Page 97 of Fated to the Wicked King

This beautiful, complicated man.

The most powerful man on Wünder.

He was mine.

Mine.

I met his glittering gaze with my own.

His vow was solemn, almost a plea in his eyes, still with a hint of worry that I wouldn’t believe him, that perhaps I would still think he was lying. “I’ve always been yours. I’ll be an idiot and say something else, but you’re all I want, Allie. I told you. You’re all I will ever want. Only you. Always. Forever.”

I was so full of elation. I thought my chest would burst. I nodded in earnest. “You are mine, Rabb. Always. Forever.”

Another wave of unbridled joy bursting from him, he bent down to capture my lips with his once again.

I could only moan into his mouth.

The kiss wasn’t gentle this time. It was deeper, urgent in a way that spoke of everything almost lost.

“Can you feel me, Allie?” he breathed between thrusts.

Completely exhilarated, I broke a soft smile. “I can feel you.”

Everything after that blurred into a closeness that went beyond anything we could name. Every touch carried weight, every breath shared, every moment a quiet vow spoken without words.

I cried out as the breathtaking intensity finally broke.

He loosed a long groan, reaching his own release.

It was overwhelming, consuming, something that left us both clinging to each other. He buried his face in my neck, holding me close, as though the world might try to take me if he loosened his grip.

Our breathing slowed together, tangled in the quiet aftermath, hearts still racing but steadying in time with one another. His left hand found mine, fingers threading together like something instinctive.

Lifting up ever so slightly to look at my face, his fingers traced my cheek and my neck, as if to check I was really here. “Am I dreaming you? Or are you dreaming me?”

Breaking a sated smile, I reached up to cup his cheek. “No. This is real.” I tilted my chin up to kiss him again.

He obliged with a moan, eager fingers curled around the nape of my neck, digging into my hair. He kissed me so deeply I felt it everywhere. When he broke off to meet my gaze again, those deep blue eyes glittered. “Allie…”

My breath caught at the solemnity of his tone, the weight of everything we’d been through pressing in around us. Gazing up into the raw expression on his face, I said it first, “I love you.”

His forehead creased. I could feel his heart wrenching, just as mine was. “I love you more. So much more.” His gaze dropped to my mouth, but before he could take my lips again, a sudden glow overtook our forms.

I gasped as the glowing magic gathered between our chests. I looked up at his light-filled gaze, my eyes as wide as his.

All at once, a sharp sting flared through my chest as the hearts flashed bright for a moment before settling back into place, fitting with a profound certainty, the warmth blossoming outward in radiating waves.

The hearts… they had swapped back.

I sucked in a deep breath as my heart beat inside my chest once more.

“Fresh tides.” Rabb clutched at his own chest before lifting his wide, bewildered, and mystified gaze to mine. “Are you okay?”

I couldn’t help a laugh. “How—how do you feel?”

He cracked the first genuine smile I had seen on his face in months. “I feel…” Elated, he wrapped his arm around me, moving to press a kiss against my temple. “What do you know? We figured out the spell to undo it ourselves.”

I snuggled closer to him. “The Duchess did say a mere few words hold great power.”