Chapter 45

In Evie’s old cottage, Trystan struggles with the charged intimacy of being alone with Evie in a room with a bed. While trying to focus on their search for the painting connected to the Sage-frame shard, Trystan notices a sketch of himself on Evie’s desk and teases her about drawing him.

When Evie lights candles, Trystan realizes he had been standing in near-total darkness without noticing or panicking, something that has not happened to him in ten years. The realization unsettles him, but he insists he is fine and tries to redirect them toward searching the room.

The search briefly turns awkward when Trystan opens a drawer containing Evie’s undergarments and impulsively throws one out the window. Their banter becomes playful, and Trystan recognizes that he is having fun with Evie, even though he fears the feeling cannot last.

Evie then confronts Trystan about why he did not want her to come to the village. Trystan first claims it was because of risk and her safety, but Evie challenges him, believing he sees her as a burden. As the argument escalates, Trystan finally reveals the truth: at the Gleaming Palace, before learning Evie had faked her death, he saw what he believed was her corpse and thought she was dead.

Evie is hurt that Trystan lied about this and accuses him of sending mixed signals, caring for her one moment and rejecting or taunting her the next. Trystan insists he refused to kiss her before because the request was made under duress, but Evie accuses him of pretending to care. That accusation breaks his restraint, and Trystan admits that thoughts of Evie and her safety consume him constantly because he never wants to feel the darkness of losing her again.

Evie misunderstands one of his intense declarations, asking if he is comparing her to an illness. Trystan’s control finally snaps, and instead of continuing the argument, he kisses her.