“Apparently not anymore,” he says, winking at me.
I nudge him with my elbow. “I’m sorry I don’t stroke your ego to your liking.”
He rakes his gaze over me. “It seems I find you irresistible nonetheless.”
My cheeks burn, and I bow my head. “So you loved Isabel enough to rebel against your father?” I prod because apparently I am really bad at taking compliments.
He blows out a breath. “I was young and stubborn and probably a little spoiled too. My entire life I’d gotten everything I wanted, and when I wanted Isabel, I didn’t see why that should be any different.”
When a small cottage appears over the next rise, I’m breathing hard and my slippers are soaked from the dewy grass.
“We made it,” Finn says, flashing me a smile as he pulls open the front door.
“What is this place?”
“This is what I wanted to show you,” he says. “Or part of it at least.”
The cottage is dark and a little musty, as if it’s sat empty for a long time, but when Finn casts a ball of light in the corner, I see that it’s lovely. Warm and cozy, with a fireplace and the kind of furniture that invites you to curl up and spend the day reading.
“That was not a short walk,” I argue as I follow Finn up the stairs. “For future reference.”
He opens the door at the top of the stairs and takes me by the hand to pull me out onto a rooftop terrace. “But it was worth it, wasn’t it?” He drops my hand and turns his palms up. “Just look.”
I turn a slow circle, taking in the view. It’s lovely up here. In one direction, I can see Staraelia, the lights of the lanterns burning on the cobblestone streets. And then, closer, the lights of the party.
Opposite the party, the deep forest rolls into the hills and valleys beyond. “It’s stunning.”
Finn places two fingers beneath my chin and meets my eyes. “Look up, Princess.”
I don’t want to. I want to keep looking into those hypnotizing silver eyes. I want to step closer and revel in this connection between us that never seems to dissipate but always seems amplified in the moonlight.
When I don’t immediately obey, he smiles, as if he knows exactly what I’m thinking, but then he tilts my chin, directing my gaze skyward, and I gasp.
Never have I seen so many stars shine so brightly in such a clear, lush sky. All I can do is stare for a long time as memories from my childhood niggle at the back of my mind. My mother’s voice. She’s in the next room, speaking to a woman who scares her. She scares me too. Her mouth is too big for her face, her eyes too pale. Then my mother’s holding my hand and pointing to the most beautiful starry night I’ve ever seen.
Abriella, make a wish.
Then the wind in my hair as we race on horseback on the beach away from . . . something.
“Are you okay?” Finn asks.
Like grains of sand between my fingers, the memory slips away before I can make sense of it.
“I’m fine.”
“You left me for a minute there,” he says.
I shake my head. “I was just . . . remembering a day from my childhood. Thank you for bringing me here.” I don’t dare take my eyes off the sky, too afraid I might miss something.
“It’s yours,” he says softly.
I smile at a shooting star. “The sky belongs to everyone. And we all belong to it.”
“Abriella.” His voice is firm enough that I pull my gaze back to meet his. “This cottage is yours.
The cottage and the land it sits upon—the whole damn mountain belongs to you.”
I shake my head. “I don’t understand.”
He blows out a breath. “Mother left this piece of property to me. I think she knew I needed a place of my own away from the Midnight Palace. Now I’m giving it to you.”
“You can’t do that, Finn.”
“I already did,” he says softly. “It’s done. I finalized the paperwork before we left the capital.”
“But . . . why?”
He swallows. “Because I know you think you don’t fit in this world. I know you think that by giving up your human life, you also gave up your only chance of going home.” He takes my hand and squeezes my fingers. “I can’t change what happened, and I can’t make the mortal realm a safe place for you, but I can give you a place to call home. The most beautiful place in my whole court. It’s yours.”
“In exchange for what? What do you want from me?”
“Many things, but nothing in exchange for this.” He scans my face again and again. “It’s a gift— yours, whether you end up in the palace or not and whether you stay with Sebastian or not.” He huffs out a dry laugh and gives me a wry grin. “All we have to do is keep the queen from destroying it.”