“I've never forgotten you.”
“Yes, you have. Now, I want you to remember when we came through the rath for the first time. How the magic took you. Do you remember waking up to find me watching over you?”
“Yes.”
“Do you remember your first sight of Twilight, atop Aideen's tree? You in my arms. The world spread before us? Do you remember that feeling?”
“Yes, of course.” My chest shivered as the memory came back in full measure.
“What about the first time I did this?” Tiernan slid into me.
I cried out with the sensation of unity, and tears came to my eyes. “I remember, T.”
“Do you remember this?” He held out a hand, and something rustled—his clothing.
I looked over as a crystal locket slipped out of Tiernan's jacket and floated to his hand on a breath of air. Slowly grinding inside me, he put the locket in my hand. I lifted it to see a single pink petal preserved in the crystal—a rose petal.
“Oh, Tiernan.” The petal blurred in my tear-filled vision as another memory of Tiernan replaced the last—making love to him in the wild garden behind Castle Twilight.
Tiernan had taken me into an arbor of roses and used his magic to bind me with the vines. It wasn't our first time together, but it was the first time I let him take control. That was the moment I gave Tiernan my trust along with my heart. I remembered him picking up that very petal before we left the arbor. He slipped it into a pocket. But I didn't know he kept it. He never told me, not once in all these years, that he had preserved the petal in crystal and carried it with him.
“I always have this with me.” He took the locket back and set it aside. “But I don't need any reminders, Seren. You are my life. The spark in my soul. You are always with me. Even when your mind is with another.”
“Tiernan!” I pulled him into an embrace and held him tightly. “I love you. I'm so sorry I let him come between us.”
“I am too, my Queen. I've been lax in my duties to you.” He began to move faster, thrusting more powerfully into me. “I've let this happen—relied too heavily upon your love and the support of my brothers.” He leaned back to meet my eyes. “No longer. I trust you, Seren, but this is gone beyond your control. I must step in and put an end to this as your husband.” He pushed up on his forearms and drove deeper into me as the shadows receded to guard us only. With just the two of us inside that dark embrace, Tiernan reclaimed what was his.
When I screamed his name, his magic drank my cries and shuddered with me. It was everything I'd searched for in my dreams. Everything I needed. And it had been mine all along. I just had to remember.
Chapter Nine
Hours later, my scry phone chimed again. Tiernan and I were still in the library, still encased in shadows and wrapped in each other's arms. He had made love to me over and over until all I knew was him. As odd as his behavior was, it was the perfect response. Tiernan was right. If he had fought with me, I would have fought back. I would have felt alone and persecuted as I had before. But because he calmly expressed himself and then physically reminded me of why I loved him, it made us closer than ever before.
The King of Seelie had gotten what he wanted.
Lying within Tiernan's arms, listening to that distant chiming, I felt more treasured than I had in years. We were in the middle of a crisis, but Tiernan had taken the time to make me feel like a queen again—his queen. And he had reminded me that he was my king.
If only my other husbands would follow his lead, Star wouldn't stand a chance.
Sighing, I stroked Tiernan's chest. “T, we'd better get dressed and answer that scry.”
Tiernan, his head pillowed on his bent arm, smirked at me. “Had we? I think I like it here. Duty be damned, my love. This is more important.”
“They are not our duty.”
“No, but they will make it feel as if they are.” He rolled his eyes. “Shall we ignore them forever?”
I snorted a laugh and then frowned. “Baby, I really am worried about you. You're acting odd.”
“I thought you liked it?” He turned onto his side to face me.
“I do. I'm very happy, but it's still odd.”
Tiernan sighed. “I know you think I've been infected by the blight, but I don't agree. I think . . .” His gaze went distant.
“Yes?”
“I think it helped me.” Tiernan looked back at me. “I think it helped me see more clearly.”
