“You’re not—?”
“Just practicing. Was it okay?”
“Yeah, no, yes. Good.” I try not to sound like I just forgot my own name. “That was…super.”
For a moment there, it felt so real. Not just because I’ve been head over heels for her for ages. But it felt like she meant some of that, a bit of the heat beneath the flowery words. As if she could actually return the depth of my feelings, the love I have for her.
Because I do love her.
And it’s a love I fear I’ll never find again.
This time we’ve had at the cottage has been perfect, all of us together. Since Mikael told me he wants to stay, warmth has cocooned my heart. I want the world for the kids, but is it so bad that I’m not ready for any of them to leave me just yet, either?
Is it so terrible that I wish I could have this forever? For real?
No one I dated before ever felt like a partner the way she does. Someone who sees me, understands my desire to keep the kids, fills needs I didn’t even know I had.
Is it awful and selfish of me to want this brilliant, funny, warm, and generous princess to choose me…to stay with me?
Of course it is.I shake my head to clear the folly. Her place is bigger than a life with me. She belongs where she can share those gifts with all the Hinterlands, Point and Wilder Fae alike. But in this moment, I just want her to stay.
A couple of kids come to swoon over Val’s acting debut.Acting.
It drags me from the deep tendrils of my daydream and up into the harsh, cold reality.
Katja flutters past me with a smirk and a whisper, “You’re doomed.”
In my pocket, Hugo snorts.
Enough of that. I clap my hands. “Right. Then Queen Taynia and Beron will be in love, and we’ll roll with whatever happens through the ending scene. The potions will wear off by morning, but hopefully by then, the queen will remember what love feels like, and maybe crack the ice around her heart. Now, let’s take it from the top.”
My impending doom will have to wait.
Chapter 29
Talvie
The cottage is quiet when I return, the warmth a welcome contrast to the chill clinging to my cloak. A soft fire crackles in the hearth, and Lark looks up from the worn armchair with a crooked smile.
“You survived another shift.” His voice wraps around me like a blanket as he rises to greet me.
“Barely.” I hang up my cloak with a dramatic sigh. “I may have slightly mixed up an order of plum cordial and pickled eel. Again.”
His laugh—sharp and golden—echoes through the room. “Please tell me someone actually drank it this time.”
“Oh, they drank it. Daria nearly banished me to dish duty forever.”
His arms open even as he tosses his head back on a laugh. I’m helpless against the allure of one of his hugs, sinking into the embrace while his fading chuckles rumble against my cheek.
“You’re a menace.”
“I’m a mess,” I correct.
“Nope, an adorable menace, that’s you.” Muscles shift under his tunic, and I look up into eyes glowing with a fondness that always steals the breath from my lungs. “You know, I think you do it on purpose just so you can entertain me.”
“Of course. How else would I earn your sympathy?”
He tilts his head, still smiling. “You never need to earn anything from me. Though next time, make sure your mess includes something I can fix later. We still have seven mouths to feed.”
