He stumbles about when the first spark of electricity snaps across the bones of his wings. It flares like lightning, dancing across his back.
I hate hearing the agony in his voice, and I don’t know what to do. Have I made a mistake by using my stone to heal him? What have I done?
At his side, I wrack my brain on how to fix this, how to eliminate his pain, but I come up empty. None of this is normal.
He roars, his back arching, white sparks popping across his back.
“I’m sorry,” I murmur, placing my hands on him, but he pushes me away and I stumble.
Everything I try fails.
Ahren’s legs give out and he’s back on his knees, hands reaching up over his shoulders to try to reach his wings. I tell myself I tried to help him, but seeing him this way kills me.
“Ahren,” I call to him when he curls in on himself, trembling.
Inside, I’m bleeding with guilt, and again I step closer to do something… anything.
Something blue catches my attention at the base of a wing, and I squint to get a better look. In a flash, a sudden wave of violet, turquoise, and pearlescent white rush over the bony limbs.
That’s all it takes… a breath, a heartbeat, as a layer of membrane materializes before my eyes, knitting itself over his bones. The colors blend and swirl in playful waves as they weave the fabric of his wings.
My breath catches in my throat, and the sight of him completely healed fills me with a sense of serenity, satisfaction, and fulfillment. They still remain curled around him, like a thin layer of colored stretchy fabric, and I can’t stop staring at how spectacular they are.
“Oh. My. God! Ahren.” I crouch in front of him, nudging him in the shoulder. “Get up.”
He lifts his head to meet my gaze, his face pale, lips tight.
“Your wings,” I whisper. “They’re beautiful.”
He blinks with confusion, then twists his head around to take them in. There’s no response at first; he’s just silent, frozen in time like the shock of healing is too much for him to bear.
He stands up in all his glory, the colors on either side of him like stained glass. They’re captivating and brilliant, like the first blossoming buds in spring. They stretch out, spanning most of the balcony length.
His hand reaches out as a wing curls around to meet his touch. He swallows loudly, his mouth parted, and when he looks at me, his eyes glint with fresh tears. With the agony of seeing something I am sure he’d resigned himself to never experiencing ever again.
“How…” His shaky words trail off, and he grabs me by my arm and hugs me tightly. His heart beats ferociously in his chest, breaths racing, and tears prick in my eyes at his reaction. All I’ve ever wanted for him is to love himself despite what his asshole of a father did to him. This is the least I can give him.
I wrap my arms around his waist as warmth floods me at having him back. I don’t understand how I can be so attracted to three men at once, but I don’t care about that anymore. Right now it’s just us, isn’t it?
His grasp tightens, and my feet suddenly lift off the terrace. My heart thunders. I glance up at Ahren as he stares down at me, smiling like nothing in the world can touch him. The world falls away below us as his wings beat, air buffeting into us, hair fluttering around us, but I never break our stare.
“This is incredible,” I gasp.
“I don’t know how you managed it, but you’ve given me something I can never repay you for. You can’t even begin to understand what this means to me.” His voice cracks, and the sight of his joy loosens at the corners of my eyes.
“I want you to feel whole and not be reminded of what your asshole father did to you. There’s—”
He leans and steals my words with a searing kiss, so powerful, so possessive, that it leaves me trembling. This is the Ahren I’ve missed, the fae who captivated me. I reach up and cup his face, pushing myself closer, kissing him back, showing him how much he means to me.
My heart almost explodes from the sheer happiness of being in his arms. Our kiss is fire; this is how we should always be. His tongue swirls over my lips teasingly while my stomach flutters with exhilaration.
“I’ve wanted you from the first time you arrived at our court, which was a mistake on my part. You deserve everything and so much more.” A flare of uncertainty brushes over his face, and we’re floating back down to the balcony.
Unease rises through my stomach, and the truth pushes to the forefront of my mind.
He doesn’t intend to be with me, after all.
No, he wouldn’t do that. Because the way he just kissed me belongs to a fae who is desperately in love.
My feet softly land on the floor, first my toes, then my heels. Ahren doesn’t let me go and says, “I want your happiness.” He pauses, and my heart stops for a moment.
“And?” Tears already blur my eyes because my body knows what’s coming. I feel it twisting inside me, the agony squeezing, squeezing, squeezing until I can barely take a breath.
“I am to marry the princess of Ember Court in order to claim the throne of Shadow Court.”
The sucker punch comes fast and instant, and I can’t think at first. Tears fall; there’s no stopping them. This is why he’s been pushing me away, why he’s doing it again now.
I stumble backward from him, utterly broken. This can’t be right. It’s me he is supposed to be with… how dare he marry someone else!
“Guendolyn, please. I have no choice in this.” He reaches out for me, but I push his hand
