been driven past the point where he can contain himself in

the neat, apathetic facade he usually wears in public.
It doesn’t scare me. I like him better when he’s real with me anyway.

“And did you stop to think that if you fall and die, then I can die?” He
leans in and my pulse jumps.

“Again,” I say softly, resting my hands on his firm chest, right above his

heartbeat. “I could say the same thing.” Even if Xaden’s death wouldn’t kill
Sgaeyl, I’m not sure I could survive it.

Shadows rise, darker than the night that surrounds us. “You’re forgetting

that I wield shadows, Violence. I’m just as safe out here as I am in the
courtyard. Are you going to wield lightning to break your fall?”

Fine. That’s a good point.

“I…perhaps did not think that part through as thoroughly as you,” I
admit. I wanted to be close to him, so I got close, parapet be damned.

“You’re seriously going to be the death of me.” His fingers flex at my
waist. “Go back.”