Page 57 of Cold Hearted
“But promise me, if there is a way to save my people, for me to visit my mother again, you will help me find it,” I begged.
He let go of my hip and placed a fist over his heart. “I swear it on all that is true.”
A second passed, and then finally,finally, Zander’s mouth descended on mine.
The moment his lips touched my own, it was as if the world around us faded to nothing. The entirety of the curse placed on Faerie could come crashing down on us and it wouldn’t have mattered. There was only Zander and me in this moment, and nothing could break through.
His lips were as soft and decadent as I remembered. The same icy river of fire burned through my veins, but it only enhanced the sensation of Zander’s mouth on mine.
I wrapped my arms around his neck, never wanting to let go. I couldn’t get enough of him, and it seemed he felt the same way. One of Zander’s arms wrapped fully around me, crushing me to his chest, and the other hand dove into my hair. Our mouths came together again and again, our tongues diving in to brush up against each other.
The icy fire running through my body eventually morphed into a euphoric sensation, almost making me feel like I’d drunk too much fae wine, but it wasn’t liquid I was drunk on, it was Zander.
We’d been kissing for what felt like both hours and seconds when Zander pulled back,his breathing just as jagged as my own, and I realized we were surrounded by a bright golden haze.
My eyes widened, and I gasped as I took in the gilded sparkles that hung in the air around us.
“The soul bond,” he whispered against my lips. “Only you and I can see it. It’s a blending of our two energy signatures when we come together like this. A confirmation that we are mates.”
It was beautiful, but as my breathing slowed it started to disappear.
“You’ll really marry me?” Zander asked, and I looked back into his blue eyes to see a hint of uncertainty there.
“I will,” I confirmed with a soft smile. “I love you, Zander, even though you put me in handcuffs when I first met you.”
Deep laughter erupted from his chest, and I couldn’t help but smile. I wanted to hear that laugh every day for the rest of my life.
It was the first time either one of us had confessed our love and it felt so right I wanted to freeze this moment and keep it in my heart forever.
A smile bloomed on Zander’s face, and he slid an arm around me as he pulled me to his chest. When he looked down at me, his gaze was so heated I became breathless again.
“I love you too, little bird.” The words from his lips were just as sweet to hear as they were to say. Then he pecked my nose. “Today. Tomorrow. And Forever,” he added, and then led me over to Omen to continue our journey.
Chapter 17
Iwould cherish every moment Zander and I spent together for the rest of our lives, but today was special. Our confessions of love fundamentally changed me, and even though this wasn’t the day we took our vows or came together as husband and wife, I’d always look back on it as the day I shifted my world view from being an “I” to an “us.” And besides, it’s not every day a princess of Faerie gets engaged to a villain of Ethereum.
I let out a small giggle. If my mother could see me now she’d die—not only engaged to the enemy but more madly in love with him than I thought a fae capable of. But when the mirth of the situation wore off, I couldn’t shake the weight of my mother’s disappointment quite so easily, and it pushed me into a melancholy mood.
The weather seemed to match my disposition. A little drizzle started, forcing us to stop and make camp for the night in a wooded area. We used the surrounding trees to provide a canopy of shelter for us from the rain, and if Zander noticed the shift in my mood he didn’t say anything about it as we searched for dry kindling to light a fire for warmth. It wasn’t until a small fire was burning and I was tucked under his arm that he pressed me about it.
“Is everything all right?” he asked, running a hand slowly up and down my arm to soothe me.
I thought about saying that I was fine, but I’d fed enough lies to Zander in the last few weeks to last a lifetime. I was determined not to do so again.
I sighed, considering how to speak my truth without offending him. I didn’t want my somber mood to take away from the joy we experienced today. “I don’t know how I’m able to be so incandescently happy yet heartbroken at the same time,” I confessed. “It feels like I’m being ripped in two.”
“You’re worried about your kingdom,” he said, and it wasn’t a question. Of course this amazing fae would see how I was torn. He was a ruler too, after all. And a good man on top of that. I shouldn’t have worried that he wouldn’t understand.
I nodded. “The effects of the curse had already started in the Summer Court when I left. It’s been almost two weeks since that day, so I can only imagine how much worse it’s gotten. Am I selfish for not going back to Faerie?” Not that I could anyway, I wasn’t taking a heart, and didn’t even have my sunstone dagger anymore, and that was my only way back.
Zander stiffened beside me, probably thinking I was second-guessing my decision to marry him. But I wasn’t. I could no more part from Zander now than I could cut myself in two and expect to go on living. That might make me selfish, but it was the truth.
“I don’t regret a single moment of today or any promises that I made to you,” I added for his benefit, and I felt him relax.
“I don’t think you are being selfish. The more I think about it, the more I think that we’re meant to work together to not only stop the curse from spreading in Faerie,but maybe find a way to end it for good.”
I sat up straighter and looked fully at him, but he wasn’t staring at me, he was watching the flames in the fire dance with a faraway look in his eyes.
