This was my life now. My choices. No master demanded that I hurt others. No magic bond stopped me from helping.
But I should not be allowed to make choices that would hurt her.
I lifted her hand off the cup and kissed her knuckles.
I’d just have to convince her that she wanted to leave the humans alone.
Chapter 18: Khiona
Something about the food unlocked Andar’s secret ability to carry a conversation for hours. Sometimes my mind stayed with him; other times, it returned to the moment he kissed my knuckles and the flutters that small gesture sent across my chest.
“You won’t see the same kind of plum trees once we pass the Summer Chasm,” Andar said, “but there will be other plums and fruit trees you’ve never seen before.” Apparently he wasn’t mad about the fact that I’d never traveled this far south before, and he was now educating me on the experience.
“I’m not attached to plum trees,” I told him.
“Oh? Aren’t they a symbol of your kingdom?”
“Yes, but not because we can’t live without them.”
For the first time all afternoon, he stopped talking and walked quietly next to me, on the wide path that cut through my southern forests. His silence felt like an invitation, so I explained more. “Plums are the only trees that bloom without magic in the middle of winter. They are beautiful and strong and resilient, traits the winter fae admire and aspire to.”
“Traits you have.” Andar didn’t miss a step, but the compliment rolled out of him as easily as if he were commenting on the pine trees around us.
My cheeks heated. Again. I had never blushed so many times in one day in my life.
Andar’s lips turned up into a smirk. He liked making me blush! I would get him back for that.
* * *
I finally got my revenge on him for embarrassing me at bedtime.
I’d tried to bait him into an awkward embarrassment all day, but his emotions were too controlled. He allowed himself amusement, but I couldn’t catch a hint of any other feelings.
Until we were preparing for bed.
I’d made another ice castle for the night, and we’d both retired to our rooms, separated by an ice wall. As I replayed the events of the last few days, I realized Andar’s weakness: he was protective. He’d saved my life moments after we’d met and constantly tried to protect me from dangers and inconveniences. If I was going to embarrass him, I’d have to catch him off guard—and his protective nature would be the way.
Giddy at my epiphany, I sat up in bed. Without taking the time to think it through more thoroughly, I let out a blood-curdling shriek.
Before I finished screaming, Andar rushed into my room. His untied doublet swished around his undershirt as he careened up to my bed with a wild look in his eyes. He threw his hands out, using the bed to stop his movement, and swung his head around the room.
Seconds crawled by. His chest heaved as he stared at me. “What happened?”
My lips twitched upward, attempting to smile without me telling them to. “I…” What was I supposed to say? I’d clearly surprised him—he was standing here vulnerable and unrestrained—but not embarrassed.
And suddenly, I wasn’t sure that I wanted to embarrass him. Nobody had ever come running to rescue me before, and I didn’t want him to regret it.
“I missed you.” True words, but not nearly as cruel as the Got you back! I’d originally planned.
“You missed me,” he deadpanned, settling his brows into a skeptical line.
I nodded and clutched a handful of ice while my heart crawled into my throat. What had I done? “I… wanted to see you one more time before I went to sleep,” I stammered out. “And now I’ve seen you, and… I don’t want you to miss out on any sleep—”
I cut off as he rounded the end of my bed and sat down next to me, changing the ice into a wooden bed with a down mattress and soft blankets. He cradled my head in one hand and brushed loose hair over my shoulder with his other. “You’re trouble,” he whispered, his voice lowering into a throaty rumble.
He traced a thumb along my chin, and I closed my eyes. The sensation ran like lightning down my neck and all the way into my fingers. I squeezed the blankets in my fists, wishing he would just kiss me and end all my questions about whether or not he cared for me. I hated not knowing, debating if this was all for the bargain he’d agreed to or if he might feel more—
“So much trouble.” His words were barely more than a hoarse growl. He wrapped his free hand around the back of my head and tipped it down, settling a kiss on the top of my forehead. Heat from his lips pressed into my skin as he tightened his hold on the back of my head. The world burned away, and I froze in his grasp, wishing this moment might last for eternity.
