I did, and I wasn’t sure what I thought about that.
“After you.” He gestured to the archway.
I scooped up Quandary.
I’m still eating bugs,he said in my mind.
There are more back at the castle. Bigger ones. Plump and…juicy.I tried not to cringe.
Quandary frowned around the area.These are quite tasty.
I’m sure they are back at the castle too.
Then I’ll ride.He flew up to land on my shoulder, his tiny claws latching onto my gown.
Kieran fell into step beside me as we strode down one path after another, slowly making our way out of the maze. The air buzzed with energy, the scent of lush vegetation growing stronger the farther we walked.
“Tell me about your people,” I said. “Something true. Not the legends.”
“We’re a people of ritual. We light candles on the longest night. Not to mourn, but to remember. We drink moonwater for strength, share blood not only for hunger but for unity. We bury our dead beneath gardens, not stone. We believe what’s beautiful endures.”
His tone softened when he spoke of it, and I could almost see the candlelight flickering over dark stone, his people gathering together. It made him seem less like a king and more like a man I could fall for.
“That’s…” My throat tightened. “That’s not what most people think of when they hear the word vampire.”
“No,” he said. “It isn’t.”
“Maybe you should let the world see this side of you.”
“Maybe we should.”
We walked in silence, the maze parting ahead of us, guiding us toward the exit.
“You said your advisors want proof our marriage is real. Do you have any suggestions?”
He glanced sidelong at me. “Public displays of affection. Touches. Kisses.”
I blinked up at him.
“I’d never ask you to do anything you didn’t want to do,” he said quickly, his hands raised between us. “But that might help.”
The problem wasn’t that I didn’t want to kiss him. The problem was that Idid.
This Kieran, the one who teased and laughed and spoke of working in gardens, was too close to the man I’d loved six years ago. And the way he looked at me now, like he was remembering too, made my pulse stumble.
The maze’s exit appeared ahead, a stone arch framed by ivy. The glow from my magic softened to a faint, silvery hum.
Kieran’s advisors and his aunt and uncle stood waiting outside, grim as gargoyles in their dark clothing, their equally dark hair secured at their napes with ornate bindings.
“Your Majesty,” Rathley said, bowing. “When you didn’t arrive for our meeting, we began to worry.”
Kieran’s voice cooled, coming out as smooth as marble. “There was no need.”
The air between us grew formal again, crisp and distant.
Maybe that’s why I did it.
I’d spent six years pretending I was over him, and in one day, he’d undone me with laughter and sunlight.
