My gaze whipped to his. “How do you know that?”
“I’ve seen enough to know that much, and I’ve heard things too. The servants speak of you, of your kindness and willingness to always help. They’ve never met a lady like you. You don’t see yourself as above them or them as merely there to serve you. You see them as fae, as individuals. It hasn’t gone unnoticed.”
“Because they are fae who deserve to be treated with kindness and are more than just servants. Since when do rulibs determine one’s worth?” I said vehemently.
His eyes flickered, an emotion shining in them before he veiled it. “You’re inherently good, Ilara, and I’ve committed more sins than Lucifer, but I’ll spend the rest of my life proving that I’ll be a worthy mate to you. I’ll cherish you, and I’ll show you that I’m not as evil as everyone believes—”
“I already know you’re not.”
He stilled.
“I’ve seen enough to know the same of you, my prince. You’ve sacrificed more than anyone in this kingdom knows, and you’ve done it all selflessly. You haven’t looked for recognition or gratitude when you’ve helped fae who’ve demanded your affinities be used for their needs. You created an entire village to shield innocents from your father even though it could lead to your demise. You’re not a monster, Norivun. I see that. I see you.”
His chest heaved, his mouth tightening, and then he squeezed my hand again, his fingers once more encircling mine. “I’ve waited so long to find you.”
I squeezed him back just as tightly. Tears began to fill my eyes, because it wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair that he was hated when he gave so much.
A moment passed as thick emotion tightened my throat. My heart thundered. Everything in me was swirling, colliding, igniting. Being here, with him . . . everything about it felt right. I felt complete.
Crackling from the fire filled the quiet. Shifting, the prince’s wings splayed out more behind him. “I want you to be mine, Ilara. I never want to be parted from you. Let me claim you. Please.”
My stomach flipped, and everything in me wanted to say yes, to throw caution to the wind.
But everything right now wasn’t just about us.
I stood and took a deep breath before I faced the fire. Magic simmered inside me as energy in me began to build. I itched at my chest, trying to suppress the feeling that rose higher and higher, as a deep pulsing ache began in my core.
The prince’s nostrils flared as he watched me, his expression carefully veiled.
“I can’t accept you yet, only because of what lays ahead.”
“Why?” he asked quietly before coming to his feet and prowling silently toward me.
I worked a swallow. “Because I can’t be fully bonded to you. I have to concentrate on the Trial, on saving my family, on stopping your father, but it doesn’t mean I don’t want you.”
He stopped only inches away, and his snow and cedar scent clouded around me as his broad shoulders and pounding aura commanded my attention. “You can still be bonded to me and do all of that.”
I shook my head. “I can’t. You’re quite . . . distracting. I need to concentrate on healing fields and learning my magic better in the last few weeks that I have. And what if I lose the Trial? Then what? I’ll be bonded to you while having to marry another.”
His eyes narrowed as a deadly gleam filled them. “You will not marry another.”
“I’ll have to if the king orders it.”
His hands pumped into fists as a muscle worked in his jaw.
“We can’t, Norivun. Not yet.” As much as I knew the prince detested to admit it, we both knew that we couldn’t stop his father unless Norivun was willing to pay the price—the price being his mother’s safety or his own execution for defying the king.
Such a choice would destroy him. His life or his mother’s well-being for my safety and happiness. Those were his choices if he defied his father. I would never put the prince in that position.
“Let me win the Trial first, and then I’ll accept you as my mate.” I laid a hand on his chest. His muscles jumped beneath my palm.
His chest lifted in a breath that was so deep it seemed to carry the weight of the realm when he released it. He covered my hand with his, then leaned down until his forehead touched mine. “I ache for you, Ilara.”
My heart squeezed at that quietly pained statement. “I ache for you as well.”
He trailed a finger softly along my cheek. “Are you sure I can’t convince you otherwise?”
My entire body tingled, and a shudder ran through me.
He shifted, pressing a kiss to my throat before he inhaled my scent. “I could make you scream in pleasure.” He kissed my neck again, so softly, so suggestively, that a swell of desire bloomed in my core.
A shiver danced down my spine as goosebumps broke out across my skin. He slipped an arm around my waist, slowly, questioningly. As if he didn’t want to force anything on me and was waiting to see what I would do.
I knew I couldn’t bed him, not yet, but that didn’t mean we couldn’t enjoy other things.
He seemed to sense my acceptance the moment it hit me.
A low growl rumbled his chest, and then he lifted me, sweeping me into his embrace before striding toward his bed. Wings rippling behind him, he cradled me to him as steady channels of power oozed from his pores.
My heart beat harder, painfully hard. But I didn’t stop him, didn’t voice any concern. Because Blessed Mother, I wanted this male, wanted him so badly that I burned, even if I couldn’t fully have him yet.
When we reached the bed, Norivun lay me on it and paused as longing washed over his face. “I’ve wanted to see you in my bed for so many months.”
His hands went to the hem of my pants before he removed them slowly, languidly, as if he were relishing every moment of undressing me now that the time had finally come. He removed my shirt next, his breath hissing when only my underthings covered me.
“So beautiful.” He lifted my foot and brought the arch to his mouth. My toes curled when he pressed a kiss there, then he ran his fingers up my calf. “So soft. Your skin is like silk.”
He trailed his fingertips up my thighs, and I nearly bucked off the bed when his fingers brushed fleetingly on my core.
He chuckled darkly as desire heated his gaze before he bent my knees, then wrapped both of my legs over his shoulders, hooking my feet behind him, right between his wings.
My attention snagged on those leathery appendages. They were spread slightly, as though he wasn’t able to keep them locked in tight, and my toe inched toward his left wing before running slightly up the inside, where the bone met flesh.
Norivun hissed, and a shuddering groan left him. “Do that again.”
My heart beat faster as I mimicked the same movement, first on his left wing and then on his right.
His entire face tightened as energy coiled around him. Squeezing his eyes shut, he took a deep breath and then another. And when he opened his eyes, such a fierce emotion shone in them that I couldn’t breathe.
“I need you naked.” In a clash of power, his magic tore through my underthings, and then I was bare, fully revealed.
His entire body just . . . stopped as the power around him soared.