“Yeah, huh? Maybe I’m nervous.” He shakes his head, then brings a hand to clutch at his chest. “It’s, uh, a feeling—”
Something wild flits through me bursting to life beside my heart, a deep uncoiling. Euphoria leaks from my fingertips as I stroke his face. Because I know this feeling, this innate want. It’s the same as it is with Kel—
It’s the same. IknewDayton belonged to me. I need to complete it and tell him I’m a part of him.
I grip Dayton’s face and bring my lips to his ears. “Kel, it’s the same.”
He stiffens, then pushes away from me. “What did you call me?”
A giant pit opens in my stomach, and I feel like I’ve been shoved into a dark room with the loss of his touch. I blink stupidly, my mind, which had just felt light and sparkly, suddenly murky. “I—”
“I should have known this was all about him.” Anger laces through Dayton’s voice, and he stands, throwing on a pair of pants.
He’s getting dressed? No. I need to bring us together. “Wait—”
“You even smell like him.” He gestures to me. “But I ignored it because, fuck,lookat you.”
I sit up. Can’t he see I belong to him too? “Dayton, I didn’t mean—”
“You didn’t mean to call me by your mate’s name?” He grips the bedpost. “Then what did you mean, Rosalina?”
“I meant…” My mind clears more. How can I tell him, I felt—no, Ifeel—the same for him as I do my mate? How will Dayton react to that? Dayton, who won’t even spend the night with Farron, who he’s been with for years? Dayton, who implied there would be no cuddling after sex?
There’s no way I can admit to him the intensity of my feelings.
“What do you even care anyway?” I grab my nightdress off the floor. “Isn’t this just about sex for you?”
His face blanches, and he storms over to the wall, resting his hands upon it, muscles tense. “Yeah, that’s what I’m good for, isn’t it? A fun time? Excuse me for at least wanting my partner to know my name.”
“Look, I’m sorry, okay?” I cross my arms over my chest. “I know your name. Can we—”
“I’m not going to have you while you’re pretending I’m someone else.”
I take a step toward him, wishing I could explain.
He turns away. “Leave, Rosie.”
Angry tears fill my eyes, and I stalk out of the room, slamming the door hard behind me. A frustrated growl bubbles from my chest. I prowl over to Kel’s door, pound my fist against it and snarl, “You can go to sleep now, you stupid smug bastard. Hope you’re fucking happy.”
I make it to my room, alone. Rejected by two fae princes in the same night. Throwing myself down on the bed, I clutch my chest, feeling that tight coil beside my heart.
How could my feelings for both of them be so similar? It’s as magical as it is terrifying.
One tear slips down my cheek, followed by a stream until I can’t help but curl into myself and sob. Finally, exhaustion takes over and I drift off to sleep.
44
Rosalina
“I’vereadthesameparagraph three times.” I rub my eyes. “You’d think the ancient Autumn scholars could have livened their literature up somewhat.”
Farron exhales sharply out his nose and smiles but doesn’t look up from his own text. “Rosalina calling a book boring? You’ve been spending too much time with Kel.”
I bury my face in the book to hide my blush. I haven’t been spendinganytime with Kel lately, or at least as little as I can manage. We’ve all gone back to sleeping in our own rooms. It’s easier this way. Besides, the last few days Farron and I have been totally engrossed in our research.
The library in Keep Oakheart is beautiful, the shelves made of twisted bark that stretch up toward the ceiling dotted with glowing orbs that cast warm, amber light throughout the room. The air is heavy with the scent of old parchment and the musky aroma of aged leather. As I look at the man sitting beside me at the table, a sense of contentment washes through me. Everything outside of this room is confusing and dangerous and messy. But this feels like home.
“It’s not boring, just dense,” I say.
