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Sweeter than any apple in his orchard back home.
Her grip tightened around his neck, and in response, he slid one hand up her back, digging his fingers through her hair. Warmth connected their every touch from their hands to their lips.
I love you. I love you so, so much.
She inhaled sharply and broke the kiss, staring up at him with wide eyes.
He grimaced, still breathless when he realized he’d spoken the words. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to say it out loud.” He caught onto her hand, terrified when she didn’t reply. “Nothing?”
Perhaps she didn’t feel anything that he did.
He didn’t want to know.
He had to know.
“Everything,” she whispered.
Another wave of overwhelming emotion caught in his throat, preventing him from replying to the one thing he’d wanted for years—for her to have a sliver of affection for him.
“Mama, look!” Maisy shouted. They jumped apart, only for his eyes to widen. Silver and white flowers dripped from the ceiling, vines climbing up the walls with beautiful white blooms. They shimmered beneath the light entering from the window like the surface of a lake sparkling in the moonlight.
Nyana’s magic had done this.
“Oh, dear.” Nyana covered her mouth with her hands, the tips of her ears turning a shade of dark red. “I am so embarrassed. I…umm…” She backed away, jumping when the table bumped into her back. “I will start making supper. My father and brother are coming over soon.” Despite her fluster, the corner of her mouth lifted as she pointed at him. “You will not step foot in this kitchen. Understood?”
“Loud and clear.” A grin spread across his face. Uncontained. Filled with more happiness than he’d felt in, well, ever.
He returned to the game with Maisy and Eva, the three-year-old proceeding to climb onto his lap, her head resting against his shoulder while she sucked her thumb.
“I wand a tiss, too.” Eva pointed to her forehead. Chuckling, he pressed a kiss to her forehead and squeezed her in a hug. He cast a glance toward Nyana, and as if feeling his gaze on her, she lifted her head and smiled shyly.
Everything, she’d said.
More than anything, he wanted to find out what that meant.
****
“I like what you’ve done to the place?” Bastien’s comment seemed more like a question as he surveyed his home with his hands on his hips. Nyana’s face burned with embarrassment while watching her brother take in the garlands of silver flowers and sparkling blooms stringing from wall to wall. “Not my choice of decor, but I’m glad to see your magic working for your benefit instead of suffocating inside you.”
She cleared her throat, looking anywhere but at Joel. Despite her efforts, she caught the half-grin on his lips. “It reacts to my emotions.” Her heart skipped as she recalled Joel’s soft kiss. The tender way he’d held her, like a delicate flower that might lose its petals in the faintest breeze. And the emotions… She’d never known someone could make her feel safe, loved, and cherished like he had in a matter of seconds.
Her father brushed a light dusting of snow off his fur coat before wheeling himself farther inside the abode. Instead of the dark shadows beneath his eyes when they’d reunited, vigor rested upon his brow.
“I am now incapable of magic,” her father said with a sad smile, “but I can teach you how to harness yours to a larger extent.”
After they sat at the table for supper, she asked, “What happened to yours?”
“The council stripped it away from him,” Bastien answered for him, a bitter note in his tone. “Maimed his legs. Stripped him of his magic. Banned him from the Glades.”
“Not now,” Father murmured, eyes downcast, followed by a tense silence filled only with the scraping of silverware against plates.
But Bastien continued nonetheless. “Someday, I will put them in their place.” His eyebrows furrowed as his silver eyes darkened with contempt. “I will create change here. The exclusivity and harsh punishments need to stop.”
“Bastien,” Father sighed. “You are half Forest Fae. What change do you expect to accomplish?”
Instead of reacting to the blow, Bastien stuffed half a roll into his mouth and spoke with his mouth full. “I’ll find a way. Just wait and see.”
Nyana tipped her head to the side as she studied her brother. Behind his jovial and carefree mask lay a man with nothing to lose and everything to gain. Passion simmered in his eyes. Although he didn’t possess magic, he was strong-willed and skilled with the bow from what she’d seen.
