“Let’s talk about all the men in your family dying on their thirtieth birthday,” she barked. “Your birthday is not far away.”
“Five weeks and three days.” While I knew them, I did not mention the hours remaining.
“Are you going to die as well?”
The pain in her eyes punched me in the chest, driving through my heart. I swallowed—tried to, that is, but nothing would go down. I stood and held my hand out to help her rise. “Tell the elder her hair is gorgeous,” I croaked.
Reyla frowned. “I don't understand why you won't answer me.” She took my hand and rose to her feet.
“Life often unveils itself in ways we never anticipate, challenging us at our core. It takes considerable resilience and determination to carve a new path forward. It’s only in times of great need that true devotion emerges from inside a person, allowing them to seize control over what lies in the past and ahead. Seek the path where the dark meets light.”
She blinked up at me. “That sounds like a riddle.”
“Tell her that her hair is gorgeous,” I choked out.
Reyla sighed before nodding. “Why should I tell her that?”
“You'll see.” I linked her hand through my arm and urged her toward the stairs. “After that, we'll go to the formal dining room for the celebratory meal. Those invited to dine with us, which are only a select few—”
“How many is a select few?”
“Seventy or so.”
She rolled her eyes. “To me, a select few is four or five.”
“We'll be announced, and you'll enter the dining room ahead of me this time only.”
“I'm to trot behind my king every other time?”
I loved her fire. Loved her. Was it too soon? I didn't think so. Falling in love with this woman was like finding an endless horizon after years of being pinned between unyielding walls of gray. With her, everything was possible if only I could place my foot on the right path.
“What about the curse?” she asked, her gaze drilling into mine. “Will you talk about that?”
She’d been busy. How much did she know?
It might not be enough.
My heart clenched then tore itself open. Vulnerability screamed in every fiber of my being. Rage and tenderness merged inside me, turning my emotions into an exquisite ache. Falling in love with her was like grasping flames. Intense. Consuming. I welcomed the burn if it meant I could stay close to the fire only this woman could light inside me.
“Answer me?” she croaked.
“I share all I can.”
Her sigh bled out.
“Are you suggesting you don't want to trot behind me, my pretty little bride?” I asked as we started down the stairs.
“I balk at convention.”
“No,” I rasped, laying my hand over hers resting on my arm. I nodded to the guards waiting at the bottom of the stairs, and while their sharp eyes scanned the enormous foyer for threats, I gathered magic and fused it to the ground, using the earth to carry any hurried vibrations and voices my way, though again, I didn't hear or feel a threat coming. Yet. There was always a yet.
“I do what I must,” she said.
“I can't ask you for anything more than that.”
We made our way to the antechamber outside the throne room. Murmurs echoed from inside, the rise and swell of my people gossiping as they waited to watch this momentous occasion. Their queen would be crowned today. While they may not know its true meaning yet, and I hoped they never would, it was as solemn an occasion as every other time a willing fae woman was bound to the court and placed below only the Evergorne king.
“They'll announce me first.” I turned her to face me and took her hands, stroking out the trembles. Her gaze darted here and there, though again, I didn't feel or sense threats. “I'll take my throne and wait for you, Wildfire. I'll always wait for you, in this world or the next. Look for me?”
