Because he will eventually. I’ll choose the king, and Wilderwill leave. It’s what I want. So why does that realization carve out an empty pit in my stomach?
I shake that thought.
“What’s your favorite place in Vaelier?”I ask, glancing over my shoulder, bringing us face-to-face. His mouth hovers too close to mine. I can’t breathe as his gaze falls to my glowing freckles.
“After the prison? Anywhere I can see the stars.”
Chapter 38
Elorie
The insidesof my legs ache when I finally climb off the horse. I avoid looking Wilder in the eyes, confident my cheeks are burning bright from being in his arms for so long. I quickly turn away from him, hurrying to where Greer and Callum are waiting for Cyan to open a Gateway.
“How was the ride?” Greer watches Wilder over my shoulder.
When I glance back, I find him staring into the desert. “Fine.”
It comes out steady, even as a bead of sweat drips down the back of my neck. The leathers that kept me warm in Tempest hug tighter under the heat of the Solace sun. It’s sweltering. What I wouldn’t give for one of the dresses the king parades me around in when I’m at the palace.
“What do you know about Lochlan?” I ask, turning to Greer and Callum.
Callum drags his hand through his dark hair as he glances down at Greer.
She frowns, turning to me. “I know to keep my distance.”
Looking out at the unforgiving desert, I wonder what mustrage in Lochlan’s heart that his magic would create such an empty, desolate place. Maybe I should have returned to the Ley Court with the king. But I meant what I said—I need to understand the realm I’m tasked with saving.
Cyan opens a Gateway, and the guards step through one by one. When my foot breaches the portal, the surge of being torn in two erases anything else from my mind.
I taste Solace as I pass through it. A metallic tang coats my tongue. The taste of fresh blood. At a distance, there’s a bird chirping. It quickly fades as I reach the other side.
The Gateway deposits us on a balcony, overlooking the city below. Lochlan’s manor is grander than the temples we just left behind, and the balcony alone is larger than my entire room at the palace.
Fae bustle about the city streets, and while I’d expect them to be miserable under the heat of the scalding sun, they seem perfectly content.
The doorways to the manor are draped in long, flowing curtains. They’re a variety of colors, blowing in the hot breeze as a male walks through them. His long white hair is tied off his face in front, knotting at the back of his head. While the rest hangs stick straight midway down his chest. He scans our gathering with his pale eyes—so light they’re almost as white as the ravagers I saw in Ruse Village. If it weren’t for the faint blue ring around the rims adding a hint of color, there would be no warmth to him at all.
The male smiles, revealing his sharp teeth. Most Fae keep their fangs retracted, but he doesn’t bother, and it’s strangely fitting to his demeanor. Especially since they match the dark runes that decorate his face. Two sharp lines run down from his hairline. They cut through his eyebrows and continue over his cheeks like dark fangs on his pale skin.
He pauses before the group, and hisoutfit blows like the curtains. It’s a simple sheet, wrapped around his waist and slung over one shoulder, revealing hard planes of muscle. He’s as gorgeous as his presence is unsettling.
“Been a while, Loch.” Wilder grins when the male’s gaze stops on him. Which must make this Lochlan Ravage, the Lord of Solace.
“So, it’s true then. King Riven managed to break free from an unbreakable cell.” He grins wider, and his pale eyes slide to me. “Thanks to you, I assume.”
My hands fumble behind my back, but I keep my shoulders squared and my chin high so he can’t sense my nerves. “Yes.”
Lochlan’s smile falters the slightest as his eyes dart between us. “The gods do enjoy their games, don’t they?”
“King Malachi sends his regards.” Cyan steps forward, ignoring Lochlan’s comment entirely. “He had business at the palace to attend to.”
“And yet, he still sent his chosen.” Lochlan walks toward me.
“I asked to come so I could see Solace.”
“Youaskedto come here… curious little human. Solace is far from Alyssium, Elorie. In many ways.” The fact that he knows my name is as unsettling as the way he circles me. “Island of ice. Destitute of humanity. I suppose if I were you, I’d be curious too.”
“Have you been to Alyssium?” My eyebrows pinch.
