I close my eyes, trying to understand, to make sense of things. “If he’s my father, how come he never…” The emptiness and confusion within me don’t fit into words.
Azur runs a tentative finger over my face.“The king thought Ferer was dead, and that you weren’t his daughter. That’s how you two survived. Plus, you avoided the ocean.”
There’s so much calm in his eyes, and I realize then that my biggest worry in the last days is gone. Azur won’t become a bloodpuppet—and neither will I. And the Witch King is probably dead.
I lean on his chest. “Thank you for looking out for me.” A smile comes to my lips. “Bad manners or not.”
“I’ll always look out for you.”
“You think it’s really over? The Witch King is defeated?”
“I… hope so. We still might need to deal with the Sea Court, if…” His voice lowers. “Something happens to your father.” He then smiles. “But I’m not dying. Your hope was right. You were right.”
“Did you have any doubts?”
His chest trembles as if making an effort to breathe, as if struggling. “I never asked you if you wanted this bond, if you wanted…”
“You? Of course I want you.”
“Despite my bad manners?” Oh, he’s so dramatic.
“I’m not perfect either.”
“Of course you are. Now that I can touch you, I want to spend a month holding you like this.”
“Really? You didn’t consider any other kind of touching?”
He looks up, thinking. “Yes, Lidiane. Other possibilities have crossed my mind, even if I feared they were distant dreams. What about you? Did you consider anything else?”
“Hmmm. You’ll have to figure it out.”
“At least I have all the time in the world. There’s no hurry.”
No hurry. There’s time. What a strange concept, a strange idea. I lean on him again, hearing his beating heart. Around us, the river flows as leaves rustle with the wind. I inhale his scent,feel his presence. It’s strange to calm down after being locked in that cage where I could barely breathe, strange to hope again after seeing him so defeated.
He pulls my chin up again, then looks at me, a smirk on the corner of his lips, then he kisses my cheek, and says, “I want easy love. Calm like a river.”
He kisses the corner of my mouth. “But also solid like the earth. I want our love to grow strong slowly. And I’m honored that you want me.”
When his lips meet mine, a rush of electricity runs through my body. His touch is gentle, soft, sweet. So… Azur, as if I’d always known kissing him would be like, as if it was part of me. All the time we’ve been apart feels like a bizarre reality, when things didn’t make sense. This feels right. Feels like home.
His hand slides down my back, fingers splaying across my spine, pulling me tighter against him, as the kiss becomes urgent, frantic, almost desperate.
Suddenly, he stops, breathless, staring at me with wild blue eyes.
“I changed my mind. Iamin a hurry.”
I chuckle, and he does the same, then lifts me and carries me inside, all the way to his old room. I remember sitting here, waiting for the healer, fearing he’d die. Now he’s so alive. So mine.
He throws me not so gently on his bed, then cages me with his knees, and kisses my neck.
“Your dress—it’s so wet. I think you should take it off.”
“Look who’s talking. You’re soaked. And now your bed is going to get wet.”
“That’s very much the plan.”
He raises an eyebrow, then pulls the lower hem of the dress until it’s above my head, and then yanks it off. He then opens and tosses his shirt.
