Because we’ve lost so much, and we’ve been given so much.
Sometimes, that’s just how life is. Sacrifice in grace, loss within the victory, scar after the heal.
But we have each other.
I press a kiss against his knuckles before settling our hands down on my lap. We sit here for a while in the quiet, our thoughts gathering like strings that drift around our heads and stick together like webs.
“So, I guess we have to figure out what’s next for us,” I say as I reach for my cup and swirl it around, watching the bubbles rise in perfect streams. “You’re not a king, I’m not a queen, and we’re here in the fae realm together. But…what now?”
Slade props his elbow on the arm of the chair, thumb dragging against his bottom lip as he watches me. The spikes on his arm are on display, though he’s pulled in the ones at his back. Instead of wearing army leathers or the ill-fitting trousers, he has a deep green jerkin and black pants on that actually fit him.
He looks so wickedly handsome it makes my pulse jump.
“Well, you gave an answer to that for Annwyn. Now, I think it’s time you give an answer foryou,” he finally says.
“Us,” I correct.
“Always us,” he agrees. “But I told you before, Goldfinch. I want you to have whatever life you want,” he tells me, his voice dropping lower. “Whether that’s to travel the world or hide away in a cabin in the woods…”
My breath catches in my chest as I recognize the words we spoke before, inside the walls of a carriage. Right before we didveryinappropriate things right there along the street in Fourth Kingdom.
“If you want to climb a mountain or build something with your own hands or sit in a pub or play music or spend all day making love…” His low tone drags against my heated skin. “But I am yours and you are mine, and I will always make sure that you get what you need.”
My heart skips, my cheeks warmed by far more than the sun. “So the question isn’twhat now. The question is…what doyouwant now?” he asks.
“I want…” I swallow hard.
Slade reaches forward to brush a lock of my hair away from my face. “Tell me.”
My truth sits right there, so I let it spill out. “I want to take you to Geisel. I want to introduce you to the fae there who helped me. Want to show you the field of flowers where Saira Turley and I both fell.”
His lips curve, following the slow drag of his finger against my neck, nearly touching my scale. “What else, Goldfinch?”
“I want to eat Estelia’s puff cakes. At least a dozen of them.”
He breaks out into a full grin. “At least,” he says with a nod. “What else?”
“I want to…”
“Tell me,” he says again, urging me on.
“I want to go back to Bryol,” I admit quietly with a tremor in my voice. “I want to see if there’s a way we can rebuild it. Ihate that it’s just left there in ruins. I know it will probably take a lot, and I’m sure we’ll have to talk to someone, and maybe it’s stupid, but—”
Slade grips my chin, stopping me. “That’s not stupid, Auren. If you want to rebuild the city where you grew up, where you last saw your parents, then that’s what we’ll do. Brick by brick if we have to.” His touch moves to clasp the side of my face. “We have all the time in the world. Every day is going to be ourone day. Spending it however we want. Okay?”
A tear drips down my cheek in both relief and gratitude. I’m not sure why I’d been so nervous telling him about Bryol. I should know better than that. Because Slade always reacts exactly how I need him to. He’s my other half—he knows the direction my heart beats. He always has.
“I love you,” I murmur.
“I love you more than all the stars in the sky, Goldfinch.” He presses a kiss against my lips. “So let’s go to Geisel and Bryol. When do you want to leave?”
A happy smile takes over my face. “As soon as we can.”
CHAPTER 68
COMMANDER RYATT
I stare between the twofae, all my senses prickling. They’re obviously keeping something from us, and I don’t like it one bit.
