Nox’s head snaps up to look at me, sending water droplets flying in all directions. “Please tell me you are joking.”
“She seemed very sincere,” I continue, the warm water of the shower still raining down over us, “and I can’t deny that, in a moment of weakness, I thought about it. I could see the two of you, regal and poised and exactly what the council wants.” I do wonder if her earnestness in offering to marry him was truly as she said or if there was another reason she was soeagerto help me.
He stands, his hands sliding up my body until they are resting below the curve of my breasts. “I don’t fucking care howsincereher offer was or what the council wants; it willneverhappen.”
“I know. I will not share you,” I breathe.
“Nor I you.”
I can’t help the way my lips curve as I respond, “Well, it’s not like anyone is out here offering to marrymefor show.”
“That is true. It’s a good thing it’s not a competition, or you’d be losing.” I scoff as he laughs, and stars above, what a beautiful sound it is. “What if there was a proposal to you made out of love?” he asks, his voice low while his hands move a little higher up my sides.
I blink as my lips part, unsure I heard him correctly. “Are you proposing to me in the shower?”
Nox pulls me close as he peppers kisses over my surprised face. “Do you really think I’d propose somewhere that would have others picturing you naked when you told them the story of it? My ego is big, Sunshine, but even I cannot handle that.”
I burst into laughter, my forehead going to his chest as the sound reverberates off of the stone around us. I laugh until my stomach hurts, until tears mix with the water and Nox is laughing with me. “You are absolutelyridiculous.”
“Perhaps, but you love me anyway.”
My laughter tapers off as I lift my head and look at him. “I do,” I affirm, framing his face with my hands and pulling him down into a kiss.
Though we are pressed together completely free of any clothing, the joining of our lips stays gentle and sweet. When we separate, Nox reaches behind me to turn the shower off before grabbing our towels. Dried and partially dressed—him in a pair of thin cotton sleeping pants and me, curiously, in one of his short-sleeved t-shirts that hangs to mid-thigh—he threads his fingers through mine as we make our way to the bed.
“Is there a reason why my own sleeping clothes were not good enough?” I ask, sliding my leg between his as he wraps an arm around me and pulls me into his side.
“No reason other than it makes me and my magic happy to see you wearing something of mine.” I playfully poke his side, garnering a deep chuckle as his lips find my temple. “I am sorry for earlier. I will be better.”
I tilt my chin up, my heavy-lidded gaze catching his. “I don’t want you to be better, Nox, as that implies there is something wrong with you. Just remember that you don’t have to do it all alone.” I kiss his cheek before a yawn breaks free as I lay my head back down on his shoulder and close my eyes. “You should probably apologize to Daje though.”
His laugh is soft when he replies, “We’ll see.”
Part Five
Knowledge is a tool, and one that only helps you make the best decisions you possibly can. Hiding from truths, whatever they are, does not help you. It only hinders.
Chapter Sixty: Rhea
It only takes thehint of jasmine and a tickling sensation against my bare arm to know that I’m back in the Middle.
“It has been a while,” I say, opening my eyes and pushing myself up to sit.
“Don’t tell me that you have missed this place,” Selene teases, her sweet laugh warming me.
My hands drag down the same silky black and white dress that I wore the last time I was here. “I’m glad to be here under happier conditions. And IsupposeI am happy to speak withyou again.” She laughs, causing glittering specks of stardust to whirl past me. “Whyhasit been so long?”
“It’s harder to reach you when you wear the pendant.” There’s an edge to her voice, and I swear I can almost see the scowl on her lips in my mind’s eye.
“Did you know? What I did the night we escaped? What thoseshadowswere capable of?”
But she does; of course she does.
She answers after a weighted sigh. “Yes, and I agree with what your prince said; the shadows are not inherently bad. That side of your magic is as much a part of you as your healing half is, and you shouldn’t deny yourself that power out of fear.”
“I thought it would be wise to wait until I had a handle on the magic thatwon’tkill anyone before I start dabbling with the magic thatcan.”
Selene hums in contemplation. “Rhea, the magic you have is the kind of power that is coveted. The kind that others will ki—” Choking sounds fill the air, and I tense as I realize that Selene has said too much. She sucks in a breath in time with one of my own, her gasp traveling on a phantom wind and right past my ears. The hairs on the back of my neck rise as the feeling of another’s presence makes my shoulders pull towards my ears.
