Page 67 of The Reaping Rose

“That text was too old for it to be any living Fae. Well over a thousand years, and for all I know, she might have been a myth.”

“Myth is usually born from something. Things we’ve long forgotten. A bit of truth that’s been twisted and changed until we no longer believe it could have been possible. But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t once.”

“I suppose you would know. Constantly doing the impossible.” I grin, and her eyes brighten.

“Maybe testing fate is my secret power.”

“That and bringing me to my knees.” I lean forward, kissing the tip of her nose. “Speaking of forgotten lore and impossibilities, I need to tell you something.”

She must sense my surge of worry through the thread because her smile immediately falls. “What is it?”

“It’s about the aeraliss.” I frown. “Rior found mentions in our texts that contradict the journals Callum brought. It says there’s a limit to its strength and that⁠—”

“It might burn out.” She finishes my thought in a whisper.

“You suspected it already?”

Elorie nods. “Letia was scratching her hand when I saw her earlier. I didn’t know if the reaction was unique to her, but I sensed something was wrong with the ring.”

“The records could be inaccurate,” I try to assure her.

“But we can’t risk it.”

“Exactly.”

She sighs, closing her eyes. “Thank you for telling me.”

I tip her chin up. “I’ll do everything in my power to figure it out.”

“I know you will.” Trust blooms in her eyes when she blinks them open.

So pure it would knock me off my feet if I wasn’t already sitting.

“Look at us.” Her smile is tentative. “Communicating.”

“Communication was never our problem. We did plenty of that in the Ley Court.”

She rolls her eyes. “Yes, with daggers at each other’s throats while we talked in circles.”

“It was a start.” I shrug. “And you’re a sight to behold with daggers in your hands, so I didn’t mind.”

Her laugh wraps around me. With all the unknowns right now—the orb, the realms, my beating heart—nothing is certain. But here, with Elorie in my arms, I let everything else fall away and focus only on her. A starry sky behind her. She’s one with the night.

My star.

My wish.

My everything.

The single light when all else goes dark.

“You’re beautiful.” I tuck her hair behind her ear.

Elorie wraps her arms around my shoulders, and the sheet falls away, revealing her perfect breasts and hard nipples. I graze my hands up her ribs, toying with the peaks and making her shiver.

“You’re not so bad looking yourself,” she whispers against my mouth, pressing the softest kiss to my lips.

She moves against me as I tangle my tongue with hers, and I’ve never needed anything more than to make her feel good. To wash away whatever nightmares woke her in the middle of the night and to bring peace to her mind.