She glides through the crowd, as smooth as silk. They give herthe space she so richly deserves as my future queen. I keep two steps behind her, letting her grab another chalice of wine from the back banquet table.
I promised her safety if she stayed with me, and now, I’m being sent away. She’ll think I’m a liar, that I manipulated her. That I did this for Zelos.
I watch a lord corner her, smile, offer pleasant introductions. She smiles, fear masked behind something polite.I hate it.That’s not my mate, not the woman I’ve fallen in love with.
She is fire and desire, untamed rage and power in a body built for sin.
My mouth itches, fangs elongating. The meal will begin at any minute, but I can’t stand for another to have her attention. I need to make sure she knows this was not my doing. That I will die for her live.
I just gained a measure of her trust back. I will not let it go again.
The lord offers her a joke, and she laughs. It’s fake. I know her true laugh, having heard it on the raid in the forest, when she speaks to my brother. I haven’t heard it yet directed at me, and maybe that’s why when I reach her side, I bear my fangs at the male, pissed.
“I’ll be interrupting now.” I tug her to the side of the dining hall, ignoring the glare from my guest, to the far back where the servant’s door hides behind tapestries.
It’s a small spot, with my looming size and her small frame. Her head barely reaches my shoulder, even in those spiked heels she wears. They could murder a man with a quick jerk of her knee.
“That seems rude.”
“Do you care?” I ask. Taking the glass from her, I finish the rest in one swallow. Her eyes flash with wry amusement and irritation, masking that fear I smell. She’s terrified of what’s come.
Dropping the glass to the side, I crush her body to the wall.
It’s intimate and a servant could easily crash into us, trays so heavy and piled high that they can’t see. It smells like gameybird and dust but under it, I smell her tantalizing soap of spicy violets; sultry and dark, just like her.
“I didn’t know,” I breathe, foreheads pressed together. “I didn’t know he’d do this.”
My heart constricts at being separated from her. All because of the plan—the coup.
Fuck, I should forget the plan, take her away, run into the Eternal Night Forest, perhaps into the Veil and hide. I’d have Max and that’s all I’d ever need.
“You said I’d be safe,” she whispers, words shaking. Her hands curl into my tunic, pulling me close. Here, in the shadows, she shows me her vulnerability, her desperation and I want to erase it all. “You said so. You said if I stayed, chose you, we’d be safe.”
“You will be.” I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. “I swear it. No harm will come to you. You chose me, Max, and I don’t take that lightly. I would soon rather let the world end before endangering you.”
We let silence ring as we absorb the other’s heat.
“What do we do?” She blinks, eyes watery.
My heart shatters to see it.
Quickly, my mind spins, putting together a plan before I can consider the ramifications. I just need her protected. “Uncle will stay. So will Fee and Reid. You will not be alone.” My thumb plucks her bottom lip, thoughtful. “I swear, Max. I cannot lose you. I will not let anything harm you.”
“You can’t make that promise while you’re gone.” Max stands tall, back like iron. She wars with herself before nodding once, as if coming to a decision. “My powers are coming back. Sporadic moments when I can hear it, sometimes the pull rises inside of me. Nothing concrete yet.” She pats her belly, indicating that’s her source.
I hold her hand, fingers discolored and feel a weight drop from my shoulders. “Can you hear it now?”
“No. Just feel it.” Her brows furrowed, trying to make sense ofsomething she’s never had to think on. Something she’s never had to worry about, because it’s always been there.
I sympathize with her. When my magic manifested, I could feel it, but never rouse it to function. It took years to compel it. Max has always been in the middle of movement, of energy, of life. To not have it now, must seem strange.
“Does Uncle know?” At her silence, I snort. “Of course, he does. I assume he’s teaching you?”
“We started.”
I could be mad at her refusal to tell me this important detail, but I’m more focused on the fact she chose to share after everything I’ve hidden from her.
And now that her magic is returning, it’s one more trick in her arsenal. One more way to keep her safe.
