Page 59 of The Mirror in the Mountain

Bash and Tobias exchanged a look.

“Your precedent of martyrdom notwithstanding,” Tobias said dryly. “So, my request stands.”

I felt a squeeze in my chest as that insight hit a little too close to the truth I was trying to hide. Tobias’s eyes narrowed slightly, and I belatedly rolled my eyes.

Quinn led us toward the living room, where a prominent bronze mirror made me stop short, that old fear clenching my stomach. It was almost the twin to my family’s mirror in the mortal realm, though instead of roses, its sides were lined with a flowering vine. My eyes fixed on the identical filigree pattern at its top, and the acrid smell of smoke filled my nose.

Bash took hold of my hand, squeezing it, and I realized my nails had been digging into the rose scarred there. He brought it to his mouth before placing a chaste kiss on the raised ridges ofits petals. I gave him a weak smile, swallowing against my dry mouth as I looked back at that too familiar mirror.

But I didn’t hear those screams as I walked toward it, chanting our destination in my head. Not with Bash’s hand still holding mine. My other hand clenched in a fist, that shadow-colored stone I now wore on my ring finger seeming to undulate as if with its own magic.

“Good luck,” Quinn called out.

Turning over my shoulder to where she stood by my brother, I raised my hand in a small wave goodbye. Then winked, adding wryly, “You say it like we’ll need it.”

Before I could think about it, Bash and I stepped through.

Chapter 26

Estelle

Ihadn’t wanted to admit to Adrian that he might have already won with almost a full day to spare. Whether it was the bond pushing me toward him, or that all those seemingly innocuous ways to show me how much he cared had softened my heart along with my guard, I could no longer deny that his intentions seemed pure.

Nor could I deny how much I wanted him, our first tryst only leaving me wanting more. Though I had heard whispers of the effects of ananimabond, I hadn’t realized the intensity of it before even accepting the tie between us. I found myself pressing my thighs together beneath my skirts at the mere sound of his voice and watched as his eyes darkened at the way my skin flushed in response.

He hadn’t hidden how much he wanted me in return, though each night he had only given me the barest of kisses before leaving me at my door. As if he knew it would only make me yearn for him more, along with everything else we could be together.

The second I opened my bedroom door, Adrian was waiting there with a steaming mug in hand, as had become our tradition. “Come on.”

I took a sip and let out a contented sigh at the taste as his hand slipped into mine. That initial charge between us at his touch, the undercurrent of some ancient magic, made my heart quicken. “Where?”

A saccharine smile. “We have places to be, Princess.”

“Oh?” I raised one eyebrow. “Here I thought the bonding ceremony preparations were being handled by basically everybodybutus.”

Adrian laughed, and I inwardly swooned at its deep rumble. “Well, we’d better disappear before they remember to come find us then.”

I smiled and let him lead me away.

Whether it was theanimabond or just him, my last semblance of restraint faded far faster than I had imagined. Adrian seemed to sense my concerns before I could voice them, eradicating my every fear about any ulterior motives, even as I came to realize they were all echoes of my father’s voice urging me to distrust outsiders for how they might use me. It had been simpler than I thought to let down the walls I had built around myself in the name of duty and let myself trust him.

My worries about controlling my own destiny seemed to fade just as easily as Adrian made it more and more clear that it would always be my choice with him. I hadn’t even realized that he stood to inherit the Esterran throne until he had introduced me to his older brother, Eliav, last night at dinner. He shared the same golden-brown eyes and flirty grins, though his mannerisms were far more calculated.

But his brother wasn’t Celestial. Which meant Adrian hadn’t even considered his own ambition before letting me choose where I wished us to spend our lives together.

“Your brother seems happy about his change in station.”

I winced at my lack of tact, but Adrian’s pace didn’t falter as he led me up a staircase I didn’t recognize. “He’ll be a good king.”

“And you don’t wish you were in his place?”

Adrian stopped so suddenly I ran into him. He caught me effortlessly in his arms, then tilted my chin up so I looked him in the eyes. “My place is with you.”

Something indefinable danced between us, something that felt like forever. And I realized the last of my reticence had somehow disappeared without my realizing it, Adrian’s earnestness having chipped it away piece by piece. He led me down a bright, open hallway, his hand in mine as he tugged me into a library I had never seen before, the stacks of books towering all around us on glossy, white shelves. A lovely, cushioned window seat overlooked the misty forest below, and I brought Adrian over to it, setting down my mug. Then laughed as he immediately pulled me onto his lap.

His lips were on mine before I could protest…not that I wanted to. Everything about him felt like home, like belonging. Even the sinful stroke of his tongue as it demanded entrance reminded me that being together somehow made me feel utterly whole.

Adrian drew back, and I blushed as his gaze remained fixed on my mouth. But he didn’t lean back in. Instead, he looked into my eyes so deeply, it felt like he was staring into my soul.

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