Igrowled.“I hate you. So much.”
“Yes, yes. I know.”
Ten minutes after that, I stared at a passage on my current page and pointed at it, asking in shock, “Holy Fae. Did you read this part clearly?”
Bishop perked up from where he now stood on the balcony, watching the sky out of boredom. “Did you find the missing piece?”
I ignored him, still staring at the page.
My soul mate tilted in my direction and read the portion I was pointing at, bringing her scent of jasmine with her. “Of course, I did. Interesting, yes?”
“Cracked, more like,” I mumbled and turned another page, shaking off my stupor for the task at hand. My tigerhuffedsoftly, even as I resituated my ass on the couch—again. “I wasn’t expecting that.”
Princess Trixie patted my right knee, then returned to her reading, using her finger on certain lines to keep her place.
Bishop grumbled to himself out on the balcony.
Another hour later, Princess Trixie shouted in victory, “I think I’ve found it!” She pointed decisively at the page. “Look, shifter! It is a puzzle, but it’s obvious.”
There was no reason for me to look. I’d known the last step before she’d even walked into my personal office. That was my book she was reading, after all, one I had readmanytimes. “Let us finish the books first, and then we’ll discuss it.”
Instantly, my soul mate’s shoulders stiffened next to me.
Within thirty seconds, she was cursing profusely.
Another minute later, the elf had calmed herself.
“You already knew.” She flashed her wee fangs in my direction. “I hate you. To Fairy and back.”
I chuckled quietly and flipped a page. “Yes, as we’ve said.”
She sighed and grumbled, “You could have just told me you wanted to read my book instead of playing stupid.”
“And where’s the fun in that?” I murmured distractedly. “Keep reading. You never know. We could be wrong.”
As the sun began to set on the horizon, Princess Trixie closed the SEED OF CREATION book. I’d finished before her but had patiently waited for her to finish, seeing as I had tricked her. She shook her head and dropped the book on the floor in front of the couch. “I wasn’t wrong.”
I gently placed the FLOWER OF FERTILITY book on the coffee table and turned to face her. I stated simply, “A kiss.”
My soul mate recited a part of the passage, “…from a soul kiss shall the lovers break free…”
I nodded and reached for her hand, pulling her closer. “Are you ready, elf? This will be one of our problems solved.”
“Wait, wait.” Bishop prowled in from the balcony. “That’s it? You two snogging each other is going to save both of our kingdoms? That seems too…easy.”
Princess Trixie snorted. “The King of Shifters and the heir to the Elf Kingdom kissing is not so easy. It is a death wish.”
I bent my head and ran my lips over her jaw, and bit down softly. “You answered his question, but not mine.” I nuzzled at her neck, deeply inhaling her unique scent. “I do not like that.”
“Don’t like being ignored, do you, shifter?” My soul mate grabbed onto the back of my hair and deliberately lifted my face from her neck, her emerald eyes staring right into my piercing gaze.
There was no hesitation there.
She whispered, “Kiss me.”
With pleasure.I leaned forward and pressed my lips to the only mouth I would ever touch again, knowing this would never get old or boring, her taste like anarchy on my tongue. This woman was fire and chaos and rebellion…and she was my soul mate.
Then…
Then the realm agreed with me as uncontrollable power detonated from our embrace. The most prevailing force I had ever felt before took my mind and body with it down into the depths of the deep dark with my soul mate protected in my arms.
