I shot him a mock frown. “You Autumn fae and your cleverness. There’s no hiding anything fromyou.”
“Indeed.” Rourke stretched out onto the carpet and propped his chin on one of his fists, motioning me to take a break from my books to join him. With a sigh, I placed the book back on the pile and eased down onto the carpet. Before us, the fire flickered and flamed, casting dancing shadows on the libraryshelves.
“I went in search of someStarlight.”
“I expected as much.” A pause. “Something tells me that you didn’t findany.”
“No, but I found something else.” My eyelids fluttered shut as he wrapped his arm around me, pulling my back to his chest. I sucked in a deep breath, filling my nose with his scent, and the tension in my body drifted away. I didn’t know how he did it, but Rourke could soothe me when nothing elsecould.
“What did you find, my love?” he murmured, his lips dangerously close to my neck. My body was desperate to feel his lips on my skin, but I hadn’t forgotten the rules of the court. With every day that passed, the more I wanted to become the daughter Marin had wanted me tobe.
“Please don’t freakout.”
A sigh. “I willtry.”
So, I filled him in on my encounter with the Dark Fae. His body tensed against mine, but he didn’t fly off the handle the way Liam or Kael might have done. He was as calm and collected as ever, though that didn’t mean he was particularly happy about the fact I’d been cornered by a Dark Fae. By the son of the King, noless.
“We need to call another meeting with the courts before they start their trek back to their seasons. I appreciate that you want to find an alternative, and perhaps you will. But we need to proceed as if we believe the Dark Fae will launch an attack. We need to beprepared.”
I twisted on the carpet to face him, sliding my arms around his neck. “What good will that do? None of the representatives believeme.”
“It’s different now. We’ll make thembelieve.”
He dropped his mouth to mine and kissed me hard. I hung on tight, pulling him so close that my breasts pressed hard against his chest. His fingers got tangled in my hair as his tongue dipped between my lips. I breathed in him, savoring every single second in hisembrace.
But then I pulled back, heart banging wildly in my chest. My cheeks were hot; my breath wasragged.
Smiling, he brushed his thumb against my lip. “Norah. My beautiful Norah. I was such a sad, grumpy, pathetic male before you walked into my life. When I first went to the Academy, I never thought I would meet someone likeyou.”
“But didn’t you know you would meet your matethere?”
“I did.” A pause as his eyes searched mine. “But I never imagined it would feel like this. The intensity with which I love you is almostterrifying.”
My breath stilled in my lungs when he lifted my hand to his lips before gently kissing everyfinger.
“There is something I have realized since arriving at this castle. We are mates, even if we have yet to have the ceremony to fully confirm it in the eyes of the land. This is something I feel we should remedy though, my love. When all of this is over, I want nothing more than for you to be mybride.”
I sucked in a sharp breath, my eyes welling with tears. Not of pain or fear but ofjoy.
“Oh, Rourke.” I threw my arms around his neck and buried my face in his chest. I couldn’t believe this was happening. I couldn’t believe that I had ever done enough to deserve something likethis.
Rourke let out a low chuckle and kissed my face. “This is not a formal proposal, by the way. I wouldn’t do that without theothers.”
The others.My cheeks ached from the grin that consumed my face. I had four future mates. Four perfect males that made me happier than I deserved. One day, we would make our vows to each other, in the presence of every court. And I couldn’t wait until they were trulymine.
Chapter Eighteen
It had been twenty-four hours,and I still didn’t have a solution to the Dark Fae problem. Rourke had stopped the representatives from returning to their courts, and it was time to gather them all together for another meeting. Perhaps they had a solution I hadn’t yet found. Maybe someone knew more than what I could find in thosebooks.
“Can we make this quick?” Ungus said as he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “I would like to set off this morning to return home. There is no need for me to remain here anylonger.”
“I wouldn’t pack your bags just yet,” I tell him before taking a deep breath to plow forward. “We have a massive problem on our hands, and I’m hoping that one of you can solve it. Have you ever heard of an alternative to the Tithe? Some kind of energy sacrifice to replace what’s happening with the changelings and theRedcaps?”
Silence was my onlyanswer.
“What is the point of this?” Ungus asked, narrowing his eyes. “Why are you asking about theTithe?”
“Do you not find it problematic?” I asked him. “We take these innocent children from their homes and allow them to be transformed into monsters. And then we chuck them right back into the human realm when we’re done with them. So that they can infect more innocents. Then, the cyclecontinues.”
