My breath hitched as the stone hummed louder. Vibrations ebbed out from my center through my entire body. I tried to step away, to end the intense assault on my senses, but the wall met my back. Caged between it and Astaroth, he lowered his head as if to kiss me and laid his hand over mine.
The vibration struck one final time so intensely that my knees buckled, and my legs nearly gave out. A warmth like the summer sun blazed through me when he wrapped an arm around me to keep me from falling. The moment our chests touched, the air electrified and turned hazy. Infinity. That’s what I sawwhen I looked into his eyes. A forever of forevers with endless possibilities. Brilliant white stardust swirled to a tune guiding them. The melody grew louder. It pulsed in my ears as they shot toward an open meadow like a meteor of stars, showering the twinkling bits on the tree from the tapestry. Branches stretched and leaves curled up to catch every speck of dust.
Astaroth tore his gaze away and looked around. I wanted to turn his face back to mine and dive within their depths until I found that secret, peaceful scene again.
“Do you hear it?” he asked with astonishment, clutching me tighter.
His words broke the trance-like state. I focused on the muffled, broken tune. The same one I heard while soaring in his gaze. “Yeah. It sounds like my music box.”
He turned back to me, but the moment was gone—so was the tree—along with all the emotions that led us to this point. Now it felt awkward. I wriggled to get out of his hold. Astaroth set me down, his cheek rubbing mine as he straightened. When I stepped back, the music stopped.
“What just happened?”
A cocky smile tugged at his lips. “I believe the realm blessed our union.”
I clutched at the now-sleeping pendant, desperately wanting it to answer my question or refute his answer. “I need to think about all this.”
His smile turned into a thin line. The king I knew and expected had returned. “There is nothing to think about. It will happen.” It made my stomach sour when he stepped to the middle of the hall. “We should return. I need to meet with Mergle.”
“I finally get some alone time?”
Mirth oozed from him. “Fat chance.”
I rolled my eyes at his use of my phrase. He chuckled and exited the way we came in. His confident strides drew myattention, that warmth filling my belly. It’s only a lingering effect from the pendant, I told myself, not him or what he just declared.
I gave one last look at the goblin I found in the Goblin Circle. “Hey, you forgot to put that goblin’s name beneath him.”
Astaroth called over his shoulder, “He doesn’t have one.”
