The couple takes the news with more stride than I would. They embrace before turning their backs to one another andwalking away. I can literally feel them pining for each other as their feet put distance between them.
His arms around my waist squeeze lightly. “Let’s get some air.”
“Yes, let’s.”
He slips his hand over mine and tugs me through the crowd, which eagerly parts as we pass, fae and wizards alike bowing for the king.
With the other two ceremonies, even though Feylin and I were together, it didn’t feel real, so the bowing didn’t affect me as much.
But tonight, as people bow and look on me, I dip my head shyly, because nothing about this is fake anymore—not for me.
Feylin opens a side door and I slip out first, inhaling the sweet, warm air.
The scent of gardenias fills my nose as I step into the torch-lit, brick-lined garden. Well-manicured bushes frame the path as he steps up beside me and we slowly stroll.
“Are you having a good night?” he asks, sounding genuinely curious.
“Other than seeing a couple get a black rose, which I’m not sure I’ll ever get over? Yes.”
He tips his head down and shoots me a sympathetic look. “Other fae have received a black rose and lived. They will, too, though it’ll be painful for a while.”
“I’m sure.” My gaze flicks up to meet his. “And are you having a good time?”
“Normally I hate these things.” He plucks a green leaf from a bush and twirls it between his fingers. “But tonight isn’t so bad. I think it’s the company.”
“Ah, there are a lot of good people here—Trawick, Zandra.”
“That’s not who I’m talking about.”
A knot has suddenly stopped up my throat.
He stops and shifts to face me. I do the same, letting my gaze slowly trickle from his thighs to his waist, to his broad shoulders and finally to his, where his piercing gaze is latched firmly onto me.
“I think you know,” he murmurs, lifting the hand of mine that he’s holding and threading his fingers through it, “that you’re the person whose company I’m talking about.”
“I know.”
He smirks. “Then why not just say it?”
“Because.” I sigh. So many words press against my chest, a dictionary full of them. But to say them means taking risks, and the last time I risked my heart, it was shredded. But the emotion flowing in Feylin’s eyes says I’m safe, nothing will harm me.
When I don’t answer, he glances at our hands. “I guess the no-touching rule’s been thrown out the window.”
“Good riddance.”
His brow lifts. “Is that so?”
“Feylin”—I can barely swallow past the baseball in my throat—“what you did for me yesterday, no one’s ever done anything like that for me before. My issues—the clothes, how picky I am about food—they’ve always been seen as a nuisance by the guys I’ve dated. Even the ones who were quiet about it, I could still tell that I annoyed them. But you, you see me, and you accept me, and that means more to me than I ever realized it would.
“And even though all of this is just the effects of the joining, that’s okay, and even though our situation is only temporary, that’s still okay, because for the first time I’ve been seen, and that means more to me than anything ever has.”
My heart’s so big, so full and so nervous that it’s knocking against my chest like a pinball. I’m staring at his throat, unable to look him in the eyes because I’m afraid of what I’ll see there.
“You’ve given me so much, and I’ve given you so little.”
With his free hand, he slowly lifts my chin until I’m forced to meet his gaze. His eyes overflow with emotion as he tucks a strand of hair behind my ear.
“You’ve given me so little?” He shakes his head. “I barely smiled before you came into my life. I don’t even think I rememberedhowto smile before you arrived. You’ve given me deeper happiness than I’ve known in years. So don’t say that you haven’t given me anything. You’ve given me everything.”
