“The preparations have already begun, since you couldn’t be found,” Cobalt says, tone darkening. “Besides, there are stacks of correspondences that have been piling on your desk since before you were injured. If you’d like me to attend to them in your stead, I’d be more than happy to,my king.” He says this last part with a hint of malice in his tone.
Aspen lets out an irritated grumble and sets me on my feet. He rubs his brow, then faces me, bringing his hands to my cheeks. “Change of plans.”
“It’s all right,” I say. Disappointment sinks my gut, but seeing Cobalt stripped me of all desire, anyway. “Do what you need to do.”
“Give me a few hours,” he says. “We’ll still have time to do everything we spoke of.Everything.”
At first, I think his emphasis is meant for the ritual. However, the mischief in his eyes says something else. I grin. “I’ll be waiting.”
He lights a kiss on my lips, a silent promise, then joins Cobalt.
With a sigh, I make my way back to our room alone.
After the warmth of Aspen’s arms, the bedroom feels cold, empty. Still, after a night on a stone floor, the bed looks inviting. I’m not sure how much time we spent sleeping in the cave, but my body tells me it wasn’t long. We were…preoccupied…most of the night.
With slow steps, I make my way to the wardrobe, exchanging my gown for a nightdress and placing my dagger on the dressing table. I stare longingly at the empty tub, wondering if I should find Lorelei and ask her to have it filled. No, there will be time for that later. Right now, sleep is calling.
I climb into bed and nestle beneath the covers. My mind spins with the realization that so much has changed in a matter of days. The man who I thought was my enemy is now my lover. The land I once despised will soon be a place I help rule. And the heart I thought would never open to any man, any king, any fae, is warm with contentment. Hungry with desire. Open for new forms of passion to emerge.
With a satisfied smile, I close my eyes and drift into a peaceful sleep. It might be hours that pass, or it might be minutes, but I become subtly aware of a sound in the room, footsteps crossing the floor toward the bed. My heart flutters with anticipation, but I’m too tired to open my eyes. “Aspen?” The word comes out small and breathless.
A hand presses down hard on my mouth.
My eyes fly open, and I fight the hand that grasps me, but when my vision clears, the face overhead comes into focus. The fight leaves me. My heart leaps into my throat.
It’s Amelie.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Istruggle to say Amelie’s name, but she keeps her hand clamped over my mouth. With her other hand, she brings a finger to her lips. I nod, and she releases me. I spring from the bed and wrap my arms around my sister’s neck, fighting the sobs that tear through me. “Amelie! For the love of iron, you’re alive.”
She hushes me. “Keep your voice down.”
I pull away from her. Her expression is panicked, something I’ve never seen on her normally serene, beautiful face. “What happened to you?”
She takes my hands in hers, an urgency in her tone. “We need to go.”
“Go where? Why?”
“You’re in danger. We need to leave now.”
“What kind of danger?”
Her voice is a furious whisper. “I can’t explain now, but you must come with me. Get dressed at once.”
I hurry to obey, my fear propelling my legs to the wardrobe. The thick fur cloak Amelie wears makes me think I should be dressing warm. Instead of one of the fae dresses, I unbury my old trousers and blouse from the back of the wardrobe and pull the pants over my legs. I don’t bother looking for my corset, and button the blouse over my bare chest. Next, I fetch a cloak and shove my feet into a pair of beaded slippers. Then I reach for my dagger.
“We don’t have time.” Amelie pulls my other arm. “Come on. Hurry.”
“I need my dagger,” I say as I shake from her grip. My fingers close over the sheath before she can pull at me again. I tuck it into the waist of my trousers as Amelie shoves me toward one of the crystalline walls. “Ami, what—”
Just then, she presses her hand to the wall, and a previously unseen door opens outward into darkness. Amelie pushes me through it, then closes the door behind us. I feel Amelie’s hand on my arm as she tugs me forward. “Hurry,” she whispers.
“Where are we going?”
“You aren’t safe.”
“But where are you taking us?”
