All of it combined to steal my thoughts and drag me into the vortex of pleasure alongside him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and hung on as all the tension exploded inside me, making me feel like a star going supernova.
A low groan escaped him as he shuddered, his breath hot at my ear. “Sia.”
The pleasure tapered off, leaving me lax and satiated. “I didn’t expect that to happen.”
He drew back, his gaze warm. “I wouldn’t leave you behind.”
I laughed, happier than I’d ever been in my life.
Then the shadows crossed his face.
“Lore?”
His brow creased and his jaw tightened. The change in his expression was fast enough to give me whiplash.
“We shouldn’t have done this.” He set me down with a gentleness that made my heart clutch, then whirled on his heel and left the room. The door thudded closed behind him.
I flinched, then leaned back against the wall.
Had that really just happened?
12
Lore
* * *
I strode through the train, wishing I could outrun my demons the way I’d walked away from Sia. I’d just left her there. After what we’d done, I’d found the strength to walk away.
I couldn’t believe it.
I also couldn’t believe the way I’d lost control.
Frustrated, I dragged a hand over my face. I’d let my desire get the better of me, just like I had in the past.
Weak.
I was weak. Especially where she was concerned.
I stopped in the bathroom and cleaned myself up, ashamed by my loss of restraint. Sia was a danger to my self-control, which meant she was a danger to my people. She wasn’t to blame—that was all on me—but she was still too much of a temptation for me to resist.
And yet, she was meant to help us defeat the witch with the deathly magic. I couldn’t let her go.
I left the bathroom and went to the dining car, unable to get my mind off of Sia and the witch who would arrive at High Court Palace.
The damned witch needed to stop with the theatrics and arrive, already. Her dark clouds had been hovering over our kingdom for months, growing ever closer. They filled the sky as the train steamed toward the palace, growing thicker and darker as we neared our destination.
The threat was about to bubble over into something real, but I was ready for it to be here now.
I needed to put my energy toward something, and violence suited me best at the moment.
“Don’t you look in a tizzy?” The voice of the queen of the Mountain Fae broke through my distraction.
I was in the dining car, I realized. She was here once more, a different slice of cake in front of her.
I frowned. “You eat too much sugar.”
She laughed. “That’s what you want to talk about?”
I scowled, but she was right. It’d been a poor choice. My mind was a mess.
She inspected me, her lips pursed. The dining car was still empty, she the only occupant.
“Sit.” She nodded to the seat across from her.
“No.”
“Sit. You owe me that much.”
Did I? “You can’t possibly still be angry with me.”
“Honestly? No. It’s been centuries since you left me. And we were never close, despite the fact that we were bound to be wed. You were a libertine who slept with anyone you met. I didn’t expect much of you. But I am angry that you broke the engagement without so much as a word to me about it. That was a disrespect I could not tolerate.”
I dragged a hand through my hair. “That was wrong of me.”
“You were a different man, then.” She sighed. “I’ve heard tales of how you’ve changed, but to see it for myself…”
I raised a brow, wondering idly if she would continue. I was still reeling inside from what had happened with Sia, and I wanted the distraction of her calling me a cold bastard. We hadn’t seen each other since we’d parted centuries ago. During that time, she’d sent an emissary to High Court Palace, so I’d never had to see her on my visits there.
“Well, they were correct.” She tapped her fork on the table. “You’ve turned to ice.”
“Better than what I was before.”
She shrugged. “I liked you well enough.”
“You heard what happened to my people. The attack that occurred under my watch. The dozens of lives lost. That was all because of me. Because of my selfishness and distraction.”
“I’d say you’re too hard on yourself, but I’d be the same as you.”
“And Sia threatens that.” I couldn’t believe I was telling her this.