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“What a romantic!” I say, fanning myself with one hand.
His lips curl into an almost-smile, and then it fades away as hands grab at him.
“Prince Sulien!” Someone in a high-pitched voice calls.
“My mate!” Calls another.
Women separate us, pushing me away from him, and I’m suddenly lost in the crowd. No less than twenty women have come up to him and touched his hand, his broad shoulders, his arms, and other parts of his anatomy in as many minutes. He scowls through it all, almost pushing to reach me once more. Then I’m back in his arms.
“Did you feel the tingle of magic with any of the blushing brides?” I ask, trying to lighten the mood and ignore the brick in my stomach.
He doesn’t laugh. I wonder if he ever laughs, and if he does, what it sounds like. He clenches me harder and takes a shaky breath. His auburn-eyes meet mine, holding my gaze intently, and my heart skips a beat. He seems to be trying to silently communicate with me, and I hear the message loud and clear.
It’s happening. We’re about to play this dangerous game, I know it.
“Are you ready?” His left hand slides into his pocket, where I assume the potion for the spell is.
Before I can answer, the air crackles, and Sulien’s dark hair starts floating upward. All around the ballroom, everyone’s hair is standing on end. I guffaw. These high fae are at their finest: ballgowns, tailored suits, jewels galore, and all of their hair reaches for the sky.How many women sat for hours getting their hair done?The moon just ruined it all.
The moon. And the magic. That can only touch the fae. The magic that is different from anything I’ve felt in my life.I think this is the closest I’ll ever be to feeling like a fae.
“Does this happen every time?” I ask as the lights flicker.
A hush falls over the room, and Prince Sulien grips me harder. I assume this is a new development, but I can’t begin to guess what it is. The magic has been here since the moon reached its peak, that’s when the women started groping the princes, but something more is happening now.Does it grow stronger with time?
Alarm flashes on Sulien’s face for the briefest moment before light blinds me as sparks come shooting out from where our hands touch. I try to jerk my hand away, but Sulien holds on tight. I stare down at our joined hands, and force myself to keep breathing. As I watch, the sparks continue to spread until they’re shooting out of our very skin, and the whole room brightens from the light we’re emitting.
Oh, shit.This is… not what I expected, but this must be what it looks like when a fae finds their mate.
He did it! The spell worked!I only wish I’d asked him more about it, because I had no idea that it’d have such an obvious effect.
I look at him, my gut turning. His eyes are wide, and I remember that we’re playing a part here. I mimic him, doing my best to let shock and wonder play across my face. We’re just two fae here at the Summer Solstice, finding our mate, and it’s all so magical and perfect.
Not at all terrifying.
The crowdoohs,andahhsas the sparks continue to fly. Chatter builds up as they realize what’s happening. I feel the eyes of hundreds of fae as they focus on us, on me, the new bride-to-be of the Summer Prince.
“Prince Sulien has found his mate!” A man calls out in the crowd, saying what everyone is thinking.
Cheers sound from all over the room, but our moment only lasts a minute. There are more sparks in various areas of the room. They’re all smaller, though. The colors range, some blue, some green, and some red. Only ours is a bright gold, overtaking this part of the room so that the other lights almost look comically dull in comparison.
This must be what it’s supposed to look like when a royal finds his match. I guess the royals do everything bigger and brighter than the rest of the fae.
“To the future King and Queen of the Summer Court!” Someone calls out, holding up a glass in a toast.
Glasses clink all around the room, and cheers rise up.
I tear my gaze away from all the lights and sounds of the room and focus back on Prince Sulien. He’s staring at me intently, and my heart flips. It’s strange how he does that. Makes me feel like I’m the only woman in the world. It’s like the quiet man knows how to seduce a woman without a single word.
“Cassia,” he whispers.
The flipping feeling in my chest grows, even while I remind myself this is all for show. He pulls me against him, his body hard and warm against mine. His gaze slides to my lips, and I lick them thoughtlessly, nervously.This is all a show. This is all a show.
When he leans down and captures my lips with his own, every thought fades from my mind. Even as the gold light shooting off of us fades away. There’s only him and me. His hard lips on mine, and I realize I’ve dreamed of this moment a thousand times before.
And it’s better than anything I imagined.
His lips are hungry. Desperate. Slanting over my mouth, branding me with his touch. His hands slip up and down my body as if he wants to touch all of me, but doesn’t know where to start. It’s incredible. The kind of kiss that makes a woman’s legs weak and sends all logic flying out the window.
