Page 14 of Queen of Shadows and Ruin

She nodded. “I guess I’m used to men thinking they know what’s best for me,” she said wryly. There wasn’t any bitterness in it, but he understood why she felt that way.

“And now what?” she asked. “You wanted to keep this a secret. How will he react if he finds out we were also married without him?”

Rabin gave her a rueful look. “Possibly the same.”

She shook her head. “So, I guess we should decide how we tell him because we can’t keep this a secret forever.”

“If we tell him.”

Zarya frowned. “You don’t want to?”

“Let’s just play it by ear, okay?”

She gave him a searching look. “This whole thing feels a little strange.”

He nodded. “I understand. It will take us all some time to adjust.”

“Does Ekaja know?”

He tipped his head. “She… suspects.”

“And she’ll keep it to herself?”

He nodded. “We’ve been friends for many years. She can be trusted.”

“Okay. So now what? I suppose I should return to my room for appearance’s sake.”

He captured her chin between his thumb and finger. “I’ll hate every moment you aren’t by my side.”

She gave him a tipped smile and then stretched up to kiss him. “Good thing we have our dreams. I love you.”

When she was gone, Rabin returned to the window, staring out before exhaling a long breath.

This is what he’d wanted. This is what he’d planned for months.

So why did everything he was doing suddenly feel wrong?

FOUR

After leaving Rabin’s room, Zarya crossed the hall to her own. It was similar to his, furnished with a large black bed and velvet upholstered chairs and divans, along with plush rugs made of colorful threads, woven with gold to cushion her feet.

She unlaced her boots and stretched her toes before warming her hands by the fire. Someone had turned down the bed and left a pile of clothing on the end. She found a warm pair of pajamas, socks, and a thick robe, all clearly designed for this climate.

After a hot shower, she changed and tucked herself under the covers, preparing to find Rabin in the mind plane. She was exhausted and still recovering from what she’d suffered at her sister’s hands, but she craved the reassurance of reaching him in her dreams, even if only for a moment.

Instead of their usual forest, she took a page from his book, imagining the same cold, snowy mountains where he’d summoned her weeks ago. She pictured the same fur rug and visualized them in heavy, warm clothing.

It didn’t take long to find herself standing under the sky, the wind tugging at her hair. Rabin already waited a few feet away, his head cocked, and his brow arched in that way that always made her a little weak in the knees.

“When you said you’d see me later, I was hoping it would be in an environment a little more conducive to being naked,” he said, and Zarya laughed.

She strode towards him before he folded her into his arms.

“I hope you don’t mind. I’m tired, and I just wanted one more goodnight kiss.”

He smirked. “Anything you need, Spitfire.”

He leaned down, pressing his lips to hers. Despite the cold and the icy breeze whipping at wayward strands of hair, his warmth filtered into her blood, heating her from the inside. His kiss was slow and soft but also deep, his tongue probing her mouth and their lips sliding together. It was the kiss she needed after all the uncertainty of the past week. It was a kiss that reminded her of what was solid and real—unshakeable and constant as the stars sparking against the velvet night.