Page 158 of Fate of the Sun King

What? You okay? he asks through our bond.

I nod and lean against him, tilting my face up for a kiss. He holds my chin between his thumb and finger and bends his head, touching his soft lips to mine.

Our kiss is slow and unhurried, tongues slicking together and soft moans rumbling in my throat. I forget the press of bodies around us as I melt into him, savoring the smell and taste of arctic wind, cold winter nights, and the sweetness of what it feels like to finally be where you belong.

I can’t believe I thought I understood what a kiss was before I met him. Everything that came before was a dusting of dandelion seeds versus being doused under a mountain of velvety rose petals.

We kiss a bit longer before we break apart. The lust in his eyes matches my own, and I wish we could lose ourselves in each other, but everything is moving and shifting, and our time is compressed into something hard and immovable. I want to know everything. About his days as a boy growing up in The Aurora—even the ugly parts with his father. I want to know about that tiny scar on his eyebrow and the one on the back of his hand. I want to know where his name came from. I’ve never even asked him what his tattoos mean. At least we had the night of my birthday, and I could have lain there forever under the stars, saying absolutely nothing, and been the happiest woman alive.

After he pulls away, the corner of his mouth crooks up into a smile before he touches his forehead to mine.

“Lor, I need you to know that no matter what happens in there, I’m with you. For now, and until the end. Through death if I have to.”

I nod my head. “I know.” My hands slip under his cloak, finding his waist, where I grip the armor he wears underneath. “I know. The same goes for me.”

“You are not dying today. If this all goes to shit, then you save yourself. Do you understand?”

I scoff at his words. “Absolutely not. Have you learned nothing about me at all?”

“I know you far too well, Lightning Bug, but you need to survive this. I’m sure you’re part of something bigger than any of us understand, and I need you to live. As long as I know you’re okay, I don’t care what happens to me.”

My hands twist in his cloak.

I left this scar in place because I wanted it to represent everything I’d do to protect the ones I love. That meant you too, Nadir. I will never leave you behind.

He stares into my eyes with that intensity that is so very him. It’s overwhelming to be the focus of it. To be the very object of his love and his longing and his desire. It makes me feel like the sun and the moon being circled by a galaxy of stars.

“Please, Lor. I can’t take you in there unless you promise me this.”

I raise an eyebrow. “What happened to being with me through to the end?”

He huffs out a breath.

Please.

I find myself nodding at the earnestness in his tone.

Fine.

But if he thinks I’d ever abandon him, he still doesn’t truly understand what he means to me. Once this is over, I’ll find a way to prove it.

Good girl.

He draws me close, kissing me again.

After we pull apart, I face our surroundings while he keeps an arm banded around my waist. I spy Mael, Etienne, and Tristan in the crowd, their hoods also up as they slowly weave through the masses.

Tristan and Mael are to get close to the king and assist with whatever distraction Gabriel has planned. He’d said he would need backup of the steel and brawn variety.

I wish we knew what we were waiting for, but Gabriel refused to disclose his secret, only saying that he promised it would have every eye in Aphelion pointed away from the throne room and squarely on Atlas.

Etienne’s job was to get the drugs to Willow that she used to tamper with the guards’ food. We still can’t risk that any of them will remain behind in the palace even when Gabriel reveals what’s up his sleeve.

After he blacked out at Erevan’s, it took several minutes to revive him, and he struggled to compose himself. He was too pale, and a sheen of sweat coated his skin. He kept wincing and clutching his stomach like he was on the verge of collapsing.

He’d told us to be near the gates when it all goes down, and he’d ensure someone is there to let me and Nadir in. He didn’t say who, and I got the sense he didn’t know yet either. None of this is instilling me with much confidence.

During that discussion, I also learned Erevan is Atlas’s cousin, which surprised me in more ways than one. To be openly rebelling against his flesh and blood is a dangerous game, and I’m shocked Atlas hasn’t tried harder to kill him. Perhaps the Sun King has some decency in him after all. Or maybe he’s just biding his time.