She crosses her arms and raises a brow. “It’s Hameeria.”
An unhinged cackle shoots out of me, and I have to cover my mouth to avoid being caught. He got her name wrong. So very wrong. The two names aren’t even close.
After that, the mean girls disperse, and I have a feeling Hameeria has officially lost interest in my purple fire-fighting mate.
I sigh as I watch him and Akkal walk around the dance floor, looking for something… or someone. Likely me. I’m not sure why I continue to hide behind the big lady with the frizz. After a show like that, humiliating my top tormentor in public, I should be leaping into his arms and covering his face with kisses, shouldn’t I?
I don’t know.
Maybe I need something more. Just a little bit more to prove he’s really in this. That he trusts me.
I vow to go over to his house first thing in the morning to talk things out. I miss him, and being away from him and Akkal has been sheer torture.
As I’m stepping off the grass and onto the brick road, I feel a tap on my arm. I turn to find Akkal. He holds out his hand and bows. “May I dance with you?”
From a nearby bush, I hear someone whisper, “My lady.”
“My lady,” Akkal adds with an eager grin.
I cover my mouth with one hand, trying to cover the smile I know is forming. “Don’t you look dapper tonight.” I give him my hand and let him lead me in a dance, which isn’t so much a dance as it is us standing next to each other, holding hands, and shifting our bodies from side to side.
A throat clears from the bush. “Thank you for that compliment. You look more radiant than the sun.”
Akkal gives me a blank look as he stills. “Thank you for the sun. More radiest.”
I curtsey as a giggle rumbles through my chest as how he butchered that line.
I hear an “Ow!” from the bush that’s now shaking and a moment later, Zivren tumbles out, leaves and twigs finding themselves stuck in his clothes and hair. He tugs on the lapels of his matching black jacket, trying to straighten his attire. It’s no use. He’s rumpled and dirty and never looked hotter.
He bows before me. “May I have this dance, sweet June?”
I chew on the inside of my cheek as I mull it over. He broke my heart, thoroughly, and I was convinced irreparably, but seeing him deeply uncomfortable in a social setting, even if we’re on the street and mostly hidden from the crowd on the grass, satisfies me enough to put my hand in his.
When I feel his hands settle on my lower back, I melt into his touch. It’s so familiar, so warm, so safe. Like coming home.
“June,” he says. I notice the dark circles beneath his eyes, a stark contrast to the bright teal of his irises. Even those aren’t glowing like they usually do. He looks worn down, like he’s aged a decade in the short time we’ve been apart.
I’m not sure if I look the same on the outside, but boy do I feel it on the inside.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry for the things I said. All of them. I should’ve trusted you. Idotrust you.”
“You do?” I ask. “What changed?”
“Well, I spoke to the wives you cared for at the castle. Nacarya and Rivarry?”
“What?” I shriek. “How? How did you find them?”
“I didn’t. They found me. Well, us.”
He shares their entire conversation, how they’ve been tracking me, the credits they sent as a gift, and that they told him what really happened at the castle before we escaped.
“But that wasn’t what changed my mind. I knew I’d messed up before they called.” He grits his teeth, a muscle in his jaw ticking. “I knew as soon as I said…what I said. It was stupid, and I regretted it instantly. I’ve always trusted you, I…don’t know.”
I need him to articulate this for me. I need to know what just happened won’t happen during the next argument we have. “You don’t know?”
His shoulders slump. “I had everything I’d ever wanted, and in that moment, it felt as if you were slipping away. You were going to leave me.”
I run my fingers through his white curls, reveling in the way he leans into my touch, desperate for the contact that only I can provide. “Ziv, you have me. I’m not going anywhere.” I press a kiss to his chin. “Just be careful with me.”
