Page 63 of Stolen Threadwitch Bride
We were just outside the gardens, far from the house, where fragrant jasmine grew over a wall and grass covered a gentle slope.
“Does this suit my evening star?” He gestured to the ground and a dozen cushions appeared, spread across a velvet blanket the exact deep blue of his eyes.
I screwed up my face, trying not to smile. “Hmm, it’ll do.”
“Phew.” He rolled his eyes before handing me onto the blanket and removing his jacket.
I sank into the cushions and blew a heavy sigh.
Brows drawn together, he lounged beside me more like a sabrecat sunning himself than a person lying in the dark. His gaze skimmed over me and the frown deepened. “Will you tell me what happened?”
I explained about the changeling but not what it had said, only that it frightened me and knew things from my thoughts.
As he listened, his neck corded, and when I told him how it had herded me towards the road, his nostrils flared.
“Goren.” He bared his teeth. “He used his gift on you.”
Black cherries. That taste I’d caught before seeing the changeling must’ve been his magic.
“The changeling was in your mind,” Ly went on, “put there byhim.” Every word came out harsh, seething with restraint. “He doesn’t know what’s in your mind, but his gift turns your thoughts and fears against you.”
So Goren didn’t know those dark things I told myself, the raw places in my heart. I exhaled, rubbing my chest.
Ly’s hands flexed, rippling through the muscles and tendons in his forearms. “He could’ve got you killed—worse, consumed by the Hunt.” He blasted out a breath and bolted upright. “I will rip him apart, destroy his fucking soul. I’m going to find him right now and watch his eyes go dark as I crush the life—”
“No.” My voice trembled, but my hand on his arm did not. “Remember your plan. If you go after him, you might never get the seed back. Ruining his scheme is the best revenge.”
He clenched his jaw but no longer looked like he was about to leap to his feet and hunt down Goren.
“And tonight,” I added, “he’s your guest—you can’t harm him.” Goren had an invite, so guest right stood. If Ly could somehow push his body to break that taboo, he’d be damned.
He eased back against the cushions, narrowing his eyes. “When did you get so good at fae intrigue?”
I lifted my chin with fake cockiness. “Too much time around Sylvie.” But I couldn’t keep it up and the expression broke into a grin. “Really, though, you know I’m right.”
“I do,” he said on a sigh. He lowered his gaze, lips pressing together. “I’m sorry I left you out there.”
“I thought the point was that we ran alone.”
“I should’ve cheated and kept you with me. Especially with him here. You’re…” He shook his head. “He knows you matter to me.”
I tried to bite back the smile, but… it was too warm and he was too close. And, hells, what did it matter if he knew how much I liked those words?
He had given me a sense of safety, a place to live where I didn’t feel judged… somewhere that was starting to feel like home.
I would give him what I could in return. Not because it was an exchange or a bargain, but because Iwantedto.
Smile fading, jaw clenching, I ran my fingers through his hair. A shiver swept through him, and he looked up, eyebrows rising, hopeful.
“I don’t give a damn what he knows.” The firmness of my voice caught me by surprise. “I am going to make you the best outfit I’ve ever sewn.” The viciousness in my low tone—that wasn’t me. Except… maybe it was. Maybe this was what a brave Ariadne sounded like. “I want you to beat him, and I want him to live to see it. I want you to get your power back.”
Eyes closing, he nuzzled my hand. That gesture—I’d have thought it animalistic and frightening a couple of months ago, but now? Now it was him. It was… natural. I stroked the lines of his cheekbones, of his nose, the edge of his lips, locking it all in my heart.
He nipped at my fingertips, a playful grin edging in place. “Then you don’t think I’m, and I quote, ‘an arrogant prick’?”
“Hmm.” I tapped his nose as if telling him off. “One out of two.”
He snorted and caught my finger. “I won’t ask which one.” He kissed the pad, once, twice, three times, expression growing more serious with each. “But I don’t care about beating him or getting back my power—not tonight. Let’s enjoy the stars.”
