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“Let them.” His breath is cool against my ear. His hair nearly black in the soft lantern light.
God, even with everyone watching . . . this feels so right. And yet, I’m pissed at myself for falling into his arms after months of his coldness. “Why have you been avoiding me?”
He pulls back so that I can see his face, limned in shadows. “After Yule, I thought about what you said. About what you needed to understand the depths of my feelings for you.”
Depths of feelings. That has promise.
“And?” I press. I don’t want to get my hopes up. Not after what Eclipsa said, but . . .
“And I realized I was asking you to give up everything, but not willing to do the same.”
I blink. Where is he going with this?
“The last few months, I’ve been visiting the Winter Court, dealing with some contractual issues.”
“Contractual?”
“Yes. There was a contract made between my father and Inara’s father guaranteeing our marriage. I found a way to sever it.”
Whoa, shit just got real real. I remember the Winter King’s toast.
“So your dad okayed that?”
“Okayed? I’m the heir to the throne. He can’t force me to marry her, only strongly advise me to. I agreed to it years ago because an alliance with her father was beneficial, if not necessary.”
“And now?”
“And now, it’s not. I paid recompense to Inara’s father using my mother’s jewels, ending Inara’s claim over me. The only person who can claim me now is you.”
Holy frick. My heart is thundering in my ears, making it hard to focus. Inara’s threats come to mind. “But won’t her family retaliate?”
I may not be a true Fae, but I know a woman scorned has nothing on a Fae female scorned, and Inara was already homicidal before he publicly shamed her.
He shrugs. “Her father will be angry over the slight. Some in the Winter Court will side with him and leave. But they can be won back eventually.” He must see the concern in my eyes because he takes my hand, squeezing it. “I refuse to be ruled by fear. I can deal with losing duplicitous courtiers, but I would never get over losing you.”
My mind is spinning, the stars above making lazy pirouettes across the night sky. We’ve given up any semblance of dancing, making our being together even more conspicuous.
My vision might be blurring, but around me, the hateful stares of the Evermore are perfectly clear, as are their silent accusations.
I stole Valerian from Inara. Me. A lowly, unimportant human. I’ve bewitched him with magic or my human wiles—whatever the heck those are.
“Doesn’t that look bad?” I press. “Choosing a mortal over a powerful Evermore?”
“I’m tired of caring about what the other courts think. In fact, I only care about what one person thinks, and she’s standing right in front of me.”
He brushes his lips over mine. A part of me wants to kiss him back in front of everyone. A giant eff you to Inara and the entire school. A part of me wants to finally, finally give in to what my body wants.
And yet . . .
I pull away.
“You still haven’t answered my question from months ago.” I place my hand on his chest, just over his heart. The coldness of his body seeps through his jacket into my palm. “Do you love me?”
His fingers stop caressing my back. “What?”
“It’s a simple question. Are you in love with me?”
He stares at me as a mixture of shock and confusion play over his features. “I just told you I gave up everything for you, and you want to argue about a word?”
