I brush my lips against his, my own brows furrowing. “Is something wrong?”
For a heartbeat, everything softens—the world, the air, the space between us. Then his expression shifts. He studies me asthough memorizing every detail, something old and wounded flickering behind his eyes.
Gently, he takes my hands and lowers them to my lap.
“We can’t,” he says, easing me off his lap and settling me beside him on the bench—careful, reverent.
“I don’t understand,” I say, confusion tightening my chest. “I want you. And I know you want me, too.”
“This isn’t about want,” he says quietly. “It’s about what’s right.”
The words cut deeper than I expect. I swallow, guilt catching behind my ribs. “Keiren… I can feel how much you need me—”
He shakes his head, his voice barely above a breath. “You give me enough just by breathing.” One hand cups my cheek, his thumb warm against my skin.
We hold there, suspended between apology and longing, between who we were and who we’re still becoming. He opens his mouth to speak again when—
A flutter of wings. A startled cry.
On the far side of the garden, fairies tumble into view, searching for their master. I jerk back, suddenly aware of where Keiren’s hands are.
He rises at once, smoothing the folds of my gown with quick, practiced care before they can see. His composure settles back into place like armor.
“Your Majesty!” A blur of gold light slams into us. “Come quick!”
Chapter 34
Cassy
We tear through the winding corridors, torchlight slashing shadows across the walls. The breath runs ragged in my throat, and my heart hammers so hard that I think it might split my ribs.
“This way!” the cluster of tiny fairies cry, their wings a blur of gold. Keiren and I race up the slick onyx stairs toward the ramparts.
Mae’s voice slices through the wind. “There!”
I skid to the parapet’s edge. Cassy is standing on the narrow ledge, her white gown whipping in the storm, the abyss yawning black below.
“Cassy!” I shout, reaching out.
She turns slowly, hair veiling her face like smoke. Her eyes, wide and wild, catch mine. Her lips move as if tasting the wind. “All is death. All is woe… I cannot escape the flames,” she whispers, her voice hollow as a grave.
My throat tightens. “Please, Cassy… come back!” I turn to Keiren. “We have to get her.”
“The stone’s too worn. It’ll crumble under our weight,” he warns me.
I turn to the fairies. “Go! Fly to her! All of you, together—you could lift her.”
They nod and zoom out, only to be knocked back by a fierce gust of wind. They try again but only crash at our feet in a colorful heap, their faces grim.
“We can’t,” Marb cries helplessly.
The mist below churns around the rocks like a hungry sea.
I take a step toward the ledge.Don’t look down, I tell myself, then take a deep breath and climb over.
“Fire—don’t!” Keiren’s voice roars as I step beyond his reach onto the thin parapet.
Only a few paces separate us now. Cassy stares skyward as dawn breaks, silver light spilling through the fog.
