Whirling around, I caught hints of the dark blue suit, the twists of his hair, the cut of his bright smile in the faint light. “Gunnar!”
Lifting the hem of my gown, I clambered over the slick courtyard, heels sinking into the ground, dress soaking up the slush. He met me halfway, scooping me up into his arms, twirling me beneath the constellations, burning brighter than ever.
Gently putting me down, he cupped my shoulders. “I am so happy you’re not dead.”
I thanked him with a playful smack to his chest, which probably hurt my fingers more than it affected him.
“Same,” I said, and I meant it. “But I’m even happier I met you—all of you. Thank you for everything.”
“It was my honor.” Arm bent at the waist, he swept into an exaggerated bow. “Have you tired of our elven hospitality?”
“Can’t get enough of it. In fact, I’m permanently taking up residence.”
Brows furrowed, he looked at me beneath lowered lashes. “Really?”
“No,” I laughed. “Olivia, Gaia, and I have a flight back to California tomorrow.”
“Gaia? That’s going to be rough. Last I saw her she was going shot-for-shot of Brennivín with some of the Eyes.”
“Great, wonderful.” I shook my head. “She is… both everything and nothing like what I was expecting. If that makes sense.”
Gunnar bit the inside of his cheek. “I know someone else who’s on that flight…”
Spine stiffening, I clipped out, “Oh, are you and Ryder buddies now?”
“Not quite. But after you left, he stayed and helped clean up the…” He cleared his throat, emotion seizing his words. A muscle ticked in his jaw. “Aftermath,” he finished.
Ah, so Ryder decided to finally be a decent human? It didn’t even make a dent in all the evil he had already done, but I had to admit, my chest felt a little lighter knowing he’d made the right decision, that he hadn’t turned on them—on me—like a part of me worried he would.
“Well,” I said, taking a deep breath, hoping to settle the slew of emotions swirling inside me, “it’s about damn time he cleaned up his own mess.”
Something burned in Gunnar’s stare, something I wasn’t sure I was ready to address. “I saw the way you two looked at each other in that arena.”
“Like we wanted to kill each other?” A shudder raked its way through me.
Folding his lips, he dipped his chin. “Like you were meant for each other.”
Heat flooded my cheeks. “Gunnar, I?—”
“River, you don’t need to explain. I’m in Iceland, you’re in Cali. It was fun getting to know you. When I say it was an honor, I truly mean it.” Shifting to an arm length’s away, he took me in, probably for the last time, like he was committing me to memory. So many unsaid things lay in that small shake of his head, in the twinkle in his eyes. “Maybe in another life.”
Heart begging to say something but throat too raw to speak, I nodded.
Another step back. More distance, more space, and then he was two arms’ length away.
I’d miss him. Miss his laugh, miss his warmth—miss what we could have been.
The electric spark that danced between us was sometimes the only thing that got me through some of my hardest days here. But he was right. He deserved someone with no strings attached.
This wasn’t the right time for us.
“Now get in there.” Gunnar nodded to the castle. “He’s waiting for you.”
Chapter 41
Shoulders back, I drifted into the Great Hall, heart raging in my chest. Each strut of my legs swished my dress, casting a mural of sparkles on the ivory stone.
Pausing just beyond the threshold, I scanned the arched room. The hem of my gown rippled at my feet, the slit parting at my ankle and running up to my thigh.
