“Dask, you smell so good,” he whispered.
She giggled, helpless, the sound rising like a secret she’d never shared with anyone else.
Moonblossom. Líri was right.
“I’m sorry I left so suddenly,” he said, reaching blindly for her cheek, his touch careful, almost trembling.
“You’ve nothing to be sorry for.” She caught his hand, pressed it to her mouth, and kissed his palm. “Father told me.”
His breath faltered, lips parting, though no sound came.
“I see it now…” She threaded her fingers through his hair again, slower this time, like memorizing him. “The Midnight looks just like his older brother.”
Viktor sighed into a smile, and for the first time she felt the storm inside him ease.
“You must be starved,” she murmured.
She didn’t know why she said it, only that caring for him felt as necessary as air—like loving him had already rewoven the rhythm of her heart.
“Evander brought me food, if you’d like some?”
“Thank you, love.” He kissed her temple. “Saecily made a barley and wild mushroom soup. She’s a dear woman.”
“She is.”
But the warmth in his tone cooled, dropping to a hush meant only for her.
“Are you nervous for our handfast?”
“Terribly,” she confessed, her laugh thin and trembling.
“Are you?”
“A little.” His head tilted toward the door, shoulders taut as if he weighed the whole world pressing against it. “About one thing, maybe.”
Her brows knit. “What is it?”
He hesitated—too long. Too careful.
She flattened both palms to his chest, feeling the thunder of his heartbeat beneath her hands.
“Viktor?”
His laugh broke out rough.
“Are we alone?”
“You know we are.”
“Dask, love—” His jaw flexed, as though the words resisted him.
“What is it?” she pressed, her heart skittering at his unease.
She might have spared him. She knew exactly where his question was leading. But the way he smiled beneath that blindfold—the dampness on his brow, the ache of restraint in his voice—made him utterly endearing.
He cleared his throat, voice rougher than he intended.
“Dask, I’m about to make a fool of myself… but I can’t keep it in any longer.”
