Half paying attention, I drifted toward him. He caught my hand and guided me the rest of the way to a large, carved out top of a massive tree.
“This is…” I trailed off as I landed on the endless tightening circles.
“Incredible?” he finished for me.
“Yes,” I breathed, walking one of the age rings in its entirety. An ageless energy hummed beneath my feet. It was almost…spiritual, the experience of being atop the tree. I lifted my face to the moon again, its coolness washing over my skin.
Vaeron watched me as I made another loop around the platform. Like he was hunting me.
I tapped into our bond, seeking his thoughts. But they whipped by, too fast to snatch, and his emotions rested behind a wall of ice.
Finishing my arc, I returned to his side. My mate had banished his wings already, and I let my own go then.
He captured my waist and brought me flush against him, all hard lines where I was soft. “I love to see you so happy, little fugitive. It is how things should have been all along.” The ache in his voice bloomed in my soul. His gaze searched mine like he was silently begging for forgiveness for his sins.
“It is,” I replied, because it was true. Circumstances outside of our control had initiated our hatred of one another. But everything we’d been through since our mating bond snapped into place, every fight we’d had, every momentVaeron had proven that his duty was to me now, they had won this moment for us.
Where we were working together instead of against each other. Where we had plans to end the war.
Where I was terrified of what the Goddess might judge during his trial.
Vaeron picked up my free hand and pressed it to the scarred spot over his heart. The other he lifted into the air, threading out fingers together. “Dance with me,” he murmured, drinking me in like his thirst could never be quenched.
At the ball, I’d been forced to accept a dance with Herr Elyriane, even though my knee was still bound and aching. The steps had been painful, and my fear had spiked from how he gripped me and forced me along.
Yet when my mate swayed to the right, I followed without a hint of pain. His smooth movements carried me along, our bodies in perfect harmony.
A small cry swelled in my throat. “I can dance.”
His answering grin brought tears to my eyes. “You can.”
“I never thought it would happen again…”
He tugged me closer, our steps never faltering. “I know, little fugitive. I know. All I’ve ever wanted was for you to move with me like this.”
My nails dug into his tunic. His face blurred. Strong fingers swiped the wetness from my cheeks. “You are so beautiful when you cry, Sylaira. And these tears of joy are far sweeter than the ones of pain.”
He sucked one off his finger, the deep yearning in his gaze holding me hostage.
The next step he faltered, foot catching on something, but he quickly recovered. Without a second thought, the tune to the movements played in my head, as real as if we’d had an orchestra surrounding us.
As if he heard the music too, he spun us, my feet lifting off the ground for the briefest of moments before he set me gently down. Wind hissed over the canopy, fluttering my dress and howling in my ears.
“You’re a fantastic dancer,” I told him. The bright moonlight reflected in his eyes, so piercing it bordered on painful.
Yet I knew this was a moment I would remember forever.
“It helps to have an amazing partner,” he crooned, slowing his pace to execute more complicated steps.
The rest of the world fell away as we danced in the pale moonlight. I hummed the melody to my favorite number, and Vaeron picked up on it. We flowed through the steps together as if they were as natural as breathing. As natural as the bond that was wide open between us.
Breathless, we came to a stop, grinning at one another. Vaeron dropped my hand and tucked my tangled hair behind my ears. His fingers brushed against the studs pierced into them, eliciting a shiver.
“I noticed you wear no other jewelry than these,” he murmured, thumb teasing over my skin before he retreated. From inside his chest plate, he produced a small box. “I know you never got a choice in being mated to me. But Sylaira, I fucking love you.”
He pressed his palm over his heart, face up, and dipped his head.
The Elessarum gesture.
