“I’m glad it was you, too,” she whispers.
His expression darkens, and her stomach clenches. What was wrong with that?
“Not Tharios?” he asks as he looks away.
Oh.
It’s true, though, isn’t it? Tharios has ready smiles. He’s kind—to her, at least.
But he’s not Cerian, her broody elf prince who sleeps all night in a chair because she asks him not to leave her.
Did they really meet mere days ago?
“You, Cerian,” she whispers.
He turns to her again, searching her eyes as if trying to read her sincerity.
“You,” she repeats, this time in Elvish.
His eyes dart lower, and she swallows. Did he...did he just glance at her lips?
Then he flies from his chair, shaking his hands and murmuring something.
What’s wrong? Is it his fire magic again?
She stands and moves closer.
“Don’t run. Don’t run.” That’s what he’s muttering repeatedly in Elvish. Then, just as he did earlier, he flings his arms around her and clutches her to his chest, keeping his hands fisted so he doesn’t touch her.
Neither of them says anything as he holds her pressed against him. The berry scent has faded, but there’s a hint of smokiness around him now. His fire magic?
She doesn’t move or speak. She just lets him hold on to her for as long as he needs to.
Eventually, he relaxes and pulls away.
“Was it your fire magic again?” She tucks a strand of loose hair behind her ear and gazes up at him.
He flexes his hands a few times and nods as his brows do their familiar frowny thing.
“Thank you for not running,” she says lightly. “I don’t remember the way back to your chamber. I would have been wandering around Windhaven, hoping someone would take pity on me and return me to my elven prince.”
His eyes snap toward her at that last part. Then the corner of his mouth twitches.
Does she dare say it again? Would he bestow one of his brilliant smiles on her if she did?
“My elven prince,” she says in Elvish this time.
He turns fully toward her, a half-smile lighting up his face. “Yours?”
Stars above. Is he...is he flirting with her?
“Mine,” she whispers.
And there it is. That gorgeous smile that makes her heart race. Can he feel it?
“Do you really want me to tear down part of the wall between our chambers?” His smile has given way, leaving a gaze so intense she feels it in her core.
“I want you to tear down all the walls between us,” she breathes. Her eyes grow wide. Did she say that aloud?
