Chapter 33
Even though I tried to stay positive and encouraging in front of Rhydian, I was truly beginning to worry about the flower.
There wasn’t even the faintest hint of anything sprouting. What I had told him was true—it could take a long time for seeds to germinate. But that was with proper growing conditions, which these were definitely not.
Dead soil and no sunlight. Not the most winning combination for making something grow.
But I wouldn’t give up hope yet. This had to work. There was no time for it not to. If I failed, there would be no breaking the curse. I had done everything I could, and now I had to be patient.
Easier said than done.
Then, of course, Carrow’s sinister words floated through my mind, promising to send me home if I purposely failed these tasks. Even now, the offer was so tempting. I wanted to go home, more than anything, and I desperately wanted to know if my family was all right.
But my feelings for Rhydian had grown to a point that I couldn’t ignore them…and I couldn’t stand the thought of abandoning him, of failing to break the curse.
I wracked my brain, making sure I hadn’t unintentionally sabotaged the chances of the seed growing.
I was certain that I had done everything to the best of my ability.
All the tricks and secrets I had learned throughout my life growing up on a farm.
If anyone could get the seed to grow, it should have been me.
So then why wasn’t anything happening?
I had gained endless amounts of patience through the years, facing my father’s wrath and learning to be content staying at home to protect my family rather than leaving Minnesota behind and never looking back
But with so much at stake now, my patience was dwindling.
Lightly touching the soil with my finger, I tested to make sure it was wet enough. I was certain I had watered it plenty, but at this point I was at a loss for what more to do and was desperate to keep busy.
Plenty moist, I thought to myself, brushing the dirt from my fingers and pushing to stand. I needed to get out of here. My eyes needed a break from staring at the soil, waiting for a hint of green to erupt, and my back needed a break from being curled over the pot.
A gasp slid through my lips, heart hammering in my chest, as I turned to find Rhydian next to the door. Watching me.
Feeling out of breath, I put a hand to my chest. “What are you doing? You scared me.”
I refused to give into the surge of happiness I felt at the sight of him, especially since he had been so rude yesterday.
All I’d done was try to ask him questions about himself, to learn something about him, but he’d gone right back to being a cold, unfeeling jerk.
I didn’t understand the sudden switch, especially when he was finally starting to show me a different side of himself.
A caring side. One that I was slowly starting to fall for, much to my chagrin.
Rhydian’s eyes glowed in the dim light, his lips twisting into that frustrating smirk.
“I was waiting for you to finish…”—he gestured at the bucket—“whatever you were doing.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “I was making sure it had enough water.”
“You watered it this morning.”
I blinked, unaware that he had been watching my tending so closely.
“Yes, well…” I was at a loss for words. “Do you always stand in the dark watching me?”
Rhydian pushed off the wall and slowly walked toward me, and my heart jumped in my throat. The way he stalked forward was like a predator sneaking toward its prey. Slow, steady, methodical.
He stopped inches from me, those gold-ringed eyes boring down into mine.
“I never used to,” he rumbled, voice whisper-soft. “But lately, I can’t seem to stay away.”
My mouth went dry, and it became difficult to swallow. The inches between us shrank as he moved impossibly closer.
“Why’s that?” I breathed, needing to understand what was happening between us right now, especially when he had been so closed off to me yesterday.
Rhydian’s fingers skimmed mine, as if he wanted to take hold of my hand but couldn’t quite make himself do it. It was the lightest brush of a touch and yet heat engulfed my arm, my body. I suddenly needed his touch like the seed behind me needed water.
His lips opened, then closed, as though trying to find the right words.
My breath quivered between my lips, but not in fear.
Weeks ago, when he first brought me here, I might have been deeply afraid in this scenario.
But now…there was something pulling us together, a tug, a tether, something causing us to lean into each other.
The toes of our shoes touched. His fingers skimmed mine again, his breath warming the air between us. He smelled like winter—cool air and pine. It was heady, rich.
