“It’s not that simple, Mouse—sorry, Cat. You really think my father would have let his only heir run away? He needs an heir to his throne as Kingmaker.” He paused, his eyes grew distant as though there was more he wished to say, but he kept it to himself. “If I’d left with you then, someone would have found us. I would have been taken back, and I don’t—” Theo stopped again and dropped his gaze, grabbing a pebble just before him and throwing it off the tower. “I don’t want to think of what would have happened to you.”

“We could have figured it out,” I repeated, pulling my knees into my chest. “I always wished you were with me, especially in the years I spent on the streets before the assassins found me.

“Mouse, we were children. There wasn’t much we could have done—not against my father and the obscene amount of eyes and ears he has in every country on the continent.”

“You called me Mouse again.”

Theo grimaced and fell back against the beam just behind him. “I’m sorry. It’s a habit. You’ll always be my mouse, and that’s all I’ve thought about all these years.”

“Thinking like that will only make the inevitable that much harder, Theodore.”

“You think I don’t know that?” He asked, his eyes narrowing. “I’ve tried to forget you, to let the memories I have with you fade, but those magenta eyes have haunted my dreams every night for the past twelve years. They’re the only warmth I’ve ever known, and it seems my heart will never let me forget it.”

My lips parted, and heat crept up my neck as his confession settled heavily in my chest. He continued staring at me, unwavering, unmoved, unbothered by the rejection I was sure he was certain was coming. “Why can’t you leave now? You could stay with me?” My eyes widened at the sound of my own words. What are you doing, Cat? I scolded myself.

Theo gave a light, throaty chuckle and finally turned his attention away from me, resting his head against the beam and looking at the large moon above us. “It’s not that simple, Cat. Leaving would put you all in danger, and I doubt there are many assassins that would welcome me with open arms.”

Music sounded from the town down below, and I smiled as I watched many happy faces dancing around the bustling tavern not far from us, spilling outside and bringing their joyous warmth to the frigid street.

“So, what do we do now, Theo?” I asked, turning my attention back to him. “We’ve found each other again after all these years, only to discover we’ve both taken paths that will only lead to one of us killing the other—one by choice, the other by birth.”

Theo sighed and stood, brushing the rocky dust and splintery wood off his pants and jacket before extending a hand to me. “Dance with me, Mouse. If only for tonight.”

I giggled and took his hand, letting him pull me into his chest and lead me in a dance perfectly in sync with the music down below. I was close enough to see the stubble on his face, the scars that peeked out from beneath the collar of his shirt, and the burning longing in his eyes. “You know,” I said as he spun me around and pulled me back against him. “Of all the scenarios that played in my head of what it would be like if I found you again, this was not one of them.”

“You mean dancing beneath the bell of a clock tower in the middle of winter after just discussing how we’ll inevitably kill each other never crossed your mind?” Theo said, flashing a roguish grin that stole my breath.

“I would have to say no,” I laughed. “It is nice, though I do feel it will make the inevitable that much more tragic.”

“Perhaps.” Theo shrugged. “But just because tragedy may await us in the future, does that mean we must stop ourselves from capitalizing on the small sliver of joy we’ve been given tonight? I think our lives are tragic enough as they are.”

I smiled and shook my head, and then practically fell off the tower the moment the bell began to toll. Theo laughed and grabbed me, leaning us against one of the wooden beams while I covered my ears as the loud ringing continued. Once the ringing faded, the sound of his beating heart flooded my ears while my head stayed pressed against his chest. A mixture of mint and a woody smell I couldn’t quite place flooded my nose and made it difficult to breathe, and just as my mind became bogged down in the overwhelming, consuming presence of him, he placed his calloused hand beneath my chin and pulled me up to meet his gaze.

“You know, Mouse, I imagined what you’d look like after so many years apart. I always knew you’d be beautiful, but you are quite possibly the most breathtaking person I’ve ever seen.”

“Don’t do it,” I said quietly while my heart fluttered and my lungs forgot their function. “You’ll only make it that much harder to say goodbye.”

“It’s already going to be impossible for me, Mouse,” he said, leaning his head in slowly, giving me time to decide whether to push him away or pull him close.

Just one night. Could just one night truly hurt? I said to myself, feeling my heartbeat race so loudly, it drowned out my voice of reason. I found myself moving closer to him, smelling the mint on his breath, feeling the anticipation that lingered in the quickly closing space between us. I knew I would kick myself for this in the coming days, then let Isobel and William kick me once I finally told them what happened, but in the fleeting moment, in the impossible passage of time, the boy I thought I’d never see again found his way back to me. He was not the Kingmaker his father was—not yet. Nor was I the assassin bent on toppling his empire, at least not tonight. Tonight, we were the two young children that had met through tragedy and survived despite the odds. Two star-crossed lovers who seized upon one moment of peace despite knowing the tragedy it would later bring. Tonight, we were simply Cat and Theo.

A loud caw pulled me away from the feverish stupor of the moment, and Onyx forced herself between Theo and me. I gasped and pulled away just before our lips met, thankful for the intrusion that helped me return to my senses, though I already began shivering in the cold and missing the feeling of his closeness. “It might be time we bring this night to an end, Theodore.”

“Regrettably so,” he sighed, watching me intensely while his adam’s apple bobbed.

“Goodbye, Theo. I don’t mean this harshly, but I do hope this is the last we see of each other.”

“Mouse, I have a feeling this is only just beginning.”

I pressed my lips together and met his gaze. I didn’t want to admit it, but something in the pit of my stomach told me he was right. “Thank you for tonight.”

Theo smiled sadly as his eyes filled with longing. “Goodbye, Mouse.”