My finger pressedto his lips.
“If I left it all behind…” The words trailed off almost as if they were never spoken.
The air grew thicker. My skin became hotter with his touch. I wanted his words. Wanted that truth, but I wouldn’t let him make that choice. He would be the king his people deserved.
“You will make a wonderful king,” I whispered the words I didn’t want to speak.
His dark curls tumbled in his face as he shook his head. “Sometimes I think about leaving…taking you far away from here.” His lips forcefully pressed into mine. “We could have the life we want without the crown. Without any of this.”
A pleading gaze. Hands that slid over my head. Our kiss ached with desperation.
His leather tunic laces caught on my fingertips.
The door creaked. I stumbled out of his grasp.
Fyn didn’t bother hiding the amusement in his eyes as he reaching for a crate. “You could have at least taken her somewhere more romantic.”
I straightened my dress, pressing the emerald fabric down.
Lioran fumbled with the laces on his tunic. “Do you mind, Fyn?”
“No, I don’t really…” He hoisted it off the shelf. “Lord Orion was looking for you. Good thing I found you first.”
“Go,” I said, nodding to him. “I’ll find you later.”
Lioran leaned in and kissed my forehead. My fingers gripped his as he stepped toward the door.
A slow smile spread across his face as he turned around to look back at me.
Desperation consumed me. His words left me aching.
The taste of his lips lingered on mine for a moment more.
I sank deep into the tub in my chambers. Rose petals bobbed at the surface. I traced each one.
If he meant what he said—if there was a way we could be free, I would gladly take it.
I held my breath and plunged under water.
We couldn’t rearrange fate’s design.
I twisted my drenched hair until the water dripped from it, trickling back into the tub. A woolen blanket hung off the edge of the tub. Its scratchy fabric shifted over me.
I watched the clouds drift from a haze of white to a perfectly painted sky as the bed cradled me.
Chirping crickets awoke me with their moonlight song. Their music startled me.
Lioran. I never went to find him.
Moonlight illuminated my reflection in my dressing mirror. I slipped into a robe of golden silk. As I tied it closed, my shoulders fell back—my chin lifted. I knew what I wanted. It had only ever been him.
As I closed my eyes, I felt him lingering nearby. His energy pulsed with mine. Like he was calling to me.
My feet carried me down the hall. Before I could even knock, the door opened. Lioran gripped my waist. He pulled me into his chambers.
“I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you,” he said.
Candlelight flickered from every shelf and window ledge. He kissed my neck. Heat simmered from deep within me.
