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“Stay as long as you want,” I continued. “There are rooms ready for those of you who wish to spend the night here. And please feel free to join the festivities outside.”
To a chorus of goodbyes and congratulations—and some teasing heckles from Gillie—I took Ash’s hand and all but dragged him out of the room. As the doors closed behind us and we were left alone in the front hall, Ash slipped his arm around my waist from behind and kissed my neck.
“You know, your bedroom here is a lot closer than the cottage…”
I shivered with pleasure, but grabbed his arm and tugged him towards the front doors with a grin. “Yes, but I want my birthday presents, Oak King, and you said they’re waiting for me there.”
He laughed as I led him outside. “True. Cottage it is, then. The fire’s all ready to be lit, and I cleaned out the cauldron so we could make tea. There’s plenty of food.” He nudged me. “I know you’ll be hungry again later.”
I certainly planned on working up an appetite again, and I conveyed as much to Ash by letting my hand drift down his spine to give his ass a meaningful squeeze.
The pyre was a tower of fire below us, dancing Folk silhouetted against the flames. Shrieks of laughter and drunken singing drifted up to the palace, the scents of smoke and cooked meat and spiced wine tingling my nose.
Already, the breeze up here was beginning to turn icy, and Ash shivered as we started making our way down the steps. “You work fast. I forgot how quickly it got cold.”
“I’ll keep you warm.” I pulled him tighter against my side, tensing when some of the Folk noticed us descending from the palace and cheered, raising their cups.
Thankfully, they left us alone as we walked around the burning effigy and started heading away from the festivities. The light and music and voices began to fade until we were left in the quiet as we crossed empty fields, the frosty grass crunching under our boots.
“Have you had a good day?” Ash looked over at me with a hopeful smile, his cheeks already flushed from the chill.
“Yes.” I grinned and tipped my head back to inhale the cold air deeply, the scent of bonfire smoke still lingering. “But this is what I’ve been looking forward to.”
“Opening birthday presents?” he asked teasingly.
Laughing, I stopped and faced him, wrapping my arms around his waist. “Well of course, but also…” Leaning in to kiss him, I gave his ass a firm tap and murmured against his lips, “See if you can beat me back to the cottage, seelie.”
Before he could react, I stepped back and shifted into the wolf, then took off. His laughter followed me as I ran, steady on my three legs now, my jaw stretching into a sharp-toothed smile as the wind rippled over my fur.
By the time Ash reached the cottage, I was leaning casually against its front door with my ankles crossed.
“Perhaps you also need running lessons,” I said dryly as he came to a stop in front of me, panting lightly. “Warmed you up though, didn’t it?”
Laughing, he gave me a gentle shove as he crowded me against the door, reaching past my waist to fumble with the handle. “I can’t outrun a giant wolf.”
“Not even a three-legged one?”
He rolled his eyes, hastily pushing me back into the cottage once he’d gotten the door open. “You’re as fast as you’ve always been, and you know it.”
As he kicked the door shut behind us, I threaded my fingers through his hair and pulled him into a deep kiss. Ash’s breath caught in his throat, his cold fingers creeping under my shirt to trail up my sides as his tongue brushed against mine.
We hadn’t even made it into the living room before he was hurriedly unbuttoning my shirt, breathing faster against my mouth. I tugged up his tunic to fumble with the lacing on his trousers, my heel catching on the edge of the rug and almost making me stumble.
By the time we made it onto the bed, fingers tugging at clothes and hands roaming over bared skin and lips still crushed together in a desperate kiss, everything else had been forgotten. The coronation, the dinner, the birthday presents, even lighting the fire so we could stay warm as snow began to fall outside.
I forgot about everything but him.
Chapter Fifty
Seven years later
Ash
The vast Woods of Orna looked so small from here.
I stood on the glittering beach for a long time, staring at it just in case I never got to see it again.
I’d thought, after all this time, that I’d be calm and ready to accept my fate when this moment finally came. I’d thought I would be at peace with it.
