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“Then I won’t have to kill someone.”
“Not unless you wish to.”
I snorted. “Never willingly.”
“Glad to hear it.”
Rue’s head sagged slowly forward. This time Lady Lyra noted it and glanced over at us before touching Rue’s arm. “Rue, darling, perhaps you should retire to bed. Kent appears weary as well, and both of you have a trying day ahead tomorrow.”
Thankfully, Rue agreed without protest and let me lead her deeper into the family wing of the mansion where her chamber lay.
She leaned heavily on my arm as we approached her door.
“Sleep well,” I admonished before stooping to brush a kiss to her furrowed brow. Her dark curls had escaped the confines of her hairnet and pins to riot about her temples and fall across her forehead in wild frizzy puffs. I liked the chaos far more than the elaborate, sleek confections her hairdresser kept creating.
“Do you have to go through with it?” She lifted her chin and studied my features with a concerned tilt to her mouth. Her green eyes had turned luminous in the soft glow of the magical lanterns lining the passage. “We could just leave. Take Mela, saddle a horse, and bolt for the border. With the land magic on our side, we could make it and no one could stop us.”
Dropping my arm, I pulled off my gloves and tucked them into my belt. Then I cupped her cheek, caressing the delicate softness with my calloused thumb. “Do you hate it here that much?”
She shook her head ever so slightly. “It isn’t that terrible. Lady Lyra, Lord Greyson, and the children have been more than kind to Mela and me. And I feel safe most of the time. I—”
Rue hesitated and bit her lip, making my thoughts derail onto a far different topic. The thought of kissing those lips, driving all worry from her mind with my hands in her hair as I—
Now was not the time. I forced my thoughts back to what she was saying.
“We could find a place to live far from the Wild Wood and—”
“And spend the rest of our days on the run? You and I both know Stanton would not leave us in peace.”
She deflated. “Stanton intends to kill you and the king. I am certain of it. Wouldn’t a life on the run be better than you dying?”
“I can’t speak for the king, but I have no intention of letting Stanton kill me.”
“Still, we don’t have to stay. We can run.”
“You are assuming that the realm would let me leave.” Even as she spoke, the realm’s magic within me stirred in discontent. I suspected it would never willingly release me from our connection. “And what of the Unseelie? When the land tries to tear itself asunder rejecting the new king and uprooting the magic of the entire realm, both the Unseelie and the Seelie will feel the effects. The kingdoms’ land magics are bound much like the land and the ruler. If one thrives, the other will thrive. If one uproots itself, the other will follow. What then? I doubt either of us could live with the consequences of that.”
Rue shook her head, fear darkening her eyes even more. “I don’t want to lose you.”
Caressing the corner of her mouth with my thumb, I smiled bitterly. “Neither do I wish to lose you, or Mela, or my mother—whom we would definitely need to leave behind if we followed your scheme.”
She swallowed hard. “I wouldn’t wish that for you or her.”
“Too many reasons to stay.”
Rue reluctantly agreed. “We have to stay.”
I pressed my lips to her forehead, savoring the heat of connection between us and the delighted thrill of land and mate bonding magic winding through me. “Come, you need sleep. Tomorrow, I will face Stanton and let the land’s magic choose. Once the matter is decided, we will begin building our future together with the Unseelie.”
Rue bent her head, resting the top of it in the hollow of my shoulder. “My mind keeps retracing my paths to this moment and wondering at the impossibility of me standing here in your arms. The insane urge to laugh at it all presses in on me. To think I, a humble half-blood foundling barely worthy of scrubbing tables in a backwoods tavern, stands in the arms of the future king of the Unseelie.” She lifted her head and laughed. “Misha would die of envy.”
“Well, she can’t have me. I am yours, Rue. You alone hold my heart.”
Heat flushed her cheeks, but she held my gaze as she enclosed my hand in hers and lifted it to kiss my fingertips. “And you have mine.”
Reclaiming my hand, I pressed a parting kiss to her forehead. “Sleep, love.” Then, opening her bedchamber door, I nudged the spells guarding it aside and guided her through. “Until tomorrow, remember that I love you.”
She nodded, and I reluctantly closed the door behind her, pulling the spells back into place.
