“I will not join my father in the resistance. Not yet. I have something much more important to do first.”
“Like what?” My heart sped up. What was he saying? Was he hinting at something? Did it have to do with me? Was this the real reason he’d dumped Euralysia? Maybe this was finally the moment I’d been waiting for. Or dreading. I couldn’t decide which.
“I must find my sister first.”
His sister? Yes, of course. His sister. What was I, delusional? I tried to rearrange my thoughts. He didn’t even remember what had happened on Earth. In his mind, we were still close acquaintances and nothing else. It didn’t matter anyway. I still had a boyfriend back home. I’m sure I could make things work with Brent. Assuming I wanted to try. Thinking of choosing Brent over Kull made my heart turn to a lead weight in my chest. I did my best to push the heartache away and instead focused on what Kull was saying.
“Do you think your sister wants to come back?” I asked.
“I know Heidel. She wears many masks, but she cannot conceal the truth from me. She is loyal to her family. And to me. I will convince her to come back, even if I have to kill the entire goblin race to prove it.”
“Will you go alone?” Despite my attempt to rearrange my thought process, my heart only felt heavier. I didn’t want to let him go. He’d saved me from the Dreamthief. Surely he cared for me on some level, even if it was as a friend. But the truth was—I’d fallen in love with him.
My throat tightened. I didn’t want to hear his answer.
“Is something the matter?” he asked me.
“No.” I forced a smile. “I’m fine. Just very tired. You should probably prepare for the journey to find your sister.”
I turned away from him to face the window. The ash-scented air turned the sky a dull gray. I crossed my arms as a chill seeped in through the open window.
“Olive.” He spoke my name softly, though in his deep, commanding voice. Placing a finger under my chin, he turned my head toward his. His penetrating blue eyes stared straight through me. I couldn’t look away if I’d wanted to.
“You never told me the truth of what happened in Earth Kingdom.”
I swallowed. “I didn’t?” My voice came out as a breathless whisper.
“Whatever happened, it does not matter.”
“Why not?”
He took my hands in his and knelt beside me. “Because I am in love with you.”
I blinked. Did I hear him correctly?
“I have not been honest with you. I have admired you ever since you broke down that door. Since then, my feelings for you have grown. I admire the magic you wield. I am attracted to your sarcasm and your humor. You beauty is enchanting, even if you don’t see it. If you do not feel the same way, I understand. I realize you have attachments to someone else—someone far below my merit. Yet, if you choose him over me, I will understand, and I will not bother you any longer.”
“Someone below your merit, huh?”
“Far below, I believe, were my exact words.”
“And you feel that you’d make a better match for me?”
“I am certain of it.” He leaned so close I felt his breath on my cheeks. I quietly inhaled the heady scent of his skin and hair, which smelled of sandalwood and spruce. “I can prove it to you, if you ask nicely.”
I swallowed. I’d never felt so alive, so nervous, so invigorated. I stood on the edge of a cliff, ready to soar to a place so breathtaking I could only imagine it. All I had to do was say yes.
He leaned closer until his lips pressed to my ear. “Say yes, Olive. Please.”
A shiver ran through my body. The greatest of all Wult warriors, the mad brute who defied death, the hero of Faythander, knelt at my bedside and begged me to love him. I was dreaming. There was no other explanation.
I took his face in my hands. His stubble felt soft under my fingertips. I held his face inches from mine. “You’re asking nicely?” I whispered.
“I’m begging you.” His eyes were fierce and wild, lit with a deep forcefulness that drove me mad with desire. I leaned forward, just enough to let my chest press against his. I felt his warmth through the thin layer of gauze.
“Kull,” I breathed. “Yes. My answer is yes.”
His lips found mine. He kissed me softly at first, his lips caressing mine with slow, gentle movements. His hands moved to my hair, cupping the back of my head. Deepening the kiss, he made my lips open wider. The taste was intoxicating. I forgot to breathe. Liquid warmth ignited through my body.
The kiss in my apartment had been a tease compared to this. I would never be the same again.
When he pulled away, a wildfire lit his eyes. My chest rose and fell against his. I ran my finger along his jaw line. He grabbed my fingers and kissed them gently.
“Will you come with me on the quest to find my sister?” he asked quietly.
“Yes. Under one circumstance.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“No more dinosaurs.”
His smile caught me off guard. He leaned in and kissed my forehead. When he pulled away, a twinkle lit his eye. “But you must admit, my rescue was much more dramatic with Kitten.”
“Kitten? You gave it a name?”
He kissed me again, I think mostly to shut me up. It felt good to be alive. A gentle breeze blew through the open window. Birds chirped in the distance. The sunlight penetrated through the low-lying clouds and warmed my skin.
Kull had saved me. I hadn’t asked him to. He’d seemed so determined to marry the princess. Logically, I should’ve been dead right now. How was it that I’d miraculously survived?
Bill offered me an explanation. It’s called karma.
Don’t wait; get book 2: Spellweaver now!
Spellweaver
