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A cool gust of air whips through the forest, skating along the pool of water, causing my nipples to harden and strain against the lace of my bralette. I do my best not to comment as Riven’s gaze lingers on those twin peaks, nostrils flaring. The tiny muscles in his jaw work in tandem with my racing heart.

When his eyes snap up to mine, I expect to find repulsion there. But there’s only lust sizzling in those dark depths. They are two blue flames, wicked and full of heat, and I⁠—

A tinkle of laughter comes from somewhere behind me.

I spin in time to spot a lavender-haired female ruffle Achlys on top of his head and then dive back into the water.

The intrusion broke whatever spell had been cast between Riven and me, and the heat that once lit his gaze is replaced by his usual indifference.

We fall back into our familiar lull of silence.

Once my skin is thoroughly pruned, I swim toward the edge of the pool and climb out. The sun should start setting in the next few minutes, and it’ll be my first true sunset in the kingdom. I don’t want to miss it, so I grab a blanket from the single pack affixed to Cinder’s saddle and climb a well-worn dirt path toward the top of the cliff overlooking the glorious horizon.

I spread the blanket over the only patch of space unafflicted by the blight and sit. Riven lowers himself beside me, and as he stretches out his long legs, his thigh grazes mine. It’s the barest touch, yet he jerks away from me as if my skin has burned him. I bite my lip. It’s only fair he feels burned too.

I focus my attention on the horizon, letting the sun’s slow melt into shades of burnt orange, pale pink, and gold distract me.

A torch of glory for us to behold.

“Even with the blight tainting it, your kingdom is quite beautiful,” I admit, though I didn’t mean to say it aloud.

“Do you think you could come to love it here?” he asks, voice soft. I glance at him, unsettled by the weight of his gaze and the depth of his question. “More than your cottage?”

I look back at the horizon and smile, thinking of how much my magic has hummed and burned, happily flooding my veins since I’ve set foot into his kingdom.

“Yes,” I answer truthfully. “I think I could.”

Chapter 10

RIVEN

Swimming with Gwyn was a mistake.

Not because it will undoubtedly piss off the selkies, but because she entices me in ways I can’t afford to be enticed.

“We should portal back to the palace,” I say, tugging on my pants now that I’m thoroughly dry.

She brushes a wavy lock of hair behind her ear and frowns. “I thought we were camping.”

We were.

But that was before.

Before her pretty, rosy nipples caught my gaze, giving me an erection and setting the back of my neck ablaze.

“We only have one tent,” I say, as if that is explanation enough as to why I’m going to portal us back to the palace and then to the Viretree in the morning. Attempting to ride there on horseback was another mistake, one that set us back an entire day.

“Really? I thought Lettie packed one for me…” She trails off as if she realizes we are without her belongings since we only brought Cinder. “Dammit.” She casts a glance at the starry sky. “Well, that’s fine. I can sleep beneath the stars. You take the tent.”

I stare at her blankly. “What?”

“If we’re already so close to the Viretree, we might as well see this through.” Her eyes seem to track the constellations, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. “Besides your constellations are so different from those I stared at for years. I’d like to stay and study them.”

“You can’t just sleep outside on the ground like some common⁠—”

“I don’t mind,” she says sweetly, hands finding her hips as Achlys stretches at her feet. “Seriously. We’ll be fine.”

She’s too damned trusting.