“Having fun?” Thiago teases, kissing my hair.
“How did you manage it so swiftly?” There must be thousands of masks on fae faces, and the wine barrels and fireworks….
Thiago slips behind me, his arms locked loosely around my waist. “I’ve been planning it for weeks,” he whispers in my ear. “Or more importantly, Thalia planned it. I was just waiting for you to be ready to bind yourself to the lands.”
A lump in my throat threatens to choke me.
“Evernight has been too long without a queen, my love.” He looks serious. “This is something I’ve never been able to give my kingdom or its people. When your mother sneers at Kyrian and me, there’s a little bit of truth to her words. I am not a female descendant of Maia. But you are. Her blood runs through your veins, her power calls to the land beneath it—through you. You are the land’s link to the people.” He captures my face in his hands, thumbs stroking my lips. “You ask me why I love you, and while I have a thousand reasons, what you’re really questioning is your worth. I know it troubles you to think of everything it has cost me to love you, but have you ever thought of what you’ve given me in return? What you can give my people? Hope, Vi. With you at my side, we can make this kingdom blossom to the type of power and might it hasn’t known since my mother was bound to the land.”
I curl my fingers around his wrists and close my eyes. He’s everything I’ve ever wanted, and he speaks of a world I’ve never been able to imagine. A world where we will rule side by side.
It’s more than I have ever hoped for.
“I love you.” The roughened words trip over my tongue as I kiss his thumbs and slowly open my eyes.
A set of night-blooming flowers blossoms in the sky behind him, and in that moment, the shock of hope and joy on his face overwhelm me.
“You rarely say it,” he whispers, leaning down with a smile. “But I cherish each and every time you do.”
And then his mouth brushes against mine, his lips stirring heat through my veins. He kisses as if he wants to consume me, as if he wants to drown in every breath I make.
Gentle fingers stroke down my right breast, tracing eloquent circles around my nipple.
“Home,” I whisper, taking him by the fingers and leading him back into the crowded square.
“Not yet. Tonight is a night to celebrate.” His voice dips to a growl. “And as much as I want to take you up on your offer, I haven’t danced with you yet.”
“My poor wretched feet.”
“I’ll kiss them better later.” There’s hunger in his eyes and ruin in his smile. “I like the dress, even if Thalia doesn’t approve.”
“I’m sure you’d prefer me without it.”
“Mmmm.” His gaze grows hot. “You’re not going to tempt me. Not yet, Vi. I want you desperate before I take you home.”
I slide my hand down his side. “I bet I could make you break your promise.”
He captures my hand and kisses the slope of my shoulder. “But my willpower is stronger than yours.”
“Do you want to test that theory?”
He laughs. “First one to break.”
I feel breathless as I undulate against him, our gazes lost in each other. I’ve never felt so alive, so in tune with another person. And then there’s a fiddle cutting through the night, as if someone’s noticed that his dancers are flagging.
I know this song.
“Lord of Summer.”
It’s played in Asturia on May Day.
Bang. Bang. Drums kick in to accompany the fiddle. And then the sound of it soars through the air, stirring my blood in my veins, a flute trilling high in accompaniment. Despite my sore feet and tight calves, I feel my toes tapping.
“I hope you’re saving your energy,” he whispers as he swings me in his arms. “Because you’re getting no sleep. I’m going to make you scream until dawn.”
“That’s a little cruel.”
“Trust me, you’ll love every minute of it.”
And then we’re dancing, one of his arms flung around my waist as he swings me in circles. Our gazes meet, and we share a secret smile as Thiago’s fingers tighten against me. Later, his eyes say.
Nobody knows us here.
We splash through fountains until my dress is soaked and slick against my body. I can tell from the look in his eyes how much he appreciates this fact, and he captures me at odd corners, stealing hot, breathless kisses that threaten to turn into more, before he always breaks away.
“Are you trying to drive me to the edge of frustration?” I growl, capturing a fistful of his shirt. “Kiss me.”
He does, shoving me against the bricks of a house and stealing the very breath from my lungs. And then once again he’s gone, vanishing through the crowd with a lingering glance over his shoulder as if to say, “Come and get me.”
Fine.
I’ll play his game.
I push after him, shoving my way through laughing fae. Another explosion of fireworks echoes above us, and I glance up, an oily sensation slithering down my throat.
A hand captures mine, and I’m just about to push away when another cascade of white flowers light the sky. There’s a hooded figure in front of me, and the fireworks highlight a pale, eyeless face that steals my happiness in an instant.
The fetch.
It’s not supposed to be here.
I was supposed to be safe in my city, with the power of the lands throbbing through me.
It wasn’t supposed to be able to find me, with the bracelet on.
But the icy burn of the fetch’s touch is a shock.
I scream, but another hand locks around my other wrist and then shadows overwhelm us. The world starts to fade until all I see is Thiago, shoving toward me.
“Vi!” he yells, just
