“Because I was an innocent human?”
He shakes his head, a soft laugh bubbling up his throat. “Why I put you up in the Spring Wing instead of letting Kel imprison you?”
“Because Kel should clearly not be allowed to make decisions?”
Now, his smile is so big, it’s caught me too, and I’m laughing with him. “Why,” he continues, “I have sworn to myself a thousand times over that I will do anything and everything to ensure you are safe and living the beautiful life you deserve?”
I sit up on my knees before him and grab his face. I know what he’s going to say. My heart is crying out with it. My chest feels like it’s glowing, invisible beams of light radiating toward him.
“I know, Ez,” I say, tears flying down my face. “I know because I know you.”
“Rosalina O’Connell,” he says, lips trembling, “you are my mate.”
A smile breaks across my face like the first rays of dawn. “And you, Ezryn, High Prince of Spring, are mine.”
77
Rosalina
I remember how I felt months ago when Ezryn and I stood on the balcony over Coppershire and he took my wrist in his hand, fading the scars of the past. My wrist was fiery red, the skin fresh, raw, fragile.
That’s how I feel right now, all over. Like the blooming of my mate bond has been a thunderstorm, washing away all the jagged and broken pieces of me. I am brand-new. Reborn.
And ready to be marked by him.
Ezryn drags a hand through my wet hair and cups my face with his other. His eyes shine with a question.
“Kiss me,” I command. “Kiss me and claim me.”
He does.
I’m on my back, the full weight of his body over me before his lips cover mine. Our tongues tangle, the kiss fierce and hungry. All the months of longing looks blocked by metal are unleashed in this moment. I tug him closer, not wanting to waste a second away from his lips.
Deep inside, I knew that the High Prince of Spring belonged to me. I just couldn’t comprehend how someone like me could have one mate, let alone three. Kel and Farron drift into my mind. Can you feel us together? I can only imagine Kel’s joy when we tell him the news.
Another face flashes in my mind. Dayton. Maybe we were wrong earlier—
Ezryn lightly sinks his teeth into my neck, and I’m torn from my thoughts. Heat explodes in my core, a different type of fire. One that makes the wet clothes sticking to Ezryn’s skin an object of derision.
I push him up and make quick work of the tight black shirt, the kind he always wears under his armor. I begin to wonder where the rest of it is, but I’m distracted by the chiseled lines of muscle along his chest, the thick thatch of hair.
But I’ve seen—and felt—his body before. My eyes drift back to his face. “Ez,” I breathe, “you are so fucking hot.”
He raises a brow and laughs. “Would you have been upset to be mates with me if I were hideous?”
I crawl on to his lap and try to ignore the iron-hard press of his length against my belly so I can be serious for a moment. Tracing my fingers along the rough line of stubble on his jaw, I hold his gaze. “I fell in love with you when I could only ever dream of the color of your eyes. I would have stayed in love with you even if you were clad in metal for the rest of my life. And I love you now because of who you are.” I bite the lobe of his ear and whisper, “You being a total hottie is just a plus.”
I thought that would get another one of those glorious laughs from him, but he shifts so we’re staring at each other again. “You love me?”
“Isn’t it completely obvious? Of course I love you, Ez. You stood by me from the very first day we met. You trust me when I doubt myself. You watch out for your family no matter what. And when there seems to be not enough hope to even stand, you raise us up and keep us going.” I’m crying again, quiet tears dripping over my lips. I’m smiling too. I can see in his face, he can’t believe what I’m saying. “You might not trust it now, but that’s okay. I’m not going anywhere. I’ll spend every day proving it to you if I have to. And you know how stubborn I can be.”
That at least gets a little smile out of him. “You love me,” he whispers.
“I do.” I trace the curve of his nose, the lines of his lips. “Trust what I say. You know me.” I say the words like an offering.
“I know you,” he repeats. Then his eyes lower, taking in my wet dress, hugging tight to my body. “My mate…”
“Yours.”