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It’sthebestfewhours of my life and the most terrifying—at first, anyway.
Soaring through the skies with him, the wind in my face, pulse pounding in my throat, breaks the bonds of fear and worry binding me up so tightly. High above the land, there’s no room for racing thoughts. Every single bit of my focus is glued to the moment, to wonders unfolding around me and the man carrying me through the clouds like a superhero.
I see more in the fading light of afternoon than during years back home. Waterfalls sparkling in a rainbow of colors from the setting sun. Mountains wreathed in puffy clouds. A herd of wild horses racing below us over the plains. Fae towns twinkle in the distance.
But the most wonderous sight of all might be Sigurd’s face as he points out each one to me. His carefree smile, the twinkle in his eyes, and the laughter that rumbles in his chest and stirs up that warm feeling deep in my core. Gliding through the air with him, I can forget everything. All the tension in my body flees. My smiles aren’t forced, nor are my laughs, and the competition is a world away.
Sigurd never lets me fall, and even if I did, I know with a certainty he would catch me.
Sweat slides down his skin and dampens my arms where they wind around his neck, though the fallen night hides it from view. I yearn to beg for more, but his chest already rises and falls with heavy breaths. Even a fae king of the air can only fly for so long.
Adrenaline still zips through my veins as we land back at his home. I bounce on my toes and roll my shoulders as if I have my own wings that I can use to soar back into the sky. It doesn’t matter that it’s night and a smattering of clouds obscures much of the weird bluish moonlight cloaking the world in shadows.
“That was so…so beautiful,” I say.
“I agree.” Sigurd leans against the railing of the porch where he landed, but his back is toward the world, his intense gaze glued to me. “The view is quite lovely.”
Tingly warmth spreads through my chest and lower. I bite my bottom lip, trying to hide the sheepish smile working its way free. One comment shouldn’t affect me so, not after our bodies were pressed together for the entire flight, but that look alone stirs up all the feelings that the excitement of the flight drowned out.
I cross the short space to him. “Are we staying here tonight?”Just the two of us?
“Would you like to?”
“I should probably study.” I rub the back of my neck. Knowing these fae games, I’ll need every single fact I can manage to memorize. But more than that, if I stay, I don’t think I’ll have the resolve to hold back from him. If we take things further, how will I focus on the games, on leaving him?
He captures my hand in his, drawing me into the shelter of his wings as they wrap around me. “Save it for tomorrow.”
A cough somewhere behind me pops the bubble of tension between us.
Sigurd pulls me tight. His wings lock around me like a shield.
“Moria.” He lets out a sigh, and his wings vanish.
I twist around as she stalks from the shadows of the open door leading into the house.
“I do hate to invade the love nest so soon,” she says, “but urgent matters and all.”
I didn’t think I could blush any hotter, but the implications of her words set my skin alight.
“What’s happened?” Sigurd’s sharp tone cools my fire in an instant. A few splatters of mud mar Moria’s boots, but otherwise, she appears unharmed.
“The Court of the Forest has rejected your gifts.”
Oh no. My heart sinks.
“And they sent this as well.” She holds up a small silver object.
“A ring?”
Sigurd winces.
A tangle of doubt coils its way around my neck as Moria advances. The ring she holds would look just like an engagement ring if its solitary stone were a clear diamond instead of blue.
“It was a gift to the forest king’s consort,” Sigurd says, though for whose benefit I can’t say.
His words hit me like a blow to the chest. He doesn’t need to tell me he gave it to her. His unwillingness to quite look at me says that clear enough. Funny how he left out that little detail when he told me about what happened with the Court of the Forest before.
Sigurd gave her a ring. He’s given me…what? An unwanted bond that sticks me here far from home.
