But what if I was wrong?
And what if I didn’t realize it until it was too late?
What ifhedidn’t realize it?
I leaned against the wall, clenching my fist and knocking it against the plaster in frustration. The more I thought about it, the more it seemed like the only way to be certain Lorien no longer had a hold on Aleks was to put that bastard back in his own respective body. Then I could deal with him on a leveled playing field—no more guessing or worrying about who I was actually fighting.
I made it to my room but hesitated with my hand on the doorknob.
I was far too restless to sleep.
Aleks had walked away with Zayn, but that had been some time ago; hopefully, he was back in his room by this point.
Without a second thought, I decided to find out.
As I drew closer to that room, I felt his presence without even trying; it washed over me like a sudden burst of sunlight in the middle of a dreary winter day. It stood out within the dark halls of this palace in a way I’d never really noticed before.
Had it always been so easy to feel him?
Or was this another facet of his apparently unexplainable, stronger magic?
His door opened before I had a chance to knock, and there he stood, shirtless, with his pants hanging low on his hips. He didn’t look at all surprised to see me. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach, though all my questions and anxious thoughts weighed down their flight.
“I sensed you coming,” he said.
“Is that why you’re half-naked? Because you were preparing for me?”
“I was preparing for a bath, actually.” He gave me a sly grin. “Though you’re welcome to join, of course.”
Heat flooded me, but I shook my head and told him, “I know of someplace better to take a bath.”
He arched a brow, a curious gleam in his golden eyes. He shrugged back into his shirt, leaving it casually loose and partially unbuttoned. “Lead the way, then.”
I took him to the thermal pools beneath the palace.
“These were once the center of all royal socialization in Rivenholt,” I informed him as we wound our way through steam-filled paths. Our hands were clasped together, our skin growing damp and lungs growing heavy from the humid air. “Several of the more private pools were sacred meeting and mediation spots, where rulers would apparently go to try and feel closer to all the divine beings who shaped our world. So, I’m probably violating all sorts of protocol and sacred tradition, bringing royalty from Soltaris down here. But, oh well.”
“It isn’t as though I have much claim to Soltaris anymore.”
“I suppose that’s true.” I mirrored the wry grin he gave me, though my chest tightened when I thought of what had become of our respective kingdoms in the Above. “Either way, it’s not the worst thing I’ve done as the would-be Queen of Rivenholt.”
I lost my bearings at some point, too distracted by other thoughts, and the path we were following ended up bringing us to a dead-end—a small, cave-like room barely large enough to fit us both.
Small as it was, there was an impressive display of art etched into the rock that made us both stop and stare. I recognized some of the symbols and the inscriptions carved beneath them—the insignia of various noble houses that had enjoyed powerthroughout the history of Noctaris. This particular cove seemed to be a visual record of a treaty agreed upon by several of those houses, however long ago.
“It’s haunting to think about all the ones who came before us, isn’t it?” I asked, tracing the time-worn carvings.
“Yes,” Aleks agreed. He took a step closer, as if to better study the etchings himself.
But when I turned, I found him studying me, not the walls. My pulse raced as he pressed a hand against the stone above my head, leaning forward and caging me in.
“Now Iknowwe’re violating some sort of palace tradition,” I said.
His smile turned conspiratorial as his mouth tipped toward mine. “As long as we’re desecrating sacred places, we might as well make a show of it.”
Then he kissed me.
No matter how many times our lips met, it always managed to take my breath away. To make my body feel light enough to float away, yet somehow grounded at the same time. I closed my eyes and sank against the wall, dragging him with me. He tangled his hands through my hair, leaving my partial updo increasingly disheveled as our kiss grew deeper, hungrier.
