She grinned. “One more reason you love me, isn’t it?” she teased.
He pulled her into his arms and kissed her deeply, slowly… His lips lingered on hers a moment before pulling back to rest his forehead against hers. He could feel her tensing in front of him, her heartbeat picking up in her wrist, and he wondered what she was thinking about.
“Have you decided if you’re leaving tomorrow?” she whispered, hands curling in his beard.
Draven sighed. He certainly didn’t want to leave her, though he did miss his Forest. The fresh dirt air and the trees around him. The castle made his bones uneasy. His wind felt constricted. The sand under his toes there was nothing compared to the dirt of his home. He missed his grounding.
If only she could be there with him.
“I have to,” he whispered. “We will have been gone for nearly three weeks by the time I get back. I don’t know what sort of mess Bael will have gotten my people in during my and Bala’s absence.”
A quiet chuckle left her that made his heart warm. “Your tree is probably on fire from a drunken brawl,” she said.
“Probably,” he agreed.
Aydra pulled back and looked at him a second before kissing him again.
This…
This would never get old. With her, every moment felt like a lifetime. Sometimes he had to remind himself of the short time they’d had together.
“I’ll come for the Deads this time,” she said when they parted.
“Your brother has marked our next meeting for the beginning of them,” Draven countered. “He’s never done that before. I think he’s trying to piss me off. I’ve never been away from the Forest at the start of the Deads.”
“I’ll make him move it,” she said. “Sooner so I can simply travel back with you after for the wake. Maybe I’ll bring Nyssa. Dorian can travel there after he leaves the Bryn. They deserve some time away from this place. Enjoy our land with such celebrations as your friend Hagen informs me they are.”
Her smile made his knees weak. Draven swallowed at the thought, and as an idea swelled through him, his stomach knotted to the point of near pain.
“Have him meet us in Dahrkenhill instead,” he said, nearly having to force his voice even at the idea taking over his mind. The fantasy that swept through him made his muscles wobble, but he squeezed her hands and held steady. “Tell your brother to move the meeting two weeks before the Deads. We can travel back through Dahrkenhill for a few days. Take the Mortis Lunar Pass home instead of the caves and Hills.”
“The Mortis Lunar?” she repeated. “That sounds hauntingly dangerous and thrilling. When do we leave?”
He chuckled at the delight in her eyes. “You think your youngers would find it as thrilling?”
“My sister could use the practice of speaking with the creatures and learning to connect with their cores. Also, something tells me Dorian would be delighted at facing down the Berdijay.”
“Agreed,” Draven said.
“Why do you want to go to Dahrkenhill first?” she asked. “I thought Hagen said it would be better in the spring.”
He pushed his hand through his hair, moving it over to one side as he stared at the water coming up over their feet. The mere fantasy of what he was secretly suggesting almost made him pause.
Would she even say yes? Would she want this? Them?
With the memory of how she’d listened to him after the Infi incident and how she’d kissed him at the banquet, he decided he would take that chance. Make a fool of himself if need be. Still, he had to know, and he would make sure it was a grand and audacious affair like she deserved.
“It is beautiful in the spring, but as someone who doesn’t get to see snow very often, I’m partial to winter there,” he chose to reply.
Aydra brought his knuckles to her lips, and her eyes lit up with a happiness that he swore he would keep on her face for the rest of their days together.
“Winter it is then,” she smiled. “I’ll tell my youngers.”
Draven couldn’t stop the knot in his heart. He’d have dropped to one knee right then had he something to give her. Although… He could take Hagen up on that offer. Go to Dahrkenhill and make her something on his way through to Magnice for the meeting next time.
The very thought of it, now that she’d publicly declared her love for him, tore at his insides. He didn’t know what it would mean if they did marry. If they would continue living in their separate kingdoms and rule in peace—come together to fight the strangers on their shores and unite the people. Or if her Council would condemn it and take away her crown.
Or somethingworse.
