Teryn knew it too, for he did nothing to take advantage of their current position, despite his teasing words. Instead, he continued to caress her cheek, her hair, while she nestled against his leg, breathing in the scent of him, letting his stoic calm—however feigned—forge a moment of peace in this godsforsaken day.
22
Larylis had never hated being king more than he did now. He understood what Mareleau needed to do. Understood the importance of his duties in defending Vera’s shores. But why did necessity and duty have to stand in such stark contrast with his heart? Why was the best solution to be separated—however briefly—from his wife and child?
He climbed the stairs to the keep, his pace brisk to catch up with Mareleau. Then he found her. Gone was her haughty anger, her fierce demeanor. Instead, she sat slumped on the top step, shoulders hunched, head lowered. He rushed the rest of the way up and crouched on the step below her, bringing them face to face.
“Mare, what’s wrong?” He winced at the question, for he knew what was wrong—everything.Everythingwas wrong.
She lifted her face, her cheeks wet with tears. When she spoke, her voice was small. “My neck hurts.”
His eyes darted down to the collar. The skin around the puncture was red and inflamed. His heart fissured at the sight of it, but where cracks had formed, tenderness flooded in. It left no room for bitterness or anger. Only love and logic. The two things he treasured most.
“The Forest People will help you,” he said, and he hoped it was true. It had to be. He’d seen them wielding vines as weapons at Centerpointe Rock. Stifling Mareleau’s magic or teaching her how to build magical wards around her powers had to be possible.
Being separated from Mareleau and Noah no longer seemed like something to rail against. It still tore him up to think of being away from them, of Noah experiencing a single day where his father wasn’t present or involved, but he could accept it now. He could let her go, knowing she’d find physical relief from her current pain. He could return to Vera and rally his forces, knowing he was defending their home. Noah’s future.
His heart, necessity, and duty were aligned after all.
She sniffled and attempted to dry her eyes. “I hope so.”
He shifted onto the step beside her and put his arm around her shoulders. She started to lean toward him but released a hiss of pain.
“I can’t even lean into you,” she said, and that brought on a renewed flood of tears.
Larylis folded himself around her as best he could without disrupting the collar, caressing her back, stroking her hair. For several long moments, she simply cried. He was grateful for the late hour and the fact that most—if not all—the wedding guests had already departed. Mareleau would be embarrassed if anyone else saw her this way. She always put on such a proud façade around others. She’d even done so with him, acting cold and haughty whenever they’d been forced to interact during their three-year estrangement. He’d witnessed firsthand just how readily she wielded her outer composure as a shield.
But shields could break, and hers had borne its brunt of emotional warfare the last few days. She needed this release of tears, this moment where she could safely crumble. He was determined to give it to her. To make it last as long as she needed. And if anyone dared intrude, if someone so much as stepped foot at the base of the stairs, he’d impale them with a glare so dark they’d leave in an instant.
Luckily, no unwanted interlopers found them, and soon Mareleau had cried her fill. He was about to extend his hand and offer to escort her to her suite when she blurted out a question that had him rooted in place.
“Did I force you to fall in love with me?”
He blinked at her, unable to find any strand of logic or reason in her question. Her cheeks were dry now but her eyes were distant, and she pointedly refused to meet his gaze. “What do you mean?” he asked.
She pursed her lips before answering. “I mean my magic. Did I use my magic on you to make you fall in love with me? Did I…conjure a glamour that made me desirable?”
He remained dumbfounded. How could she consider such a thing?
She spoke again, her words becoming increasingly rushed. “Now that Cora has told me that my…mymagic trickis real, I can’t help but wonder if I’ve used it in ways I wasn’t aware of. I’ve ended unwanted engagements with it. I’ve made men think I was ugly, clingy, or annoying—whatever would cast me in an unfavorable light—which I always thought was just me acting. But it wasn’t just acting. It was a glamour. And if I can create a glamour to make men dislike me, then I can—”
“Don’t you dare finish that sentence,” he said, his tone firm. He returned to his previous position, facing her on the step below. He wouldn’t make her turn her head just to meet his eyes. Instead, he gave her no other place to look, filling her vision as he crouched before her. Tenderly, he gathered her hands in his. “You didn’t cast a glamour to make me fall in love with you.”
Tears glazed her eyes. “How do you know?”
“Because,” he said, allowing his lips to tilt at one side, “if you recall, I didn’t like you at all when we met. We bickered all the time. I insulted you in ways I’m embarrassed to recall all these years later.”
She emitted a shaky laugh that was half tangled in a sob. “I insulted you worse.”
He returned the laugh. “Yes, the flirtations of fifteen-year-olds leave much to be desired. Yet isn’t that proof enough? Our first kiss was in the middle of an argument. Would I have pressed my lips to yours while you were hurling insults at me if I hadn’t been completely and utterly smitten with you?”
“That sounds like proof that Ididuse magic on you,” she said, yet there was humor in her tone. “Who in their right mind would have kissed a prickly woman like me?”
“Someone who loved you, petals, thorns, and all.”
She chuckled. “Of all the men who’ve ever had the nerve to compare me to a flower, I never expected you to be one of them.”
“Honestly, I saw your thorns long before I saw your petals. Before and after that sweet stretch of time when we first fell in love, you only showed me those thorns.”
