“I’m sorry for sneaking in,” he said, “but I wanted to see you. I won’t make a habit of it, I promise.”
“Maybe you should,” Rielle teased—but her voice came out shaky.
Audric’s dark gaze searched her own, then fell to the floor.
A flurry of nerves danced up her breastbone. “Did you want to talk to me about something?”
“Yes, it’s—” Now his voice was the unsteady one. He cleared his throat. “I’m afraid, though, that I shouldn’t. That I’m a fool for coming here tonight.”
“You know you can tell me anything.”
“I know.”
“Then talk to me.” She reached for him. “What is it?”
He brought her hand to his lips. “Rielle,” he whispered against her skin, “Rielle, Rielle…”
“You’re frightening me. Say something other than my name. Say something real.”
“Something real.” He laughed a little and stepped away from her. “It’s just…”
When he fell silent again, Rielle thought she might scream. “Audric, if you don’t start talking this instant—”
“You understand what all of this means, don’t you?” He gestured at the castle around them. “I will be king someday, and you will be the Sun Queen.”
“Well, not if the fire trial—”
“Oh, Rielle. You’ll conquer that trial as you have all the others. You’ll be glorious, and then…” He dragged a hand through his hair, turned away, then back to her. “Then you will serve me, and if I have to send you into battle to save the kingdom, I will do it. That is the Sun Queen’s foretold purpose: to defend and protect. And I cannot stray from that simply because I love you.”
His voice caught on the last words.
Rielle approached slowly, her heart pounding. She touched his arm, and when he looked down at her, his eyes warm and troubled, she cradled his cheek in her hand.
He leaned in to her touch, cupped her hand in his, and kissed her palm. “I know I shouldn’t touch you,” he said, his voice rough. “We decided it. We had good reasons. But, God help me, I’ve been able to think of little else since that day in the gardens.”
Rielle moved closer to him, drawing his hand down to her waist. “Remember, Ludivine doesn’t care. She wants us to.”
“It’s not Lu or her family. Not anymore. Now I’m wondering…” He leaned his forehead against hers, closed his eyes. “If only I could stop loving you.”
“What are you saying?”
“As Sun Queen, you will be sacred to our people, Rielle. A symbol longed for and prayed for since the dawn of our age.”
“Let’s not call me that unless it actually happens. I’m nervous enough as it is.”
“The Archon will bless you in front of the entire city. I cannot interfere with that. I cannot tarnish it.”
She stepped back from him. “Are you saying taking me into your bed would tarnish me somehow?”
He looked at her helplessly. “I don’t know how to both love you and be the person who sends you to war.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “Are you just now realizing that could happen? What did you think the trials were for, exactly?”
He turned away, eyes bright.
She followed him. “Audric, I want you to listen to this, for I will only say it once.”
He looked up at the change in her voice.
“If you ever sent me into battle,” she said, “I would go gladly, and I would burn our enemies to ashes. But I would not do it for you—or because of the prophecy. I would do it because this is my home too. And if you tried to keep me near you for love of me, you would fail.”
He stared at her, the air between them snapping taut and furious. She lifted her chin and dared him silently to defy her.
But he didn’t. Instead he strode toward her and caught her mouth hungrily with his.
She gasped into his kiss, stumbling back from the force of it. He steadied her, hands at her hips, and moved with her until she stood pressed between the wall and his body. She opened her mouth to him, wound her fingers through his hair.
His hands were everywhere—first cradling her face, then cupping her hips to pull her closer against his body. When he trailed his lips down her neck, and lower, kissing along the neckline of her gown, Rielle arched her body up into his.
The fire popped and hissed.
“Yes,” she whispered, tugging up his shirt to find bare skin. “Yes.”