Page 106 of A Veil of Gods and Kings

He nodded and readjusted, resting his head on his elbow, which he propped against the bedroll. He crossed his long legs at his ankles and waited, his other arm draped over his stomach. I lifted the lyre and let my fingers pluck at the strings. The sweet notes of it swept around, like it cocooned us, separating us from the rest of the buzzing world, the looming palace in the distance, the sun hanging like a threat, one last gaze peppering at me as it slid beneath the surface of the horizon.

When I stopped the music and pushed it back into my pack, Hyacinth released a breath that whooshed out of him. “Apollo, that’s so beautiful.”

I scoffed and dropped the knapsack behind me. “It’s decent enough. Other than that, I have a few changes of clothes and some toiletries. Now you’ve met my sister and seen the crap I carry around in this bag, so now you know everything worth knowing about me.”

“Why do I not believe that?”

I huffed a laugh and ducked my head. “I’m simple.”

He rested his forehead against mine. “I very much doubt that.” His fingers found mine again, like a bird returning to its roost, as if I held answers for him rather than the hundreds of problems my attention might bring him. I swallowed, but he leaned in and kissed me like he knew this was only a moment in time, a sparkler already half burnt out. The beauty of it tore through me, crackling through my blood. I’d stretch it out for eternity if I could. Pull him close, sit at his side, treasure him until the stars burn out.

But that was not our destiny.

I sighed.

“Hey,” he whispered. “Whatever is causing that expression, let’s ignore it for a few minutes. I skipped out of a meeting. If one of us should feel stressed, it’s me.”

I chuckled. “Your advisors need to get over themselves. They won’t die from one cancelled meeting.”

He grinned against my mouth and trailed his hands into my hair.

Heat burned between us.

The sun hummed through me, sizzling through my veil, the silvery shimmer appearing along my bare arms. I pushed my powers out, but Hyacinth’s lips found their way to the hollow of my throat, his fingers notching into my hips, and the magic slipped again.

“Gods, Cyn, you make it where I can’t think straight, where I can barely breathe.”

He pulled back, his eyes reflecting the glimmering city lights, his form washed in the blue blanket of evening light. “I could say the same about you for me.”

We both drew into the other with our greedy hands and wishful hearts. And if I could only have him for a moment, a flower of a thing that would soon wilt and not even leave petals for me to carry with me, then I’d have him fully. I’d enjoy every second.

I snatched my arm around him and tumbled us both to the flat expanse of the roof with a thunk. I trailed my fingers up under his tunic, and he froze. “Apollo, we can’t—”

“Says who?”

His eyes darted towards the tips of the ladder that peaked up over the roofline. “Someone could find us.”

I grazed my teeth along his neck, and he shuddered. “Then we’ll have to be quiet, won’t we, Prince?”

He grimaced. “But if we get caught?”

“That’s what makes it exciting.” I smirked again and yanked his hips, pulling him in tighter to me. Our bodies slammed against the other, and his heartbeat thundered into my chest. “If you don’t want to”—I sucked his earlobe into my mouth, tasted the velvet texture of it, and he groaned—“then say so.”

He sighed, but then his hands drew me in closer, his mouth and mine dancing, our limbs tangling like long grasses. My fingers wandered his form, my lips and body following suit. I wanted a million opportunities to do this with this man. I’d never felt that before. And it sucked the air from me to find that just in time to lose it.

Hyacinth moaned, and I snatched a hand over his mouth. “You really are going to get us caught.”

“Right now,” he mumbled through my fingers, “I don’t even care.”

I chuckled against his collarbone, and we continued wrapping up in each other until he shuddered, his head dropping behind him, his eyebrows pulling together. My release followed, and I growled to keep from making noise. But Hyacinth cried out, his voice echoing against the surrounding buildings. “You are terrible at being quiet,” I said against his chest.

“This wasn’t my idea,” he whispered, his eyes closed.

“Oh, yes, I can see how miserable you are.”

“Utterly.” He nodded once, like an auctioneer banging a gavel down.

I stretched out beside him, laying my head back on my hands, half-naked, still breathing hard, and happy. Gloriously and unexpectedly happy. A star streaked across the heavens, a smear of crimson trembling around its form. Another followed, and then a third trailed after it, their ruby forms blurring against the ebony of night.