The Toll {Book 2}

16. Reunited- Nadia

The day after the fire in Prest, we found out that it had been an industrial sector that the Vigilant had burned to the ground. The Flauns soldiers were able to quell the small group that had caused the chaos, but the Prest people were still on edge after such a close hit.

Perhaps anticipating more refugees after such an attack, the Lephards left me largely alone after breakfast. Martin left for his office, and Hannabella kept to her study where she talked on the telephone and wrote letters.

Since the weather had warmed enough to tolerate being outdoors, I sat out on one of the balconies that overlooked the road. It was barely large enough to fit a chair onto, but I liked the cozy nearness. Hannabella had a large collection of amusing novels, and I'd picked one about a family living on an island. I spent a few hours flipping the pages, basking in the sunshine and trying to forget about the fear from the night before.

The sun was warm and I began to drift into sleep. I'd barely slept last night, instead sitting up by the fire in the sitting room while Hannabella dozed beside me on the sofa. Exhaustion weighed heavy on me now, and the pleasant weather only made sleep even more tempting. My thoughts drifted into the cloudy state between sleep and wakefulness, but were soon scattered by the sound of a carriage pulling up below my balcony. I blinked my eyes open, staring at the blue sky for a moment while listening to the horses' hooves striking the cobblestones, the creak of leather, the murmur of voices while the passenger directed the driver. The carriage door opened and closed, and someone's shoes crunched on the sidewalk.

I waited for the thud of knocking on the front door, wondering if it was yet another board member come to discuss refugee rations with Hannabella, but was surprised into a start when a voice broke my silence.

"Nadia! Is that you?"

My heart soared and I surged to my feet. The book and my blanket tumbled to the floor, and I tripped over them as I leaned against the balcony's rail to see Ferdinand smiling up at me from the sidewalk below.

"Ferdinand!" I felt filled with spring flowers absorbing the sun. He raised a hand and waved, and it was if all those empty hours had disappeared in an instant. "Hold on, I'll come down."

"No, wait there!" Ferdinand said, grinning as he grabbed the edge of the ivy growing by the door. Before I could even process what he was doing, he'd stepped up onto the thick vine beneath the foliage, and hoisted himself high enough to grab the bottom of the balcony. Within a few seconds, he'd gripped the iron railing, pulled himself up, and climbed over, landing just a few inches from me.

I laughed, holding my hands up. "What in the world? You could have broken your neck!"

He grabbed my waist, hoisting me up so he could crush me with his embrace. I yelped playfully, trying to get him to release his tight grip, but then he drowned me in kisses, smothering my mock protestations until I kissed him back. He let me down, but his lips still met mine, filling me up with all that we had missed over the night. His hands ran down my hair and then shoulders and waist, where he pulled me close. I wanted to cry and laugh at the same time, desperate to remember what his arms and chest felt like even after only one night apart.

When we finally needed to breathe again, we broke apart and Ferdinand laughed as he smoothed my hair away from my face. "I think I ruined your hairstyle," he murmured, his lips red from the force of our kisses.

I cleared my throat, looking toward the ground and reaching up to feel the braids I'd arranged this morning had fallen down around my shoulders. Embarrassment suddenly flooded me and I spun away from him, covering my face with my hands.

"What are you hiding from," Ferdinand asked, poking my side and making me squirm despite myself.

"Don't tease!" I begged, pushing my hair back and still refusing to look at him. "What if all the neighbors saw that?"