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“Hava didn’t tell you?”
“She didn’t know. And I didn’t want to ask you.”
I wouldn’t question why, for that was already clear. I’d ignored her and neglected her like a fucking fool. I would never do it again.
“This is another sign, a marking by Vix.”
“I know that,” she said with confidence and a bit of annoyance that made my mouth twitch. “But what does the signmean?”
“Runes are tricky, sometimes having multiple meanings. And they are possessive by nature, reflecting the one who wields them.”
I brushed the pad of my thumb over the black-etched mark with a crisscross line and a curved tip on one stroke, like a curling ribbon. She shivered beneath my touch.
“This is the symbol for hearth and home.” I examined her closely, watching her brow dent with concentration as she stared at the mark on the wrist I still gently held. “Does that upset you?”
“Of course not.”
“The gods have decided that you are home here in Silvantis.” I didn’t need to add that it was once the place of her nightmares. Perhaps still was. “With me.”
She gazed up at me, a defiant fire burning in those ethereal eyes. “It could also mean I amyourhearth, your home. And you belong to me.”
Her boldness stirred my arousal. I wasn’t prepared to leave this quiet paradise we’d created together.
“Oh, Una,” I purred against the thin skin of her wrist. Her pulse quickened against my lips. “Of that, there is no doubt.”
I kissed her long and deep till I smelled her arousal warm the air and I could do nothing but shift my body between her legs and slide inside her again, taking her slowly, gently. I watched her intently, savoring her subtle smile and the crease of her brow as she came.
When we were sated a second time, I remained inside her, hovering over her, breathing her air, not wanting to return to the palace, but knowing we must.
Her expression seemed to mirror my emotions. Then she said, “Can’t we just stay here?” She combed her fingers through my hair.
It was more than I could’ve ever dreamed, that she’d want me like this. Like I wanted her. I pressed my forehead to hers. “We will have many more moments like this, Una.”
“You promise?”
Rather than giving her words, I kissed her lovely mouth, her luxurious sweetness arousing me yet again. But I wouldn’t allow my desire to demand more of her. When I felt my cock hardening inside her, I pulled out of her body, cherishing her small sound of anguish at our parting.
I retrieved the flask of water from my satchel, wet a cloth and warmed it near the blue-coal, then I wiped her clean and helped her dress. As I knelt at her feet and laced her boot, her hand on my shoulder, she laughed softly.
“What is it?” I asked, switching to her other boot.
“It’s interesting. I never thought to see you, King Gollaya, kneeling at my feet.”
I finished lacing her boot and looked up at her. “Interesting. I feel like I’ve always been here.”
She bit her lip as I stood before her, frowning a little at my quick admission.
I’d not felt this sweet vulnerability since before my mother died. I hadn’t thought I’d ever seek it out for myself, this tenderconnection. It was an intimacy I had intended to live without. Until Una.
I stole one more moment kissing my mizrah, knowing full well that this was what Vix had felt for the first Mizrah—he would have had one, and only one, mate. I felt more confident, a deeper power, a bonding closer to one woman rather than having none at all with many women. This feeling filled me with a newfound strength I couldn’t describe. Like a secret only we could know.
It was rather terrifying, bewildering, and euphoric at once. While the reasonable side of me knew the dangers of a king allowing such emotions into his heart, the fae who longed for this intimate union didn’t much care.
Therein lay the danger. I could easily forget myself and my duties in the arms of Una. But it wouldn’t stop me from devoting all I had to her in the hopes that it would be enough.
“Come.” I took her hand and led her toward Drak.
He roused when he heard us crossing the cavern floor. After a low grumble, he uncurled, allowing the night air to rush in at his back. Una stepped close to his muzzle and petted him along the jaw.
