Page 57 of This Is Not True Love’s Kiss

“I like it,” I said simply. “I do all those things for others and for me, I suppose. I like working. I like achieving and accomplishing. It makes me feel good, and in turn, it makes me want to do more. It’s like Fairwitch Isle gives me purpose.”

“And what if you didn’t have Fairwitch Isle?” Aoife asked. “What if your kingdom falls? What then? What did you do before you ruled Fairwitch Isle?”

“The brotherhood gave me purpose,” I said. “The rebel group I led in secret gave me purpose. It drove me to be the best I could every single day. To work hard to overthrow them.”

Not that it had worked.

“And before the brotherhood?” she asked.

I tried to remember all the way back to my youth, my teenage years and early twenties before that fateful day the brotherhood had kidnapped me. “I’ve always just wanted to make a difference. Before the brotherhood it was training with Wolfe, training to be in the royal guard and protect Fairwitch Isle.”

She stared at me, no judgment in her eyes. “You truly always have been this good, this selfless.”

“I wouldn’t say that. I just know that I don’t want to fail Fairwitch Isle. I want to be the best ruler I can be for our people.”

“And why is it only about you?” she asked.

I cocked my head as she handed me her canteen, and I took a long drink, the cool water sliding down my throat. “What do you mean by that?”

“You talk as if it’s all up to you. As if the success or failure of the brotherhood fell on your shoulders. As if the success of our people fell on your shoulders.”

The observation took me aback. It was true, but it was something Arthon had drilled into me. You have to hold yourself to a higher standard. You have to do better, be better, than everyone else around you. Otherwise you have failed.. “I guess I don’t always trust others to do what’s right.”

“What you think is right,” she said. “But you are not the arbitrator of justice. You have a queen, a council, a whole community of people working to do good for Fairwitch Isle, and I’d wager that you need to learn it’s not all on your shoulders.”

“Maybe,” I said, her words hitting a nerve, like I was yet again failing everyone somehow, but she hadn’t said the words unkindly.

I glanced over at her as she tucked her hair behind her ears, and I instinctively reached out and ran my finger over the top of her rounded ear.

She froze, and I snatched my hand away. “Sorry,” I said quickly. “Your ears—I’m used to seeing them pointed. But it’s smart, changing them in case anyone gets a look at you.”

She nodded and finished tucking the strand away.

“I like your pointed ears,” I murmured, staring at her with the rising yellow sun and pink horizon behind her.

Her mouth opened and closed quickly, and I realized what I’d just said out loud. Godwitches, I needed to get a hold of myself. Aoife couldn’t stand me—something she’d made abundantly clear many times.

Just because we’d been getting along the last week didn’t mean anything was growing between us. We’d never have a traditional marriage, but we could have respect, a partnership. That was what I hoped for. Nothing more.

Aoife stood abruptly. “We should get moving,” she said as she stuffed the remaining bread and cheese back into her satchel.

“Right.” I stood as Aoife rushed to sweep her hood back over her head.

“Slow down,” I said. “You’re going to fall.”

She didn’t listen, snatching up her satchel and stepping forward, but her foot caught on a small rock, and she started tipping forward.

I reached to grab her arm, and we both went down, tumbling together, a tangle of limbs, hair, and curses as we both swore. Rocks, stones, and tree branches swiped at me, poked me, and pinpricks of pain rippled across my skin.

We both finally landed together in a clearing, except unlike when we’d fallen out of the portal together, Aoife landed on top of me.

We both breathed heavy, staring at each other as our bodies pressed together in a way that shouldn’t have felt so intimate given what had just happened.

“Are you okay?” I managed.

She nodded, her eyes searching my face. “Just my back,” she said, and my hands automatically came to the small of her back. Her golden eyes widened.

“There?” I asked, pressing gently into her skin.