The words hit Aerin like a violent slap, not because they were unexpected but because they forced her to confront fears she'd been trying to avoid. "You think our connection is part of the manipulation?"
"I think it's convenient that two people carrying the memories of lovers who destroyed each other through betrayal are now experiencing intense attraction while working to understand the same magical systems." Leo's voice carried the careful neutrality of someone stating facts he'd rather not acknowledge. "I think the possibility that we're being pushed together for reasons that have nothing to do with genuine compatibility."
"And it has to do with recreating the conditions that led to the original corruption," Aerin finished, her academic mind accepting the logic even as her emotions recoiled from the implications.
"Exactly."
They stood in silence for several minutes, the weight of possibility making the library feel smaller and more claustrophobic. Finally, Aerin set aside her translation work and moved to stand beside Leo at the window, close enough to feel the warmth radiating from his body but not quite touching.
"So what do we do?" she asked, her voice quieter than usual. "Pretend there's nothing between us? Try to maintain professional distance while living together and working together every day?"
"We try to make conscious choices instead of following impulses," Leo said, though his voice carried little conviction. "We question everything we feel and every decision we make."
"Including this?" Aerin asked, reaching up to touch his face with fingers that trembled slightly.
Leo caught her wrist, his eyes blazing with golden intensity. "Especially this."
But he didn't pull her hand away. Instead, his thumb traced across her pulse point, and Aerin felt her breath catch at the contact. The attraction between them flared to life with an intensity that burned them inside and out.
"Aerin," Leo said, her name coming out rough with want and warning. "We shouldn't."
"No, we shouldn't," she agreed, rising on her toes to close the distance between them. "We should be smart and careful and professional."
"We should think about the consequences," Leo continued, though his free hand was already moving to cup the back of her neck.
"We should consider all the reasons this is a terrible idea," Aerin whispered against his lips.
"We should?—"
But whatever they should have done was lost as their mouths met in a kiss that felt like recognition and rebellion all at once. Leo's lion poured into the contact, and Aerin's fae magic responded with harmonics, making the air shimmer with visible energy. The kiss was desperate and claiming, as if they were trying to communicate everything they couldn't say in words.
When they finally broke apart, both breathing hard, Leo rested his forehead against hers.
"Well," he said quietly, "so much for professional distance."
"So much for questioning our impulses," Aerin agreed, though she made no move to step away from the circle of his arms.
"This is probably exactly what we're supposed to do," Leo pointed out, his voice carrying reluctant amusement. "Fall into the same pattern that destroyed Mordaine and Kieran."
"Probably," Aerin confirmed. "Does that make you want to stop?"
Leo quietened, considering the question with the thoroughness it deserved. "No," he said finally. "It makes me want to make sure we do better than they did."
"And how do we do that?"
"By choosing each other consciously instead of just following destiny or magical manipulation," Leo said, his hands tightening slightly on her waist. "By being honest about what we want and what we're afraid of."
"I want you," Aerin said simply. "I'm afraid that wanting you is going to lead to exactly the kind of betrayal that destroyed them."
"I want you too," Leo replied. "And I'm afraid that not wanting you would be an even bigger betrayal of everything I believe about choice and connection."
The honesty was a bridge across dangerous territory, and Aerin felt something settle in her chest that had been restless since her arrival in Mistwhisper Falls.
"So we choose each other," she said. "Consciously. With full knowledge of the risks and the history we're carrying."
"We choose each other," Leo agreed but he could still hear the hesitation in her voice as if she tethered on a cliff where she had to make a choice whether to jump or to retreat but he hoped she would just jump and trust him. "And we work together to make sure this time ends differently."
Outside the library window, the betrayal sigil pulsed with soft light, its steady rhythm suggesting approval or warning in equal measure. Whatever forces were moving through Mistwhisper Falls had brought them together for reasons they were only beginning to understand, but as Aerin settled into the warmth of Leo's embrace, she couldn't bring herself to regret the choice they'd just made.
