I rest my head against his shoulder, breathing in his masculine scent of fresh soap, pine, and our sex. “Pretty much. But we ended up together in the end. That’s all I care about.”
“I want to hear everything,” he coos, while kissing the top of my brow. “Tell me how you first met your mother, how you found out who you were. I feel like I missed out on so much to make sense of it all.”
For the first time in too long, I feel calm. There's no secret to conceal, no worry about what tomorrow will bring, no one hating me. Well, not that I'm aware of.
So, I take a long breath and explain the events from recent days from Jasion kidnapping me, to visiting my mother, the ruby shards in my hand, and even to Ramond helping us.
His hold tenses, and I sense him stiffening at hearing me. I expect him to bombard me with questions, but he doesn’t. When I glance up at him, his expression is of someone distraught.
“You know the rest as you were there in the great hall yesterday,” I say, but he doesn’t meet my gaze. “Did I say something wrong?”
He still doesn’t speak, and the struggle on his face intensifies, slicing through me that something is seriously not right here.
“Talk to me,” I prod.
“You were in danger and hurt, and I did nothing,” he murmurs, almost as if he’s speaking to himself. His voice darkens.
The piercing ache in his voice rips me apart because the point of reflection is to understand and learn, then move on, right?
“Ahren.”
“No, I was meant to protect you. I did nothing to stop you from being hurt.” His jaw clenches, and he stiffens against me like he's shutting off.
Except we've come too far, overcome so much, to let this get in our way.
I turn to face him.
“I’m alright.” He takes my hands and kisses the palms of both. “But I should have been there for you.”
“You're here now. That's what matters. We both did what we thought was right at the time.” I kiss him, stealing the hurt from him, replacing it with my love.
He doesn’t break away, but when I break our kiss, he leans his head against my chest. I hold him like that for a long while. We all deal with pain in our own ways, and if he needs me to just hold him, then I’ll do that.
I lose track of how long we stay bound together, and when he finally comes up, he just cups my face and kisses me. Tenderly, filled with love and affection. This isn’t about lust or desire, but the true feelings he holds for me inside. That’s why he hurts.
“I know I can’t undo the past, but I will show you how much you mean to me every single day for the rest of our lives together.”
I laugh as happy tears prick my eyes and I hug him. “That means the world to me.”
Chapter 22
Guendolyn
Three Days Later
I stare into Luther's gaze as he stands next to me grinning madly, dressed impeccably in deep blue pants and a doublet jacket, with a gold coat that hangs from his broad shoulders like a cape. The color matches the gold buttons running down the front of his jacket, bringing out the color of his amber eyes. Each time I look at him, my knees wobble... but let’s be real here. All three princes have the same effect on me.
Deimos stands next to him who winks my way, rousing giddiness inside me, while on my other side is Ahren. Tall and proud, dressed similarly to his brothers except in a deep red and silvery suit.
His smile is spectacular, the corners of his eyes crinkling, his strong jawline drawing my attention. I am so in love with my princes that it still overwhelms me.
Ahren leans toward me and whispers in my ear, “I'm going to ravage you tonight.”
A shiver of delight zips down my spine and curls in the pit of my stomach, recalling out time in the garden hut, and arousing the beast that is my libido. She’s completely out of control around them.
So I lean in and repay the favor, whispering, “I'm not wearing any underwear today.”
The change in his expression is instant, lust gleaming in his eyes.
Normally I would laugh at him, but this may not be the most appropriate of places. I glance out to the thousands of fae spread throughout the Ash Court grounds, made up of both Seelie and Unseelie, here to celebrate our marriage and our acceptance of the throne. After this, a spectacular revelry is planned. Mother, who sits in the front row next to the princes' mother, arranged this for us.
Looking at the attendees, my stomach flip-flops with nerves. I don't think I will ever get used to this kind of attention.
The late afternoon sun is setting, coloring the sky in an array of bejeweled reds and oranges and pinks. Hundreds of fairies sit in the branches of the surrounding trees, watching and taking part in our gathering.
“Your Highnesses,” Michae announces and bows before us. He’s dressed in a crisp new guard’s uniform, his shoulders lined with the golden stripes of the captain. His new role, which he quickly accepted.
Behind him, several guards drag forward the old king of Ash Court and his mother, hands tied behind their backs, a blue aura around them. Courtesy of Ramond to ensure their magic is blocked.
My mother had them captured and imprisoned the day she arrived at Shadow Court, keeping them locked safely away
