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“I sent one of the boys to your place to have you come to dinner, but they said you weren’t home.” Aunty Clara’s day-blood shard glimmered as it swirled into itself.
“Sparrow and I are spending some time in Necromia.” Faye lied.
The old woman’s eyes lit as she smiled. “You finally find a boy to settle down with?”
Faye looked down at her tea. “Not yet.”
“You’re so hardheaded.”
Faye heard Rune chuckle and found him standing in the doorway. She tucked her hair behind her ear, casting him a discrete rude gesture.
Aunty Clara stood up to peer out the kitchen window. “You should go before it gets dark. It’s no good to walk in the dark.”
Faye stood up and hugged the old woman goodbye. When she turned, the doorway was empty. Faye stepped outside and caught sight of Rune’s long white-blonde hair. He stood on the other side of the gate, waiting for her.
Faye hugged the children on her way out. As she crossed the gate, Rune held his hand out to her. “Shall we?”
“They can’t see me disappear.” Faye motioned for him to follow her as she headed up the road.
Faye cut across a field to the road that would lead back to her home instead of walking through the village again. She glanced at Rune. The setting sun cast hues of red and orange over him, lighting the edge of his hair.
Handsome wasn’t a fitting enough description for him. This man was otherworldly. They couldn’t be more different. He seemingly didn’t comprehend why his repairs would surprise her. And he did this in four other villages. He had to be obscenely rich to afford and maintain all of this.
Rune’s voice drew her from her thoughts. “I would like you to accompany me to the Artithian princess’s wedding.”
Faye’s mind blanked, and she blinked at him. “You want to bring me? In front of all the realms.”
He smiled, arching a brow at her as they walked. “That is the intent.”
“Take someone else,” Faye muttered, glancing down at her bare index finger. Being surrounded by dark-bloods was uncomfortable enough, being surrounded by royal dark-bloods sounded like a nightmare.
“I am pursuing you. There is no one else.” Faye gave him a sidelong glance. Longing filled his gaze. “How can I prove my intentions to you?”
By choosing me and not trying to discard the parts you don’t like.“When is it?”
“A month’s time.”
Faye stopped on the road. They were far enough from the village now. “Then you have a month to win my affection. Shall we?” She held her hand out to him.
Chapter fifty-six
AweekpassedsinceFaye’s visit to Anaria. Rune routinely sought her out during the day. Asking her to share a meal, where he drank blood while she ate or he simply remained in her company as he read documents.
When Rune was away from her, he scoured documents looking for leads that would shed light on what she was or her altar.
Today Rune read brittle, yellowed pages as she arranged her herbs on drying racks.
“How do you…” Faye bit the inside of her lip when Rune glanced up from his research. Under his gaze her nerve quickly left her. She focused on the leaves on her drying rack, and said in a rush, “How are you so sure I’m your queen?”
“You consume my every thought. I long to be near you.” He spoke with such calm conviction, guilt nipped at her for questioning him. Faye tentatively glanced up and the corner of his mouth lifted. “I have tried to stay away. I managed five miserable days. My blood sings for you.”
A romantic notion because she was young. “It’ll stop singing as I age,” Faye said flatly. He would remain the same as she withered with time. He would leave.
Rune pushed his chair away from the table and extended his hand. “Come here.”
Faye came to stand between his knees. She placed her hand in his, not meeting his gaze.
His lips brushed the back of her hand and he glanced up at her from beneath his thick dark lashes. “Sit with me.”
