“I am not a heartless male,” Ever goes on with a swipe of his hand through his hair. “I understand your worries. We share many of the same woes in the Unseelie lands above the canyon. When our hunters return, I will tell them of your village so that any who wish might visit in hopes of finding a mate.”
“This would please me greatly.”
“Then it will be so.”
Hands are shaken, females fawn over my kinsmen, and no one seems to spare me even a glance.
This is how I have lived most of my life; after the last few days of being drowned in attention, I do not mind being invisible.
There is only one fae whose attention I seek, and she has not returned.
Perhaps she was too exhausted from the trek. Perhaps she was wounded or became ill—although if that were the case, Ever surely would have told me.
Unless he is not aware of our connection.
There is, of course, another reason Nia might not have joined them.
One that involves the Nolan and my heart shattering into a thousand tiny pieces.
The hour is too late for us to climb the cliffs this night, so we are given places to stay. I return to the cave-house for one more lonely night but come up short when I find a Seelie female with wild snowy hair sitting on the edge of a bed we once shared.
Is this my imagination? I rub my eyes, but when my vision clears, Nia Quill is still on my bed. “You are here.”
She tucks her hands beneath her thighs, a small smile playing on lips I long to kiss. “Everett told me to remain hidden in case negotiations went south.”
Of course he would look after his mate’s cousin. Put her safety first. I want to step forward, erase the distance between us, but fear keeps my feet rooted to the stones. “We return to Rosehill at dawn.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing. Are you certain you want to leave all these women?”
Almost as certain as my love for her.
I dare to step forward, hope flickering in my heart. “There is only one female whose attention I desire.”
Her smile grows a little wider. “She must be very special, indeed.”
“The most special. The most beautiful. The most stubborn.”
Her huff of laughter is a spark in my veins. “That last one doesn’t sound like a compliment.”
All I have for Nia are compliments. There is not one bad word I can speak about this stunning female holding out her hands.
My own hand longs to cradle hers, but first, there must be answers.
I swipe my clammy palms down my thighs. “Did you make amends with your Nolan? I have been told there were many intimate embraces.”
Her hand falls to the mattress, no longer reaching for me but balling into a fist. “He had some mad notion that we should reconcile, but I told him we couldn’t be together.”
I step closer, the leg of my trousers meeting the silk of her mauve skirts. “Why is this?”
“Because I’m in love with you.”
Love. She said love.
“You love me? Maddox Finch?”
“How could I not? You are the best man I know. I cannot imagine life with anyone else.”
She says this even after being stuck with me for many days. I do not believe my ears. They have never lied to me before, but I am afraid they have chosen this day to tell tales.
