I shook that sensation off. “Where are we going?”
“Away from here.”
Kole mistphased us instantaneously.One second, the palace walls in the courtyard were closing in on me, and the next, sounds of waves crashing against the shore filled the air. Salty wind flowed around us, lifting my hair. And a million stars blazed in the night sky above us.
My jaw dropped, and I twirled around. “Where are we?”
“On the shores of the Nelive Sea, on the western coast of Mistvale.”
I pivoted more, facing inland, and in the distance, the Clawfur Mountains rose like dark beasts in the moonlight. I stared at them, at their huge peaks tipped in snow. Soon, those peaks would be fully covered in white powder once winter truly set in. The Clawfur region was wild. Untamed. Those mountains were ruggedly beautiful, but they also held so many memories for me.
“I spent the first eight summers of my life living in those mountains. Well, I guess it wasn’t a full eight summers as I’d been led to believe, since I’d initially lived in the palace.”
Kole came up behind me, his presence like a looming shadow at my back. His hands settled gently on my hips, and he shifted me, turning me back to face the sea.
A cacophony of nerves fired through me at the feel of his strong fingers gripping me, and I reminded myself that I’d been a fool to trust him once and allow myself to develop an attraction to him. But the reality was thateveryoneI’d trusted had lied to me, except for Ree. And I still loved all of them. I still loved Gwen, Timith, and my parents. I’d already forgiven them for their lies because I knew their intentions had been good.
Yet of all of the fae that I’d trusted, Kole was the only one who’d had no choice but to lie to me. He’d been ordered by his king and queen, and by the Imperial Council. And a part of me wondered, if given a choice, would he have ever lied to me at all?
The waves pounded along the shore, but even after Kole had redirected my attention back to the sea, his hands stayed, and despite trying as hard as I couldnotto be affected by his touch, I was.
My breath caught as the intimacy of his hold stretched around me, and I was reminded of the encounters we’d shared along my hunt.
It would be so easy to fall back into those feelings.Soeasy, because I didn’t want any of what came with my new life, and Idesperately wished for someone to take it from me or make me forget or make me believe that it wasn’t real.
I didn’t want to wear extravagant gowns or go to betrothal balls or put potions on my food to ensure my safety or meet someonesuitableso I could bear royal babies. And I wanted to work. I wanted to return to my studies, continue my research, and once again spend my days within the Whiteolf Academic Library, then visit Ree for dinners and casual teas.
I wanted my old life, not a royal life. If given a choice, I would have chosen Gwen, Timith, Aunt Opalin, Uncle Roosep, Ree, the library, and my prior apartment. It was all so muchsmallerthan the life of a princess, but I’d never minded small.
My heartbeat kicked up again, thrumming in my chest, because as much as I wished for that life, it didn’t matter.
That life was gone now. Forever vanished, and it was never coming back.
Oh Gods.
My chest began to shrink, my lungs closing in. The urge to flee, run,disappearhad my knees bending, and?—
“Close your eyes.” Kole’s mouth was at my ear, and his quiet words flowed over me.
“What?” I responded, my voice shrill.
“Close your eyes. Please.”
I straightened my legs and did as he asked. Eyes closed, I stood there, and on my next inhale, the sound of the sea increased, and the feel of Kole’s hands on my hips stole all of my attention.
“Listen to the waves. The wind. The birds.” He still stood so close, still whispered his requests into my ear.
My lips parted, and I concentrated on what he was asking.
Cawing from seabirds filled the air, stealing my attention first. I hadn’t even noticed that. And the waves made a hypnoticsound, crashing and waning, rising and falling. Over and over. Again and again.
“Smell the breeze. Smell the subtle differences in the air.” His voice was deep, quiet, soothing.
The scent of salt came to me first, then the hint of shore grass.
I kept my eyes closed, and slowly, the aching constriction in my chest eased, and the impulse to vanish dimmed.
Nothing but nature surrounded me.
