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All this time, I’d thought I’d come so far, left all that trauma behind. Boy, had I been wrong.
“Alina.” A deep, sexy rasp filtered through my senses, anchoring me to the present. I couldn’t ignore the call, no matter how desperate I was to remain in my own world. “Heat wave. You’re going to be the death of me,” the voice spat, and strong, masculine hands cupped my cheeks.
Electricity shot from my face down through my body. Then, an intense, icy pain pulsed in my neck. The frigidness blasted from below my jawline down to my collarbones. The pain changed into something pleasurable and intense, and when I opened my eyes, all I saw was him.
King Kieran.
Something like pink mist swirled in the blue of his eyes, and I noticed a mark on his neck that hadn’t been there before.
An odd white tattoo of half a sun with swirling rays of light and half a snowflake. The tattoo pulsed with a faint golden glow.
“Get your hands off her, coldy,” Maeve snarled, and it sounded like she drew her sword.
But I couldn’t take my eyes off him.
“You need to stay present,” he murmured, his full lips captivating.
A warm tingle swirled down my neck, similar to how Cara’s magic had felt when she’d glamoured my face. The sensation was comforting. The urge to lean forward and press my lips to his was damn near overpowering. If I was going to die, I’d at least like to know how he tasted. That wasn’t an unreasonable request … surely.
Maeve snarled, and then she had the blade of her sword pressed against his neck. Blue blood trickled from the edge of the blade, and a shady dark mist rose from it.
I turned to Maeve, ready to shove her away from him, when he dropped his hands.
He took a step back, the area around his eyes tightening as if he were in pain. The distance between us was mere feet, but it might as well have been worlds.
“There.” He dropped his hands to his sides. “I was only trying to help her.”
I hadn’t even noticed his intricate armor. Where mine was golden with leaves, his was dark, like shadows, with a sizable ice-blue snowflake on his chest made of crystals that flickered in the light.
“I’m not drafty.” Maeve lifted her chin. “She’s got enough challenges without you adding more.”
That was true. I didn’t have wings like the others, so I couldn’t fly through the obstacles. I wondered if they’d created this challenge just for me. I’d be the first and only fae to fall in the initial trial. I could hear the Winter fae now: Yeah, what a strong and worthy chosen one.
I waited for hysteria to close in again, but instead, my neck cooled, bringing a comforting chill that centered me.
King Kieran straightened, appearing every inch the royal he was. “This is the one pass I’ll grant you for speaking to me in such a manner because you’re worried about your ward. If I ever hear you say that to me again, there will be consequences.”
I realized he was referring to her calling him coldy. It must be a curse word here. Interesting.
He’d also called me her ward.
He thought of me as a child.
“Excuse you.” I shoved past Maeve and thrust my finger into his armor. The metal had no give under my fingertip, causing a slight ache, but I held my ground. “I’m not her ward. I’m twenty-three years old.”
The edges of his lips tipped upward. I never thought such a small movement could be that sexy, and for a moment, all rational thought vanished from my head.
“Years? Is that what humans call it?” He arched a brow, and his tone turned condescending. “Nonetheless, she is training you, so you’re her ward.”
Anger flooded through me. I’d show him ward, all right. It was a damn good thing his balls were covered, or he’d be in a whole world of hurt. I suspected that particular phrase fit no matter what realm we were in.
“Your Majesty.” Caden cleared his throat. “It’s time to announce you.”
My heart fell, and I couldn’t place why. I wasn’t sure if it was because he was heading into the arena or that I was next. I wanted the two of us to stay out here where it was safe and closed off from the bloodthirsty people.
“Of course.” King Kieran nodded, but his focus never strayed from me.
Maeve clasped my arm and pulled me aside so he could pass. I wanted to fight her, to throw myself into his arms. I’d felt an attraction to him from the start, but it had become so much more than that … ever since he’d touched me.
