Chapter 22 Rose
ROSE
Lily and I spent the rest of the evening talking to various nobles from across Ilidan, giving assurances that the war was truly over with Talador and that both kingdoms were devoted to peace.
Many of them wished to discuss trade with Lily, which seemed like a good sign.
I never got a chance to speak to Lord Malren alone again, as he was often surrounded by at least three women hanging onto his every word, though I caught him sending many glances my way.
When the hour grew late, Lily said her goodbyes before Raith teleported her and Keane back to Talador.
By then, my feet were sore, and I was feeling a bit suffocated by all the people hovering around me.
I managed to escape past a guard who warned me not to go outside, and I stepped onto the balcony overlooking the garden.
Cool night air wrapped around me and I breathed it in, along with the silence.
I didn’t mind strangers and had never been shy, but being a queen was very different from being one of six princesses, and the least favorite one to boot.
Suddenly people asked my opinion on just about everything or wanted my help, and the responsibility was overwhelming. How did Raith handle it every day?
As if my thoughts had summoned him, he stepped outside onto the balcony. “You shouldn’t be out here, Rose.”
I rolled my eyes as I turned toward him. “We’re perfectly safe. There is enough light to make the sun jealous.”
“You spotted the Shadow Lord the other night in this very garden.”
“Good, maybe he’ll return. I have a few words for him.”
Raith gave an exasperated sigh. “Your father did warn me you were a handful.”
I gave him a wry smile. “Wishing you’d chosen one of my sisters now?”
His hands slid around my waist, making my pulse race. “Not even a little.”
He brought his lips to mine and I wrapped my arms around his neck, fitting my body against his. His kiss was possessive and seductive, desperate and intense, like he wanted to prove I was his and only his, even though I’d never wanted to be anyone else’s.
“I’ve wanted to do that all evening,” he said against my lips.
“Me too.”
He kissed me harder, his tongue sliding against mine in a way that made me wonder what else he could do with it.
Between our dance earlier and his surprise invitation of Lily, I knew Raith cared for me more than he would ever admit.
And from the way he kissed, I was starting to think he desired me as much as I desired him too.
“Come to my room tonight,” I said, between breaths quickened with desire. “Please.”
“Rose… I can’t.” His thumbs slid across my lower lip, which was still wet with the taste of him. His face turned away. “I shouldn’t even be kissing you.”
“Why not?” I asked, as he slipped from my hands and put distance between us. “We’re married. It seems like you have feelings for me, and I care for you too.”
He met my eyes with an intense smolder. “That’s the problem. I don’t want to feel anything.”
He headed into the ballroom, though not before stopping to cast a spell that made all the torches flare bright around me. Another sign he cared, even if he refused to admit it. I sighed as he slipped back into the crowd and began speaking with some of the nobles.
No matter how distant Raith was, and no matter how much he pushed me away, I couldn’t resist being drawn to him.
It was foolish of me to hope for anything more between us, but I couldn’t help myself.
As I watched him speak to the nobles while radiating confidence and power, I knew why.
It was more than his magnetic presence, it was his devotion to his people.
He loved his kingdom more than anything, and he would do whatever it took to protect them.
Including marrying the daughter of the man who had killed his wife.
Or going out every night to fight the darkness, even to the point of exhaustion.
There was something undeniably sexy about a king who would put his people above his own happiness. No matter how much Raith played the cold, brooding Fae King, his heart was larger than he knew.
I only wished he would let me into it.