Page 62 of The Reaping Rose

Sympathy flares in his eyes, dragging me back to a different time. When I didn’t know Atlas, but he knew me. He was there in the dungeon. He knows what Malachi forced me to do. He kept an eye out for me when Wilder couldn’t; although at the time, I had no clue.

“I’ve been meaning to thank you.”

His brows furrow. “For what?”

“For being there for me in the Ley Court.” My gaze drifts to Wilder, who faces my direction, even as he has a conversation with Rior. “You were there for me when Malachi would bring me down to the dungeon. To those bodies…” I swallow hard. “You showed kindness when not many did. Thank you for looking out for me, even if it was only because Wilder asked you to.”

“Orders or not, it was for you, Elorie,” Atlas says. “You didn’t deserve that.”

I nod, swallowing thickly, while Atlas gazes off. When I glance over, I find him watching Greer.

“She’s been through a lot,” I say, not offering any details. “Don’t hurt her.”

Atlas smiles at me. “Wouldn’t dare.”

He offers a polite nod as he turns and walks in the opposite direction, back to Rior and Wilder. I stay put, absorbing the scene around me. It’s more relaxed than it was in the Ley Court. Fae come and go. Those who are here seem to be genuinely enjoying themselves instead of putting on a show. I take a sip of wine; its full flavor bursts on my tongue and soothes my chest. But when my gaze meets Wilder’s, there’s no denying how my heart races.

“Something on your mind, Starfire?” He smirks, hands tucked in his pockets.

“You.”

A simple truth that isn’t simple at all. His throat works at my confession, and his smile slips. Tension surges between us in the air and through the thread. His secrets cast doubt, but only one truth really matters, and it’s that he did it all for me. He’ll do anything for me.

Gods, I want to let him.

Let him love you.

Let yourself love him.

“Can we go now?”

“All you had to do was ask.” In a blink, he moves from across the room to in front of me, abandoning his conversation as aether wraps my waist. He presses a palm to the air, and the room around us fades until he’s pressing the door to our room open. It clicks shut behind us, and I’m done fighting.

Done denying.

“I need you” is all I have a chance to whisper before his hands thread in my hair, and his lips land on mine.

Chapter 21

Elorie

For months, I’ve been floating.

Unbound and lost.

Wilder’s kiss is a caress over any uncertainty. Grounding, while setting me free from all doubt.

“Wilder,” I moan as he kisses the line of my jaw, nipping his way down my throat.

My hands dig into his thick hair, while his arms fasten me against him. They band my waist as his magic hoists my hips, wrapping my legs around his as he presses my back to the stone wall.

His hips thrust between mine until he sets me back on my feet and starts working his way down.

“Gods, I missed you.” He plants a kiss on my rune mark, and my body ignites.

Slowly, he trails a path down my body until he’s kneeling before me, looking up. His fingers toy with the slit in my dress, grazing just beneath my backside as my hand threads through his hair.

“I missed you too,” I admit, emotion thick in my voice. “I’m sorry I’ve been distant. It wasn’t because I didn’t need this or didn’t need you. It’s just…”