Chapter 37 #3
I said nothing, turning my back to him to wipe away the tears that stung my cheeks. The trees rustled in the warm summer breeze, as if whispering to each other.
“Mordric cares about this realm more than anything,” he said quietly. “It’s no excuse for what he did, and if you want to blame me for all of this, you can. But I swear I will prove myself to you. You just have to trust me.”
I rounded on him. “Make me.”
A beat passed between us, the trill of a nightjar somewhere in the forest the only thing to break the silence. In the blink of an eye, the prince had closed the gap between us once again. My eyes widened as he loosed the steel dagger from his belt.
“What in Letlas’s name are you—”
I gasped as he drew the blade across my palm, blood seeping out of the wound it left in its wake.
He did the same to himself, wrapping his fingers around mine.
I stepped backward, but his grip was firm, pulling me in until I was nearly pressed against his chest. Blood welled to the surface of my palm and pooled together with his.
“Let me in,” he insisted, his green eyes flashing. “And I will prove myself to you.”
My knees nearly buckled as I was pummeled by a wave of tangled thoughts and emotions.
It was as if his wards were floodgates, and they had just been blown open.
Image after image flooded my mind. Every thought, every interaction since the moment he received word from Mordric requesting his presence at Valnar Castle.
I read my name on the letter Mordric had written to him in his perfect script, announcing that he had found his new adviser.
I saw myself through his eyes on the night of the winter solstice, the air around me pulsing faintly gold as I clung to the furthest wall.
I relived the pain that tore through him when he made the decision to leave me on the bridge to Valnar Castle. It was almost too much to comprehend.
When the onslaught finally stopped, when he had finally poured every ounce of who he was and what he had done into me, one thing was clear.
He didn’t know what Mordric had planned to do.
“Blood doesn’t lie,” he said as the wave ebbed and faded. “It can’t.”
He let my hand slip from his. Free from his influence, I swayed in the warm breeze like a leaf.
I watched in awe as the gash on my palm knitted itself together, leaving only a thin pink line where the blade had broken the skin.
As the wound disappeared, so too did the anger that had plagued me just moments ago.
It sank out of sight like a stone slipping beneath the surface of a pond, leaving only ripples in its wake.
My gaze flicked upwards to meet his. Bathed in the light of the summer moon, I suddenly saw him for who he truly was.
My teacher. My protector. My everything.
Time slowed around us. My breathing became shallow as he drew closer, until there were mere inches separating us.
I shuddered as his scent washed over me, reminding me of the nights we’d spent camped out by the side of the road.
My eyes traced the shape of his lips and sharp angles of his features.
His fingers twitched by his side, as if fighting off a meddlesome urge.
A breath shuddered from between his lips, revealing the tips of his fangs.
I shouldn’t want him. I couldn’t. But gods, I did.
“Finn,” he whispered, his expression serious. “You have to know that I—”
His words were cut short as I pressed my lips to his.
The prince didn’t hesitate for a moment.
He answered my kiss with fervor, crushing me to his chest as if I was the only thing anchoring him to this plane.
I wrapped my arms around his neck, arching my back to close the space between us.
My body driven by a maddening need, I wanted to do more than kiss him.
I wanted to drown in him.
A gasp escaped me as he fisted my hair, his tongue slipping between my lips. I melted into him, my heart beating a feverish tattoo against my ribcage. My fingers drifted toward his waist, and it took everything in me to stop myself there.
When we parted, I tore my gaze away from his lips, swollen from our passionate embrace, to see that his eyes were still closed. I traced the curve of his jaw with my fingers, my eyes fluttering shut as he brushed his lips against my brow. He pressed his forehead to mine and sighed.
The field was pleasantly warm despite the chill in the early summer air. I relished in the heat like a fat cat indulging in a pot of fresh cream.
“Wait,” he begged as I took a step back. “I can’t face him now.”
I smiled, tucking a loose curl behind his ear. “I don’t think that will be a problem.”
He chuckled darkly. “What are you talking about?”
Now, the voice whispered in my ear.
I leaned in close, as if to brush my lips against his cheek. Behind my back, my fingers curled around the hilt of the alder dagger I had pulled from his belt just moments ago.
I kissed him again, just as the voice had instructed. Just enough to keep him distracted.
And then I drove the blade into his heart.