Page 100 of A Crown of Hopes and Sorrows

And it was about to burn down my resolve. When Temi fell back some, I urged my horse alongside hers. “Temi.”

“Valerian.”

“I need to speak with Epiphany alone.”

She shifted towards me, the silver light around her glowing against her dark skin. “I can ask her.”

I swallowed down a sigh of frustration. “You didn’t ask me before you arranged for her to slip the guards to speak with me.”

“Yes, well…” She pinched her lips together. “I expected that conversation to go better. Perhaps I’m learning from my mistakes.”

The wind picked up, ruffling through Arion’s dark mane. “I need to talk to her.”

“Are you going to upset her again? We have more travel ahead of us, and there’s no cake to be had currently.”

I readjusted on my saddle. “What does cake have to do with anything?”

She snorted a laugh. “You have so much to learn.” She slid her long fingers down Arion’s enormous neck and then sat back up, her shoulders dropping. “I’ll ask her if she wants to speak with you”—she raised an eyebrow—“and if she does, I’ll make a way this evening. That’s the best I offer.”

“Thank you.”

She nodded and pulled away from me, and I returned to traveling in quiet, the guards occasionally frowning in my direction.

As night descended, and the moon that had lost a slice of its fullness stretched out over the sky, I stood in a clearing on the other side of the wood line, bare trees stretching out in silhouette against the stars.

I had waited for what felt like forever, crickets chirping as my breath misted out into the air. My heart sank. She wasn’t coming. Perhaps she’d moved on herself. Maybe this was as foolish as I thought it was.

A crackling of sticks caused me to lift my face, and then Epiphany stood there, her skin paled by the moonlight, her dark curls tangling in the wind. She crossed her arms, strands of hair striking across the soft curve of her cheek.

She was so beautiful it hurt.

“You wanted to speak with me?”

I took a step closer to her and longed to reach out for her hand, to feel the warmth of her against me. I kept my hands to myself. “Why are you avoiding me?”

She released a breath that clouded the air, her shoulders dropping. Her eyes misted. “Are you serious?”

“Yes.”

“You almost died.”

I chuckled. “I’m aware. It was unpleasant enough to make it memorable.”

She stared at me and then blinked fiercely, her dark lashes batting against her cheeks. “You almost died,” she said again, her voice breaking. “I… I held you in my arms and watched the blood pour out of you.” Her nose flared. “You should be gone right now because you came after me… because… because you’re willing to die for me, but”—she flung her hands out, her dress rippling with the motion—“but… we can’t be together… because of our circumstances… And… and I can’t…” Her words cut off with another sob.

I stepped in and drew her into my arms. “It’s all right now.”

She clenched her fingers into my shoulders, her body shaking. “It terrified me, Val. I thought… I thought I would lose you forever.”

“I know.” I brushed my hand over her curls.

She breathed against me for a moment but then pulled back. “I just… I can’t keep doing this.” She paused, midnight-blue wrapping her up like a cloak. “You were right. We’ll harm each other.” Her voice dropped. “I’ll cause you hardship.”

I cupped my fingers against her cheek, the velvet texture of her skin gliding against my rough hands as I lifted her face. “I’ve changed my mind about what I said.”

She sucked in a breath. “What do you mean?”

“If you spoke with your father”—I shuddered as much at the idea of the king knowing about our relationship as from the cool evening air—“then I’m willing to do whatever I can to make this work between us. It’s worth the cost for me.”