Page 119 of The Forbidden Fae King

“There should be a content warning on that one,” he mutters.

“It was very emotional,” I utter. “I have seen others on the black market trade, but they were more distant, analytical.”

Aldrin nods. “It depends on how affected the person who created the memory was.”

“Have you thought of making a memory capture scroll on the evidence you have witnessed of the corruption and the rifts?” I ask.

“Yes, but it won’t help my cause.” Aldrin sighs. “The magic is complex and takes time. Remember, these scrolls are leaden with the person’s thoughts and opinions. Right now, my biases will probably be called into question. I have already been exiled once for broaching this issue and failing to make the people believe me. These scrolls are best for recording history from multiple perspectives.”

I sit back in my chair, mind still reeling from the scrolls.

Aldrin’s hand draws small circles on my thigh, winding higher and higher. “Care to have a private dinner with me?”

“Shouldn’t you be dining with your courtiers?” I ask absentmindedly.

He waves a hand. “I’ve been meeting with potential supporters all day. Iwantto have dinner with you. To spend every moment I can with you, because I don’t know how long this will last.” There is such vulnerability in his eyes, and it pains me to see it. “I want you to stay, Keira. Not just for another week or month. I want you tostay.”

A tear rolls down my face and he wipes it away. A pendulum swings in my mind, and I am flying between two potential futures.

“Is the idea that horrible?” The side of his mouth quirks up and I laugh, despite the second tear that leaves my eye.

“I have no place here, Aldrin. And I can’t abandon my family, never see them again or tell them what became of me.” The very idea tightens my throat, suffocating me.

Aldrin quickly straightens in his chair. “You’d be able to see your family as much as you want.”

“What?” I gasp. The entire world seems to tip sideways.

“I can teach you to open the portals at will. You have enough power if you can break through your block. Most high fae can. We have a gate to the Appleshield Protectorate just outside this city.” He runs a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry. I never realized this was a conflict for you.”

“I thought it was a crime for a fae to open a portal?”

He gives me a half-smile. “It’s a crime for afaeto open the portal. No one stops humans from returning to their realm. The druids do it whenever the worlds align, but with your power, you won’t have to wait.”

My stomach launches at the idea, and hope flares then dies within me. “But you don’t know how to break my block yet?”

“We can work it out. But these things take time and practice.” A slow smile fills Aldrin’s face as he leans into me. “You’ll have to tell your family a story other than that you are having a love affair with a fae.”

“Love affair?” My voice rises high with indigence.

“Do you want it to be more than that, Keira?” He leans so close into me, peering into my eyes, then brushes a kiss to my lips. “Because you already clutch my heart in your fist.”

A ripple of pure joy runs throughout my body. It is paired with terror. I want to tell him I am falling for him. That a life without him would be like losing part of my soul. The moment he walks out of a room, he takes a part of me with him, and all the warmth and light and joy leaves.

But something holds me back.

I am a woman who usually lets every single person into her heart, and to hell with the consequences or the vulnerability to hurt it gives me, but this man, if I open myself to him, he will take everything that I am and give his everything in return. If we cross that bridge between us, there will be no going back, because our two consciousnesses will collide and fuse and there will be no me or him anymore, but only us.

“But what place could I possibly have here?” I half-whisper.

“Oh, I don’t know.” He gives me a sly smile. “What place do you want here? I don’t know if you’ve heard, but there’s going to be a great social change in this court. Why not start it in my palace? Why not start with us?”

I am completely speechless.

“I brought a living memory scroll for you to consider. Food for thought.” He points to it on the table, then gets up and moves to the door before turning back to me. “I’ll see you at dinner.” An incredibly smug expression fills his face, as he strides from the room.

My stomach tumbles as I touch the scroll with trepidation. Immediately, I merge with the memory.

I run through a meadow of swishing grass that is soft beneath my bare feet. Spring blooms throw the scent of pollen into the air. I am in the body of a young human woman. Iona. Her name is Iona. Tree nymphs run alongside me, laughing. My friends.

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