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I rested my forehead on hers. “I’m glad you like it, sprite.” Tucking her under my arm, I led her to the table, pulling out her chair and then pushing her close once she had settled in.
I fingered the box in my pocket as I sat, my stomach filled with butterflies. Cedomir had uncorked the wine bottle, and I poured a glass for each of us, the purple liquid sloshing as it collided with its new container.
Lifting my glass, I tipped it in her direction. “To us,” I rasped, my voice stronger than the nerves threatening to shake my hand.
She would say yes.
“To us,” Izidora echoed, then sipped her wine, a hidden smile brightening her jewel-like eyes as she held my gaze. She was radiant in the low-cut blue dress, a hint of her cleavage on display. Her elegant neck and shoulders were accentuated by the braided crown she’d woven into her chestnut hair. Her cheeks were rosy and flushed from the wine and the slight chill that remained despite the fire around us.
“Are you warm enough?” I asked, just as Cedomir appeared with our dinner.
“Yes,” she replied, then thanked our chef as he placed our plates in front of us with a flourish. He winked at me before disappearing through the hatch.
The savory spices from the freshly-cooked chicken wafted off of it with the steam, filling my nostrils and turning my stomach. Soft, fluffy, buttery potatoes nestled against the skin, mixing with the chicken’s juices. It looked incredible, but I couldn’t imagine eating a bite until I had asked her one of the most important questions of my life. Izidora immediately swiped her fork across both and took a large bite.
She covered her mouth with her hand, moaning around the food. “This is delicious.”
“Another one of my favorite meals,” I told her, spearing chicken onto my fork and lifting it to my mouth. I could hardly taste it, and I sipped my wine to swallow it down.
Izidora made quick work of her food, and then she drained her entire glass of wine. I wasted no time in refilling it. She grinned, then lifted the glass and leaned back in her chair while I continued to eat. “The sky is incredible tonight,” she commented, gazing at the landscapes around her.
The first of the stars had started to appear overhead, though the last rays of the sun still clung to the mountain tops. “When I built this palace for you, I hoped we could share many nights like this, right here,” I commented, chewing the potatoes slowly.
“How did you know I would like it?” she quipped, teasing me.
I tried to grin, but my heart was pounding so hard I might have failed. “I figured we’d have similar tastes, since we are mates.”
She did not protest or make a face at my statement, and I nearly sagged with relief that she wasn’t fighting me on it.
The door creaked open again, Cedomir reappearing with a new dessert for Izidora to try, a creamy custard fired to create a breakable crust on top.
Thank fuck.
Cedomir was aware of my plan for the night, and I knew that he brought dessert early to save me from the utter fear that sank its claws into me. Before disappearing through the hole, he gave me an encouraging nod, though his confidence did not calm the shaking in my hands. Izidora lifted a spoon to the dessert, but I reached across the table, covering her hand with my own.
“Before we eat dessert, I have something I want to ask you,” I croaked, losing all confidence and nearly telling her ‘nevermind.’ Rejection was not an emotion I handled well, especially because hearing the word ‘no’ to a question such as this was about as clear an abandonment as I could imagine. My worst fear, roaring into existence, from my mate no less, did not bode well for me, and I worried about how I would react if a rejection was what I received.
Why couldn’t I just take it like a male, unbothered by whether a female wanted me or not?
I hated myself for caring so much.
Izidora placed the spoon on the table, eyes sparkling as a soft smile played across her perfectly sculpted lips. I loosed a breath, a wave of relaxation washing over me, then stood from the table, pulling the box from my pocket. The stone was rough beneath my knee, but I did not care as I knelt before my mate, our gazes colliding with a wave of heat so intense I almost threw the box away in favor of capturing her soft lips between mine. My heart thundered in my chest, and I was hyper aware of every twitch of her gorgeous eyes, my own searching them, pleading with her to accept me, to see me – to love me.
My mouth went dry, and my whole body tingled in a way that was wholly unfamiliar to me.
Was I dying?
Sucking down air, I tried to steady myself as I took her hand in mine. She bit her lip but kept her smile, waiting for me to speak.
“Izidora, I love you,” I started. “You are a wildfire that has consumed my every thought since I laid eyes on you. I can’t breathe, can’t think, when I am around you. You suck all the oxygen from any room we’re in, leaving me gasping for breath, and yet I cannot get enough of that asphyxiation. You drive me as wild as you are, making me wait for you, then challenging me at every turn, and I am a better male for it. The light in your soulcalls to me, guiding me through this darkness I thought I’d be trapped in forever. You areeverythingto me, sprite.”
With shaking hands, I opened the box to reveal the ring I’d picked for her. The color of the square center stone reminded me of her eyes, and two diamonds lay on either side, triangles that reminded me of her angelic wings.
Those eyes widened and she gasped, which I hoped were both good signs. My fear of abandonment reared its head, clawing its way through my chest, and I thought my heart might explode as I opened my mouth to ask the question, nearly closing it again as images of her rejecting me flashed through my mind. But I needed to ask because I needed to show her I listened and I cared. So I took a breath and said in a rush, “Will you spend the rest of your life with me?”
Tears filled her eyes as she searched my face. I waited for what seemed like hours, my heart beating out of control, while she said nothing, and finally, when I felt my chest constricting sharply, neck growing heated as I became certain that she would refuse me, she breathed, “Yes.”
I could not contain the roar that left my lips as I yanked her face to mine, kissing her with a passion that spoke of my relief. She opened for me immediately, and I threaded my fingers in her hair, not caring that I was destroying her perfectly crafted plaits. They fell apart and tumbled down her back, and our tongues twined, distracting me from all else.