Rhydian’s face grew closer to mine and I instinctually closed my eyes. Was he going to kiss me? Once, I might have detested the idea, but now…
“I’m sorry I was rude yesterday. It had nothing to do with you.”
My eyes fluttered back open, surprised. That was the second time the Prince of Eroth had apologized to me. I was at a loss for words. Thankfully, that didn’t stop him from continuing. He leaned closer.
“Why can’t I stay away from you?” he asked, repeating my question.
His breath warmed my lips, and I found myself desperate to know what they tasted like.
He considered for a moment, the tip of his nose just barely grazing mine.
The breath caught in my throat, and I felt lightheaded and heavy all at the same time.
“You’ve done something to me, Maren,” he admitted. “Something I’m helpless to stop.”
This time, his fingers intertwined with mine without hesitation.
“And I don’t want to.”
He waited for a moment longer, as though he were giving me the opportunity to step away, to refuse whatever was happening, but I didn’t want it to stop. I wanted him.
Then his lips were on mine.
Fire. It wholly encompassed me, the most exquisite heat I’d ever felt.
Rhydian’s arms wrapped around my waist, tugging me even closer, deepening the kiss.
I had kissed before, a few times back home during summer flings when I was a teenager and needed to escape for a while from my home. But they all paled and disappeared in the wake of this kiss.
Rhydian was confident, his movements sure. His fingers tightened on my back.
If this was heaven, I never wanted to leave. My mind descended into a fog of pleasure and delight, and it was so easy to lose myself in it, to forget everything else and just live in Rhydian’s arms, his lips against mine.
There wasn’t even a second of confusion.
If I had had time to think, I might have questioned what was happening.
Rhydian hated me, hated humans. Up until recently, he always acted as if he couldn’t stand me.
And yet, now, in his arms, it felt right.
It felt like this was where I was supposed to be all along.
I was human, and he was Fae. We didn’t belong together.
And yet I was helpless to stop these quickly growing feelings, and it didn’t seem like Rhydian was interested in stopping them either.
I had no idea if it was minutes or hours later when he finally pulled away, resting his forehead against mine with his eyes shut.
I wanted to say something, but no words would come.
“I’ve been dreaming of this for a while,” he said softly.
“You have?” I asked, surprised.
He nodded, his nose grazing mine again.
“I thought you hated me,” I admitted.
“Oh, I did.” That smirk was back, but it didn’t have any of the earlier disdain in it.
“Then what happened?”
“You happened.” He shrugged.
I hated the shudder in my breath as I exhaled. “What does this mean?”
Rhydian stiffened, his body going rigid beneath my palms before he pulled back. There was a war playing out in his eyes, only I didn’t know exactly what he was at war with.
Finally, he said, “It means whatever you want it to mean.”
“That was very cryptic.”
He released me, putting far too much space between us and shoving his hands into his pockets. I fought the urge to beg them to return, my skin cold in their absence.
“You can decide what you want, Maren. I won’t force anything on you.
” The words sounded breathless, like he could barely get them out.
“If you want to explore”—he gestured between us—“this, then I’m amenable to the idea.
But if you want nothing more from me than to break the curse and go home, then so be it.
” Something flitted across his face with those words, but it was too quick to decipher, though I got the distinct impression that he hated those words as much as I did.
Amenable to the idea? Not exactly a confession of feelings though.
Ever since my conversation with Nico, my thoughts had spun over Rhydian and what I truly felt.
I may not have been ready to say it aloud, to tell him the way my heart raced when he touched me, or that I saw the kind heart he kept hidden away behind his grumpy, rude exterior.
But I would never forgive myself if I didn’t pursue this. Him.
My focus should have been on accomplishing these tasks, breaking the curse, and going home to my family. But something about Rhydian had all my desires scrambling around in my head until I was consumed with thoughts of him. I needed to know where this could go.
I opened my mouth to say as much, but my hesitation must have been too long, because Rhydian’s face shuttered and he retreated another step.
“I’ll let you think on it.”
And then he left.