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It’s a really dark detail, but I’m surprised when she is the one to brighten the mood. “This is where we get to the pining, right?”
Thank the gods that my Summer Fae instincts finally kick in. “No, the pining started the first time I saw your ass bent over your bounty on the docks.”
She shuts up and pulls her knees to her chest.
Feeling smug, I continue. “You might have noticed that Akron, my employer, enchanted the documents to protect your name. I never knew what to call you. I tried to ask a year ago, but… it didn’t go well.”Understatement.
“My mom, Lucinda, compelled me to go to the Summer Court festival for the solstice. While I was there, I got a call that you would be coming. Only it wasn’t you, it was Frank.” I pause as all those emotions flood through me. “For months, there had been this… awareness inside of me that something was wrong. But I had nothing to go on, no address, name, or number. I was going insane. I went back to Akron, and he was with a Mer woman. She told me what had happened to you. I just… lost it. I came straight here even though they tried to kill me.”
My eyes brim with inexplicable tears, on the cusp of tumbling out, as I get to the next part. “I hate flying. I hate my animal. But it was the only way to get here, to find you. I was planning on rescuing you, but it turns out you were much better at doing that than me.” I laugh, my skin red-hot with emotion.
“Are you okay?” she asks. I can sense that she is unsure of whether she should touch me.
“Areyouokay? You must’ve lost over twenty pounds.”
She crosses her arms over her stomach as if trying to hide her smaller frame.
“Hey, don’t,” I say. “I’m sorry. I just want to make sure you’re okay. You are seriously the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” I can’t help taking her in my arms and pulling her close to my chest.
It’s such a protective thing for me to do. I want her to feel safe. “It’s okay, we’re together now. It’s going to be okay. We can get through this.”
She’s in so much pain, I can feel it as she slowly starts to shake in my arms. She’s so different from what I thought. Of course, she’s still powerful, but this vulnerability, the sweetness? This was something I could only dream of.
I can’t fix this, and I don’t want to give her any promises I can’t keep. That’s why, when I speak, I am absolutely sure of my words.
“Shh… I’m here. I will not leave.”
She doesn’t cry as she twists her hand in my sweater. She knows I cannot lie.
She looks up at me, and I can’t help myself. I brush my lips across hers and repeat my words. “I will not leave you, Elva.” This time, they are quieter but even more convicted.
The kiss was so quick, so normal that I want to do it again just to make sure I hadn’t imagined it. But the ball is in her court. She is the one who will have to instigate the next one.Ifthere is going to be a next one.
There’s a plum color to her black skin, and I can’t tell if it’s from embarrassment or desire.
“Tell me what you’re thinking,” I whisper.
She just stares at me. I hold my breath.
“Why do you hate your bird?” she asks.
Oh.Oh.
“You’re full of questions. Haven’t you been suffering for the last few months?” I test the waters to see how she’ll respond to my probing.
She bites her lip. “Yes. And now you are here, inexplicably. I don’t wish to talk about myself–I wish to know you.”
I blink. If this would… help her feel better, then I can keep talking. I don’t particularly like diving into my past, but I want to make her feel better. “Well, once upon a time, there was a man named Andrius…”
I tell her about my father, who I inherited the bird from.
Once again, I am laid bare before her. But this time, I am glad I still have my clothes on.
Chapter24
The Person I’ve Been Waiting For
ELVA
