A small door off to the side of the dining hall opens, and a man carrying two trays of food walks in, a line of people following behind him. They set the table—plates and forks quickly appearing before me. Already conscious of my lack of knowledge regarding different foods, Nox quietly begins to explain what everything is and then assembles my meal with the foods I give a little nod at. I catch Alexandria and Sadryn watching their son closely, small smiles and curious eyes expressing emotions I don’t quite understand.
“We have two more matters we should discuss,” Sadryn announces about halfway through the meal, his hands casually interlaced over his plate. “One being the backstory for how Rhea came to be in the palace, and two being how she came to capture the heart of the crown prince.” My fork freezes on its way to my mouth, my eyes darting over to Nox.
“The kingdom already believes that I was out enjoying an adventure before stepping into my role as heir apparent,” he says, leaning back against the chair. My brows furrow at this information. “We can just tell them I met Rhea in one of the small villages at the border.”
“They didn’t know you were in the Mortal Kingdom?” I question.
Nox rests his hand on my thigh, his thumb drawing small circles on the side of it as he shrugs a shoulder up. “We didn’t want to cause a panic. Not when it was already so unusual to feel such strong, pulsing magic.”
“It is an easy enough story; I assume you two can work out the details in private then?” Sadryn asks, a brow lifted towards us. We both nod in agreement. “I will remind you again, Nox, that because you are interested in Rhea, the council will be as well. They do not have a say in who you marry, but they will still want to meet the woman who may become their future queen.”
“Oh, I’m not—” I press my lips together to halt my rebuttal. If Nox and I were toeventuallymarry, of course I would become queen. I can’t explain why the full weight of those words and what they mean suddenly cascades over me. Nox leans forward, an inquisitive look etched into his face, but I force my gaze away and down to the table.
“In any case,” Sadryn drawls, pulling my attention back up to see the hint of a smile on his lips, “it is something that the two of you need to be aware of and prepare for. The council is antsy about why you haven’t spoken with them yet, Nox, and whenthey find out that you have come home with a new paramour, they will have even more questions.”
“If they don’t have an official say in who I choose to marry, then why would they even bother questioning Rhea?” Nox argues, an edge to his voice that thickens the air. Or perhaps that is his magic I feel.
Sadryn and Alexandria share a glance with each other, neither seeming to want to speak but Alexandria finally conceding.
“They would care because they know that you and Councilman Borris’ niece are friends.” Nox’s hand goes lax on my thigh. Alexandria nods, a wince crinkling her face. “They are planning to talk to you about a betrothal to Haylee.”
Chapter Thirty-Three: Rhea
“Come on, Sunshine. Takeit off,” Nox begs a few days later from where we lay on our sides facing each other, his arms wrapped tightly around me as he holds me to his very warm and verynakedchest. “Please?”
Kissing the skin above his heart, I throw my leg over his hip in an attempt to distract him. We both slept in later than usual this morning, and when the smattering of sunlight eventually warmed my face through the windows, making my eyes flutter open, I couldn’t fight the urge to touch him. To let my fingerstrail over every perfect square inch of him as a reminder that he was here with me. I had expected that he would wake up hungry to take advantage of our slow morning, but training with my magic appeared to be the only thing on his mind.
“Why can’t we train with the pendant on? Since that is how I’ll be for the majority of the time.”
“Because that wasn’t the deal we made when I spelled that little necklace.” Pulling back, he looks down at me, his brow raised in emphasis.
“Did you know that you’re very handsome?” I ask him sweetly, batting my eyelashes as I attempt to change the subject.
“Yes, and I believe you called me out on that awareness in a scathing letter.”
I scoff, pushing a hand at his chest as he lowers his head towards me. “That letter was notscathing. Though perhaps it would be a good idea to knock your ego down a few notches,Prince.”
His chuckle is a caress of velvet, and I can feel the curl of his lips at my ear when he breathes, “I do love when you call me that.”
My thin undergarments do nothing to obscure my desire for him or his responding want of me as I push myself closer. He presses soft kisses to my jaw and my neck, a hand sliding into my hair to cradle the back of my head.
“Rhea.”
“Yes?” I rasp, my fingers digging into his firm muscles and heart rate rising with each quick peppering of his lips.
“No more until we practice your magic,” he murmurs against my neck.
Groaning, I fling myself onto my back and stare at the wooden beams of the ceiling above. The morning birds sing and chatter outside, providing the only sound in the room until Nox asks a question I hoped he wouldn’t.
“What are you afraid of?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” I snap before squeezing my eyes shut. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s alright,” he says gently. Too gently.
It sends fissures through a remaining wall I know I shouldn’t have, but one that is there so that I don’t have to think too deeply about what I’ve done. I can begin to grant myself forgiveness for the way Bella and Alexi died because I finally realize that it wasn’tmyhands that carried their blood. The same cannot be said for the two guards whose lives were drained in an instant by my shadows.
“Your shadow magic saved us that night, Rhea. It bought us time for you to heal me. It protected us when I couldn’t. Those are notbadthings, just as that half of your magic isn’t inherently bad.”
