Yet here we stood. Our mates had not only reshaped us—they were reshaping the entire kingdom.
Perhaps a female’s power was never in brute strength, but in her capacity to love. Because love could make even the most powerful males kneel, burn, and become reckless, and the devotion they’d commit in its name was the deadliest power of all.
We finished our champagne, and the fated mates left for dinner service in the dining hall. Finally, we had a moment alone.
I couldn’t stop looking at her, my Pickles.
She fit so well into my life that sometimes I forgot she was mortal. It was as if she had been made for me.
I was not going to wait another minute to have her in my arms.
She was mine.
I placed my hand on the small of her back to let her know I was there. She arched slightly; I loved the way she reacted to even my smallest touch. She turned and wrapped her arms around me.
“I’m really proud of you today,” she said lovingly, and it fucking melted me.
I wanted to be better, to do better for her.
I held her close and brushed my thumb over those plump lips I could never resist touching.
“I would set the world ablaze for you,” I whispered, my voice thick with intensity and affection.
Desire surged through me. I kissed her hard, starved for her warmth. She answered with equal hunger, heat building between us—
Until a low, unmistakable growl interrupted.
I pulled back. “Pickles… was that your stomach?”
“Sorry… just ignore it,” she murmured, trying to kiss me again.
“Abso-fucking-lutely not. When was the last time you ate?” I demanded, holding back my flames.
She looked away and placed a hand on her stomach. “It’s been a busy day.”
Suddenly I remembered hunger in my life as Danny. That sharp, insistent hollowing from the inside out. I would not allow this.
She looked stronger than when she first arrived, but she was still underweight. And taking those elixirs I had asked Gleeda for meant she needed to increase how much she ate.
As much as I wanted her in my bed, I wanted her strong more.
“First I’m feeding you,” I said, pressing slow kisses to her neck. “Then you’re mine all night.”
She reluctantly agreed.
She turned right from the lounge, and I stopped her. “Where are you going?”
“To dinner service?” she asked.
“How does a quiet, private dinner in my quarters sound?” Her eyes sparkled with excitement.
“Heavenly,” she replied.
I took her hand, and together we turned toward my chambers. By the time we arrived, the fire sprites had already set up a candlelit dinner for two from my mind-link order.
We sat, and I poured her wine from the Kingdom of Seas—her favorite. She dug into the bread and roasted chicken, and I could see her shoulders relax as her hunger eased.
“So, what is the High Lord of Land looking for here?” she asked.
