“So will she. That’s all that matters to me.”
Isla shakes her head. “You’ll die for nothing. She’s stronger than you think. She has the power of an entire realm behind her. You might be a king, but you are still just one man against an army of magical ability. You will be doomed.”
“I have the advantage of surprise. She won’t be expecting an attack.”
Isla laughs, sounding frustrated instead of happy. “That’s where you are wrong. She knows you are still here. She is no fool. Her wards will have wards. You’ll be knocked back and then either taken captive or killed outright.” Her eyes blaze with anger. Her cheeks are bright pink. “In the end, you will die and all for nothing.”
Gods, but she’s beautiful. Even now. Even furious with me, her face flushed and her hair coming loose and wild, she takes the air from my lungs.
What she says holds reason. I know it does. But the thought of Snow riding into my court, into the kingdom my parents died for, and me doing nothing about it… I can’t stomach it.
There is always a chance. However slim. The realm would be free.
“I have to try,” I tell her. “This is an opportunity that cannot be denied.”
“Please don’t. Please listen to me,” she pleads. “It is going to take every single Lost King to amass an army to stand against her. If even one of the kings falls, it will more than likely be impossible to beat her.”
“The fae are not a united species. We never have been and never will be. The shadowfae and bloodfae have always been kept at arm’s length. The shifterfae keep strictly to themselves. Then there’s—”
“That has to change, Sebastian. Your mindset has to shift. I know what happened to you as a young boy. Julienne confided in me so that I would understand you better. I know how you lost your parents in such an awful way. I understand this need to stand alone. To take on everything all by yourself. You don’t have to do this alone. You need the others, and they need you, even if they don’t realize it. Please…please don’t do this.”
Something cold twists in my chest at the mention of my parents. That old wound. The one that never healed and never will.
She knows. Julienne told her.
Part of me wants to be furious about that. The other part – the part I try very hard to ignore – is relieved that someone else understands. That someone sees the boy beneath the king and doesn’t look away.
“Why do you even care what I do or what risks I take?”
Why did I ask that? It’s for the good of the realm. It has nothing to do with me as a person. It shouldn’t.
“I wish I didn’t care about you, Sebastian, but I do.” She steps right into my space. I catch her scent of wildflowers. I want to pull her closer. I burn with the need.
I don’t. Instead, I hold my ground.
“I’m a stranger. You can’t possibly care about me, Isla,” I lash out, deepening my voice to mask whatever it is that’s threatening to break through.
“You’re not a stranger to me.” She takes another step forward. “We’ve saved each other’s lives and more than once. I broke your spell. Now we’re bound together somehow. I feel it, even if you don’t. I knew you were the king and not some imposter. Just like I knew you needed help.” She reaches up, taking my face in both her hands. Her palms are warm against my skin. Her fingers curl against my jaw, gentle but sure. “Please don’t do this. You will die and I…I…don’t think I could take it.”
That’s just it.
Idofeel a connection. We are bound somehow. Through magic? Something else? I don’t know, only that it is true.
I feel her running through my veins like a second heartbeat. I’ve felt it since the night she broke the spell. Since she wrapped her silk around my chest and hauled me up onto that tower. Since I woke in the dark with her body curled against mine, and didn’t want to move.
“I do trust you, Isla.” The words come from somewhere deep and unguarded. A place I didn’t know still existed. “I feel the connection you speak of. I asked Belen to get you out of that dungeon. When I found out that itwasn’thim who helped you, but that the order came from higher up, I doubted you, and I shouldn’t have. I’m sorry I pushed you away. I do struggle with trust. I struggle with a lot of things.” I swallow against the tightness in my throat. “In the end, my main reason for doing it was to keep you safe. It was about getting you out of harm’s way. It still is, don’t you see that?”
“Because you always planned on going after her.”
I nod.
She holds my gaze for a long, aching moment. Then she rises onto her toes and presses her lips to mine.
The kiss is soft. The briefest, sweetest touch. She holds her mouth against mine for a heartbeat, two, and then pulls back just a fraction.
“Then please listen to me. Don’t go…” she whispers against me. “Please…”
Her body is warm against mine, the soft swell of her breasts pressing to my chest. My body responds to her immediately, and I harden against my braies. I can’t hide it. I don’t try.
