Lifting a trembling hand, I took a quick sip of the sweet lemon drink. I had no idea what had just happened.

“Poppy.” Tawny touched my arm lightly. “Are you okay?”

I nodded as I carefully placed the cup down. “Yes, I’m just…” How could I explain it? Tawny didn’t know about the gift, but even if she did, I wasn’t sure I could have put it into words, or be sure that anything had actually happened.

I looked over at her and opened my senses. Like at first with Dafina and Loren, all I felt was a twinge of sorrow. No deep pain or anything I shouldn’t be feeling.

My heart slowed, and my body relaxed. I sat back, wondering if it was just stress causing my gift to behave so oddly.

Tawny stared at me, concern creeping into her expression.

“I’m okay,” I told her, still keeping my voice low. “I just can’t believe what Loren said.”

“Neither can I, but she’s always been…amused by the most morbid things. Like Dafina said, she means nothing by it.”

I nodded, thinking that whether or not she meant anything by it didn’t exactly matter. I took another sip of the drink, relieved to find that my hand wasn’t trembling. Feeling measurably more normal, I chalked up the weirdness to stress and lack of sleep. My thoughts returned to the Dark One. He could be behind the attacks and might very well be after me, but none of that meant he was actually within the city. However, if he were…

Unease trickled through me as I thought about Goldcrest Manor. It wasn’t impossible for something like that to happen here, especially considering an Atlantian and a Descenter had already infiltrated the castle grounds.

“What are you going to do?” Tawny whispered.

“About the Dark One possibly being in the city?” I replied, confused.

“What? No.” She squeezed my arm. “About him.”

“Him?” I glanced at Hawke.

“Yes. Him.” Sighing, she let go of my arm. “Unless there’s another guy you’ve made out with while your identity was concealed.”

“Yes. There are many. They have an actual club,” I replied dryly, and she rolled her eyes. “There’s nothing for me to do.”

“Have you even spoken to him?” She tapped her chin, glancing at him.

“No.”

She tilted her head. “You do realize you will have to actually speak in front of him at some point.”

“I’m speaking right now,” I pointed out, even though I knew that wasn’t what she’d meant.

Her eyes narrowed. “You’re whispering, Poppy. I can barely hear you.”

“You can hear me just fine,” I told her.

She looked as if she wanted to kick me under the table again. “I have no idea how you haven’t confronted him yet. I understand the risks involved, but I would have to know if he recognized me. And if he did, why hasn’t he said anything?”

“It’s not like I don’t want to know.” I glanced at Hawke. “But there’s…”

I stiffened as Hawke’s gaze connected with mine and held. He was looking straight at me, and even though I knew he couldn’t see my eyes, it still felt like he could. There was no way he could hear Tawny and me, not from where he stood and with as quietly as I was speaking, but his stare was piercing as if he could see not only through me, but into me.

I tried to brush off the sensation, but the longer he held my gaze, the more the feeling increased. It had to be his eyes and their color. Such a strange, stunning golden hue. One could imagine all sorts of things while staring into those eyes.

He broke eye contact, pivoting toward the entryway. My breath left me in a ragged exhale, my heart hammering as if I were running across the Rise once more.

“That was…intense,” Tawny murmured.

I blinked, giving a shake of my head as I turned to her. “What?”

“That.” Her brows were lifted. “You and Hawke staring one another down. And no, I can’t see your eyes, but I knew you two were engaged in a rather heated one on one there.”

I could feel warmth creep into my cheeks. “He’s just doing his job, and I…I just lost track of what I was saying.”

Tawny lifted her brow. “Is that so?”

“Of course.” I smoothed my hands over the lap of my dress.

“So, he was just making sure you’re still alive and—”

“Breathing?” Hawke suggested, startling both of us. He stood a mere foot from where we sat, having moved with the stealth of a trained guard and the quiet of a ghost. “Since I am responsible for keeping her alive, making sure she’s breathing would be a priority.”

My shoulders stiffened. How much had he overheard?

Tawny made a poor attempt to smother her giggle with a napkin. “I’m relieved to hear that.”

“If not, I’d be remiss in my duty, would I not?”

“Ah, yes, your duty.” She lowered her napkin. “Between protecting Poppy with your life and limb and gathering spilled crystals, you’re very busy.”

“Don’t forget assisting weak Ladies in Wait to the nearest chair before they faint,” he suggested. Those strange, mesmerizing eyes glinted with a hint of mischief, and I was…as transfixed with him as I’d been with the Ladies in Wait. This was the Hawke I’d met in the Red Pearl. A well of pain hidden behind a teasing and charming personality. “I am a man of many talents.”

“I’m sure you are,” Tawny replied with a grin while I fought the urge to reach out with my senses.

His gaze flicked to her, and the dimple in his right cheek appeared. “Your faith in my skills warms my heart,” he said, glancing at me. “Poppy?”

My eyes widened behind the veil as I clamped my mouth shut.

Tawny sighed. “It’s her nickname. Only her friends call her that. And her brother.”

“Ah, the one who lives in the capital?” he questioned, still looking at me.

I nodded.

“Poppy,” he repeated in a way that made it sound as if my name was wrapped in chocolate and would roll off his tongue. “I like it.”

I gave him a tight smile to match how the muscles in my lower stomach suddenly felt.

“Is there a threat of stray crystals we need to be aware of, or is there something you need, Hawke?” Tawny asked.