“You’ll find a way.” He strokes that bare finger over my lips, and that simple touch causes my flush to spread everywhere. “Even in Incendar,” he says. “I’d find my way to you. King or not, magic or not, I’ll do whatever needs doing.”
My eyes meet his and hold them. He’s so protective. The swirling fears in my gut stop churning quite as forcefully. The tension in my body eases away again.Asher is here.
For now.
My lips part as I gaze up at him, and his gaze flicks to my mouth again. I want him to kiss me so badly—so when he closes the distance between us, it feels like a dream. But his mouth is warm and real against my own, and my heart hums. I taste his breath, sweet like the cookie, then feel the slight brush of his tongue against my lip. As soon as I feel it, I wantmore:my body seems to crave him. His hand twists in my hair, and I reach for his face, pulling him closer, desperate, wanting. Molten honey seems to flow through my veins, and I press myself fully against him, my legs shifting against his. His strength is apparentin every touch, and I long for him to press me into the bed, to feel the weight of his body on mine.
But he draws back, his mouth releasing mine.
The kiss is over. Gentle. Chaste.
And nowhere near enough.
My breathing has quickened, and I stare up at him. He says nothing, but then I realize that his kiss wasn’t a beginning—it was an ending. Agoodbye.
Tears suddenly prick at my eyes, and we settle into a silence that seems to stretch into an eternity. His body is so warm against my own, and I can almost believe that time has stopped, that morning will never come, that we can stay like this forever.
“Sleep,” he says softly, his voice so lovely and deep. “Just sleep, Jory.”
I nod, then turn to stare out at the moon, but this time it’s not mocking me. Not with Asher here, safe and warm, where I can lose myself to the weight of his arms. The chill has slipped away for the first time all night.
I don’t want to sleep, because if this is all we’ll have together, I want to savor every last moment of it. I’ll remember that kiss until the moment I take my last breath. Even now, I’m replaying it, wishing he would do it again, wishingthatcould be our eternity. But like everything else in my life, my body doesn’t care what I want. I seem to blink, and when my eyes open, my room is lit with the first threads of sunlight, my breath fogging in the frigid air.
Asher is gone.
My throat threatens to close up with emotion. But when I shift my blankets back, there’s a folded up maid’s uniform, a tiny slip of paper tucked under the apron.
Just in case. —A
A sob breaks free of my throat. As much as I desperately want to escape all of this, I can’t. Ican’t.I won’t condemn my country for my own selfish desires.
But I stroke a hand across the fabric, and I remember all the mischiefwe used to get up to when we were younger. We’d sneak through the palace in disguises just like this one, practically invisible because no one ever looks at a servant. It’s no different from the way Dane wouldn’t look at Charlotte and the seamstress. He never looks at anyone he perceives as beneath his station.
As soon as I have the thought, I go still.
Dane, who’s going to be meeting with a warrior king this very morning—a meeting I wasn’t invited to.
You’ll meet him tomorrow. Be brave, be strong, and be smart.
My chest is still tight, but I take a deep breath. There will be plenty of time for tears later. I swing my legs out of bed and shake out the uniform Asher left.
The kingdom is at stake. No matter how badly I want to, I can’t run away.
But I can choose how to face my destiny.
Chapter Three
The Warrior
It’s nearly dawn, and we’re already late—clearly the perfect time for one of the carriages to get stuck in the snow.
I raise a hand, calling a halt to my short cadre of soldiers. The driver snaps his whip and chirps to the horses, but the carriage doesn’t move. Wood cracks.
Fuck.
We’ve been riding for hours in the frigid moonlight, without a single lantern, torch, or bonfire to be seen for miles. The darkness has been absolute, creating wide swaths of gloom in every direction, making travel reckless and challenging. On any other night, I’d draw a ball of flame to sit on my palm, something strong enough to warm my men and light our way. But I gave my word that I wouldn’t use magic on Astranza’s soil, and I’ll keep it.
Then again, I made that promise when I thought this kingdom would have at leastonetorch lit somewhere. The mountains of Incendar have never felt as bleak as these windy, snow-covered fields. I wonder if this is normal for this time of year or if it’s a vicious display of King Theodore’s power—possibly an attempt to bait me into usingmine. Whichever it is, I can’t imagine his citizens are grateful. We’re supposed to be allied nations in a matter of days, but this feels like the prelude to an attack. The entire country seems to be trapped in a snare of apprehension.
