Chapter 38
Prince Rhydian of Eroth was strong, confident, and a powerful Fae of Avalea.
Or at least that was what he claimed he once was.
Despite the curse, he had projected that image since he’d kidnapped me from Minnesota.
In the time I had been here, the only part of him that ever faltered or appeared to struggle was his weakening magic.
Though he was clearly saddened by the curse’s impact, he had never looked defeated. Despite his reluctance to hope, he hadn’t shown signs that he had completely given up before either.
So I hadn’t been expecting it when Nico opened the door to the room with the Magmara to find Rhydian on his knees, looking completely destroyed.
My boots mercifully stayed silent as I stepped into the room and walked over to him, vaguely aware of Nico shutting the door and giving us privacy.
I didn’t know what to do. Did I reach out, kneel next to him, and offer silent reassurance?
Or did I keep my distance? Before Carrow had come here and attacked me, there clearly had been feelings between us, but I didn’t know where things stood now.
I didn’t know if he still wanted me, if he’d welcome my touch.
I should have been furious that he had lied to me, that he had kept such an important secret from me, and maybe part of me was angry.
But a larger part of me was worried about him.
I wasn’t one to give up when someone needed me, and seeing him curled in on himself, head hanging low—I couldn’t stand it.
I laid a hand on his shoulder. It was a whisper of a touch, but he still flinched.
“Rhydian?”
It took a long time for him to answer, his deep voice quiet. “You shouldn’t be here.”
Ignoring him, I dropped to my knees, trying to look him in the eye. He kept them firmly on the little green stem sticking out of the soil, still in a pile on the floor.
“What’s wrong, Rhydian?”
He shook his head.
“Please talk to me.”
The slightest of trembles shuddered through him.
“It’s funny…” He stopped, letting out a long breath, his fingers skimming over the dirt.
“All these years my hope had withered in time with the Magmara until only the smallest ember remained. I knew the curse would take me one day, and all of Eroth would be gone. I had tried to make peace with it. There was nothing I could do to change it. I had tried all I could.”
His gold-ringed eyes slowly lifted to meet mine. “And then I met you, and I discovered what it felt like to feel. To hope.” His throat bobbed as he swallowed, gaze flicking to my lips. “To want,” he whispered.
“I tried to ignore the third task, unwilling to even mention it because it felt like a distant dream, an impossible wish.” His hands moved back to his knees, his pinky barely brushing my knee.
“But then, with you…” Rhydian finally looked at me fully.
“I thought there was a chance, that perhaps the third task wasn’t so impossible after all. But Carrow—”
“Why are you listening to a word he says?” I couldn’t help but interrupt. Though my heart began to race, I reached out and took Rhydian’s hand and held it between both of mine. A jolt burst up my arm at the touch. “Carrow doesn’t get to dictate how we feel.”
“You don’t understand,” he whispered.
“Then explain it to me.”
Rhydian blinked at me, his brows drawing together at whatever thoughts were going through his head. Gently, ever so slowly, he pulled his hand from mine and stood to his feet. I tried not to see it as a rejection, but I still felt the sting nonetheless.
His boots thunked over the tile floor until he stopped in front of the balcony doors and looked up at the two moons high in the sky. The air in this room was freezing, and I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to stave off the shivers.
“The third task is difficult to complete because it’s a two-sided task. It’s not as easy as retrieving a relic or making a plant grow.”
“Because those were so easy,” I muttered beneath my breath.
“The people who laid the curse knew what they were doing. They knew who I was and my nature. It would be difficult to get a human to fall in love with me, yes, but it would be impossible for me to love them in return.”
He turned to face me, a deep, deep sadness welling in his eyes.
“Why?” I couldn’t help but ask.
“My heart might beat blood like yours, Maren, but it doesn’t feel like yours. It’s stone cold, broken, and dark. This task was required because I am not capable of loving anyone.”
“But I thought—”
“You thought wrong,” he snapped, and I flinched. I hated the hot tears that suddenly burned my eyes. He softened, looking like he regretted his words but wasn’t willing to apologize. Rhydian ran a frustrated hand through his hair.
I wasn’t going to let him get away from me that easily. I might have been forced to surrender to other peoples’ wishes my entire life, but here, I wasn’t giving up. Not when my life had started to finally feel right. He felt right. I stepped toward him.
“But you kissed me. You said you couldn’t get me out of your mind. Was that a lie?”
“No, but—”
“Then you do feel something. Maybe your heart isn’t as cold as you believed. People are capable of change. Why do you think you’re the exception?”
“I’m a Dark Fae. We are different.” He said the words with a shrug, as if that were explanation enough.
“Screw being a Dark Fae,” I retorted, anger filling me to the brim. “Screw the curse, and screw what your fate is supposed to be. Maybe it’s time for you to make your own fate.”
Rhydian’s lips curled into a sad smile. “Such pretty words from a human. That might work in your world, but here in Avalea, fate is law. The curse will claim me, and Eroth will soon be gone.”
“How can you just give up?” I demanded.
A spark of anger flooded his eyes.
Good. Show me you know how to feel. If you can feel anger, you can feel other things too.
“Give up? Give up?”
“Well, you’re saying something is impossible without even trying. That sounds like giving up to me.” I dared to cross the space between us, standing toe-to-toe with Rhydian.
“I think you do feel. You feel too much, so you turn everything off and pretend to be cold-hearted. But someone with a stone heart wouldn’t work so hard to break a curse and free himself and save his kingdom.”
“You don’t even know my motivation,” he said so softly I struggled to make out the words at all.
“I don’t need to,” I replied, though he was right, and I was suddenly immensely curious as to his motivation if it wasn’t just to save his kingdom. What else would there be?
“Don’t be a fool, Maren. Have you forgotten what happens if the curse is broken?”
“Some things are worth the risk.”
Rhydian scoffed, as if he couldn’t believe a human would be willing to die in order to free him. Maybe he’d never met anyone willing to make sacrifices for him.
My life was all about sacrifices.
I ignored him, doubling down. “You haven’t even bothered to ask me how I feel, Rhydian.”
He stilled. “What?”
“You’re so focused on your side of the third task that you haven’t even stopped to consider my side.”
I swear a flash of terror filled his eyes for a split second, but that didn’t make sense. Shouldn’t he have been happy?
“What are you talking about?” The words were whisper-soft.
I stepped farther into his space, daring to skim his hand with my fingers. He didn’t pull away, his eyes shuttering at the touch.
“Ask me how I feel about you, Rhydian.” I put a hand over his heart, feeling it race beneath his skin.
“Maren—”
“Ask me.”
Our chests were nearly touching now. A pained look crossed his face.
“I can’t,” he admitted.
Though his words surprised me, I didn’t let it show on my face. I was going to get this out one way or another. Whatever reason he was afraid, I wasn’t going to let it stop me.
I took a deep breath. “Then let me show you.”
Without hesitation, I leaned onto my toes and pressed my lips to his. Rhydian’s body was stiff, unmoving. For a second, I thought he might push me away, shut me down. But I was patient. I waited, hoping he’d admit how he felt too.
It only took a few more seconds before he melted into me, winding his arms around my waist and tugging me into him. He took control, deepening the kiss, and I was all too happy to let him.
We lost ourselves in the kiss. He was a strong Fae, and yet the way his fingers pressed into my lower back was extraordinarily gentle, the way he held my cheek with his palm surprisingly tender.
I didn’t know it was possible to feel loved like this just from the way Rhydian held me, kissed me.
When the burn of desire faded to a simmer, I smiled against his lips and spoke three words I’d never said to anyone before.
“I love you.”