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A low chuckle formed in Talon’s throat as he tied Zephyr off to a tree. “Mhm. Now let’s go before the wispings come out.”
“Wispings? What is that?” I peered over at Zephyr, and then Pipion, who was curled into a ball inside Talon’s satchel. “Will they be okay if we leave them here?”
“They’ll be fine, now go.”
I stepped onto the first rung and continued up and up until I reached the wooden deck overlooking the forest canopy. “Where are we?”
He pulled me to him as he joined me on the terrace, and I inhaled his warm scent, smiling into his chest. Being in his arms was like taking a deep, long overdue breath. Gone were the worries of tomorrow and what the king was planning. He planted me firmly in this moment.
“Rahway—about ten miles from where I grew up,” Talon said. “My father built this treehouse for us it when we were kids.” He took my hands and led us inside, the floorboards creaking under our weight. It was a simple setup fit for growing children, with a small table and a few chairs. Books and children’s toys—soaked in dust—rested on untouched bookshelves, hidden by the large tree trunk that jutted through the space. Ghosts of memories played under the large skylight. I imagined a young Talon running around causing havoc, then took in the murals painted along the walls.
“I thought someone would’ve torn it down by now,” he continued. “Imagine my surprise when I came across it a few years back on patrol. Since then, whenever I find myself in the area, I come here to rest.”
“Have you thought about restoring it?”
Talon wiped his hands down the side of his pants, while he walked to the far back corner of the treehouse. “Maybe one day when I have a family of my own,” he said over his shoulder. “Only time will tell.”
“You should. This place is beautiful, it shouldn’t go to waste.”
Talon pulled out two bedrolls and a few blankets from a storage chest and piled them onto the floor, making a pallet on the ground for us to sleep on. He motioned for me to sit, and I flopped down—my bones sighing with relief as I stretched out.
After an entire day on horseback, it felt amazing to rest my aching back and breathe in the stars that splattered the inky sky. Hundreds—thousands—of them glittered through the skylight, casting soft shadows into the treehouse.
The backdrop to countless love stories.
The gatekeeper of even more secrets.
This moment was a mere blip in time compared to all they’d seen, and yet for me, it was everything. The thought was terrifyingly beautiful.
How every breath, thought, laugh, and tear would one day become stardust and fade into oblivion—lost amongst the sea of constellations. And I would be nothing but a memory.
I shook off the chill that ran down my spine, this moment suddenly feeling much, much bigger. More important. Maybe all this pain and struggle wouldn’t be for nothing? Maybe I was, in fact, destined for something greater. To be the fabled princess.
My head lolled to the side to find Talon looking out the window, appearing far away in distant memories. I could drink him in all night—savor his beauty. The way his hair brushed the tips of his eyelashes. How his long, nimble fingers curled around the hilt of his sword. The veins in his forearm and his satin-like skin.
I wanted to trust him again, but the nagging voice in my head screamed danger. What else was he keeping from me? What other secrets was the night hiding?
Talon turned and met my gaze as if he sensed me staring, and my heart fluttered. There wouldn’t be any other way to find out. I sat up and rubbed my hands against my pants, bracing myself for answers I wasn’t sure I was ready for.
“We should probably talk about it, Talon.”
He raised his brows in question, and I cleared my throat.
“About how you know more about me than I do.”
Talon’s chest rose as he took a deep breath and strolled over to the pallet of blankets. “Something wicked has festered in this realm long before your father died. He tried to get ahead of it, but…” His knee brushed mine as he laid down, propping himself up on his elbow. “You should know that this entire realm—who you are—your father wanted to keep you from all of it. Made me swear, should anything happen to him, that I’d continue to do just that.” Talon’s lip pulled into a frown. “I checked on you and Deirdre as often as I could, but when the trials began, my visits became less and less frequent.”
“Seeing you in that forest was the last thing I expected. It’d been years since I’d seen you, yet there you were: a lamb amongst wolves. And there was nothing I could do about it.” His lips pressed into a hard line, and his brows furrowed, as if recalling the memory was physically painful for him. “You don’t know how badly I wanted to let you go. But I couldn’t. Not with the other guards present. Had I known your mother was sick, Elowyn… If I could’ve done something sooner.” He shook his head. “I hated myself for it. I needed you to hate me for it, too. So, I pushed you. Tried not to get attached, but it was impossible. The way you pushed back. Your strength. Your fire. You were my speck of light in complete darkness. My firefly.” The air in the room grew thick with each confession that left his lips, and my chest felt heavy. “I couldn’t let anything happen to you—not because of the promise I made to your father—because I was selfish. Because I wanted—needed—more time with you. But by the time King Harkin figured it out, your fate was sealed. As was mine for protecting you. So, when I learned he’d gone back on his word, there was no logic—only pure rage—as I fought to get to you.”
There’d always been something so familiar about Talon. Maybe that ancient voice inside me knew just how intrinsically woven together our lives were. It would explain why, despite my initial contempt, I’d always felt safe with him. Even when I believed he wanted me dead. Talon had always been my protector. My guard. He had kept to the shadows and risked his life to do whatever was necessary to keep me safe. His loyalty may have been to my father, but he would lay down his life for me. I couldn’t believe I’d think he’d ever lie to me, especially when he’d never given me any reason not to trust him. He’d been nothing but supportive. Encouraging.
I didn’t need to hear anymore.
My lips crashed onto his, and I pulled him to me—needing to eliminate all the distance that remained. Magic danced on my tongue, igniting every nerve. Every bone. Filling me—completing me. A part of me felt undeserving of his devotion after everything I’d put him through, but all I wanted—needed—was to show him how much it meant to me.
Talon rose to his knees, pressing his body into mine as he laid me on the pallet of blankets, his rough hands in my hair.
“I’m so sorry, firefly.” His voice was barely a whisper, breaking our kiss as his lips found my neck, licking and sucking above my collarbone. “Please forgive?—”
