Page 58 of Cold Hearted
End the curse for good? The details about why the curse started had always been murky, at best. We knew bringing back an Ethereum lord’s heart would revive our magic and stave off the curse for another hundred years, but no one ever talked about ending it completely.
“Do you think it can be done?”
He nodded, and then glanced down at me. “I do. As a child, my father told me stories of Faerie and the curse. And I believe you and I, and our bond, are part of it. Maybe even the other princesses and lords as well. It’s not a coincidence that we found each other when we did. It has to mean something. I’m sure of it.” He cupped my jaw, and then leaned down to press a soft kiss on my lips that ended far too soon. “Your burdens are now mine as well. I meant what I said in front of Stryker. I won’t stop until we find a way to save your realm.”
Relief spread over me like a cool balm to my soul. Since the moment I was born, the burden to save Faerie had always been mine and mine alone to bear. I was the only fae champion in all the Summer Court who trained to travel to Ethereum through the mirror. I’d never been able to share this weight with anyone else before. Now it was like being able to take a full breath for the first time in my entire life.
“I love you,” I said, not able to say the words enough.
A lopsided smile lifted one side of Zander’s mouth. “I know,” he said, and laughed when he saw my face fall because he didn’t say it back. Leaning forward, he kissed the end of my nose and I swatted at his face. He chuckled again. “I’ll never get tired of riling you up, little bird. Prepare yourself because I plan to do so for many years to come. But of course I love you as well. With a depth and intensity I never thought possible.”
His words brought a soft smile to my face and a warm feeling to my chest. That was better. He was forgiven.
He stood then, taking his body heat with him.
“Hey, what are you doing?” I asked as he walked over to where Omen was tied and pulled a bedroll from the saddlebag.
“Making your bed. I can’t expect a princess to sleep on pine needles and dirt.”
I stood and joined him.
“Don’t you meanourbed,” I said with a demure smile, but Zander shook his head. “But where will you sleep, then?”
“Against the tree.” He pointed to the tree closest to the fire, near where he’d set the bedroll.
“Are you serious? You’re not going to sleep next to me?”
“No, I am most certainly not.”
“What, why?” I huffed.
He stopped what he was doing and looked at me. The heat in his gaze took my breath away in the best way possible. Quick as a snake, he yanked me into his arms and nuzzled my neck. A bolt of desire instantly shot through me.
He released a muffled groan and placed a kiss below my ear, eliciting a full-body shiver from me. “You’re far too tempting.The moment we get back to Noreum, the wedding will be announced. I plan to make you mine before a fortnight has passed.”
Fourteen days? In Faerie, a royal wedding took months to prepare.
I giggled when his nose brushed up against the sensitive spot of my neck. “Do you think you’ll be able to wait a whole two weeks?” I teased.
He pulled back enough for me to see his face, and the thoughtful look that came over it. “You’re right. That’s far too long from now. We’ll wed within the week.”
“A week! You’re crazy.”
“Crazy for you,” he agreed and then released me. “Now be good and get some sleep. We have a full day of riding tomorrow if we want to make it to Noreum before nightfall. I can’t have you falling off the horse from exhaustion.”
I went over to the bed Zander had prepared for me, mumbling under my breath about stubborn fae lords as I plopped down on it and then wiggled until I got comfortable. I thought it would take forever to fall asleep, but since I’d missed the entire night before, I found my eyes growing heavy right away.
I was almost asleep when I heard him whisper, “Sleep tight, little bird,” and then unconsciousness pulled me under.
* * *
I tossed and turned all night, shifting between sleep and wakefulness, until finally I felt myself pulled into a deep dream.
I was standing on the rooftop of my palace in the Summer Court.
“Dawn!” my mother cried out in the dream, her voice echoing in my mind.
I twisted toward the direction of her voice and saw my mother. She stood in her night robe, teetering on the clay rooftop tiles as black rain poured down around us.
