He clasps his hands behind his back. Total royalty stance. “I received the message this morning.”
I frown. “Was it for me?“
“It was to me.”
That makes my heart throb with hurt. They messaged Feylin and not me? Why? I stare at the azaleas and do my best not to feel brushed aside.
“Shall we begin?” he says, almost tenderly.
His gentle tone takes me back, and I glance up to see him watching me. He quickly looks away, giving me a view of his perfect profile.
“Yes, let’s start. So. What do we do?”
He begins crossing the lawn and I follow. As we walk, servants mill about, setting up chairs and tables, using magic to throw cloths over their tops. Some trim hedges while others decorate the tables with cut flowers.
“There are four ceremonies in a fae joining, each one representing the four elements—earth, wind, fire and water. This ceremony honors the earth.”
He comes to a stop in front of a small tree with bright green leaves sitting in the center of a ring of blooming cherry trees.
He gestures toward it. “That is the engagement tree.”
“Engagement tree?” There is such a thing?
“Holding hands, we’ll cross over the lawn, stop here and release our magic into the tree. Then it fruits.”
“Why?”
His cheeks tinge red. “It’s symbolic of love and a fruitful marriage.”
“Babies, you mean.”
He grunts in reply.
I wait for him to say something else, but he’s silent. “That’s it?”
He nods. “That’s it.”
“So we don’t have to prove to the tree that we’re in love or anything?”
“No, we only have to prove that to our guests.”
Right. And I only have to come up with some magic.
“Should we do a trial run?”
“You mean walk over again?”
“Holding hands,” he corrects in a testy voice.
Every time I touch him, that weird power surge takes over my body and impure (code word for dirty) thoughts flood my mind. “Um…”
Before I can answer, he retreats a few paces and stops, turning around to face me. “Well?”
“Well what?”
He cocks his head impatiently. “Let’s call this a dress rehearsal.”
A tornado of butterflies takes flight in my belly as I cross to him in the wedge sandals I found in the wardrobe. I matched them with a pair of jeans and a white off-the-shoulder blouse that I also pulled out of that thing. All of it fits amazingly.
