Page 84 of Between Smoke and Shadow

I break away from his lips and trail kisses down the column of his throat. He groans, lifting me against him until my feet don’t touch the floor. I wrap my legs around his waist, pressing our chests together and relishing the soreness between my thighs. I’m desperate to feel him inside me again, but before I get carried away, I lean back to look at him.

“When?” I ask, chest still heaving.

“Whenever you want,” he says. “We won’t be able to have a ceremony until after I’m king—obviously—but we can still make it nice. If I have a few days, I can arrange for flowers and have your favorite meal made. We can go pick out?—”

I smile at him like the complete, lovestruck fool I am.

“I love you,” I tell him. His face softens at those three words, as if they’re the most beautiful thing he’s ever heard. “Today. I want to marry you today.”

TWENTY-NINE

RUNE

I stand in Harrick’s bedroom, surrounded by scarlet…everything. I don’t know how he bears to sleep here, how the red doesn’t give him a constant headache. If his sister wasn’t here, shooting me skeptical glances, I might ask him. Instead, I haven’t spoken a word since we arrived.

Princess Tora sits on Harrick’s bed, cross-legged, scrawling furiously over a fresh sheet of parchment. Brow furrowed, she only pauses to reference one of the wrinkled documents from earlier or to ask her brother a question. The few times I’ve seen her, she’s either worn training gear or a frilly dress. Right now, she’s got loose-fitting bottoms and a matching top.

It’s inexplicably endearing, watching Harrick interact with her. They clearly love each other, even as he makes fun of her handwriting and she accuses him of smelling like sweat. He most certainly doesn’t.

“Do you have a surname, Rune?” she asks. Up close, she looks perfectly golden and beautiful. I haven’t dared to meet her eyes, but I can tell she’s looking at me.

“Obviously,” Harrick says. His tone instantly shifts to agitation. “She’s a person, Tor. Not an animal.”

“I didn’t say she was an animal,” Tora snaps. “Some servants don’t have?—”

“Ealde,” I say, interrupting them. My voice is so quiet I’m not sure she’s heard me. “My number is 247, if that’s more useful.”

“You won’t be needingthatmuch longer,” she says with something between a laugh and a scoff.

I shift on my feet, unsure whether she’s mocking, pitying, or judging me.

“All right, that’s everything,” Tora says. She shoves off the bed and stands between me and her brother. Looking at him, she asks, “Ready?”

In response, he looks to me and I give a sharp nod.

Much like sex, marriage is something I didn’t consider before Harrick. Servants don’t marry and having a child was the last thing I wanted. Maybe I would have married if I ever escaped the Tower, but my plans didn’t go that far into the future. Now that it’s actually happening, I wish my parents were here—my dad especially. He’d be tearing up, telling me he loves me and that he’s proud. He wouldn’t care that Harrick is heir to Savoa, he’d only want to know whether he’s good to me.

He is, I tell Dad, wherever his magic may be in this world.

“Join hands,” Tora says. Even though I don’t meet her eyes, skepticism is heavy in her expression. Aside from Joran, who stands guard on the other side of the door, she’s the only one who knows about me and Harrick. I hope, someday, she comes to like me.

“Can I take off your mask?” he asks, stealing my attention. I look at him, and unlike with Tora, I don’t hesitate to meet his gaze. The warm darkness of his eyes fills me with a sense of comfort. It reminds me of home, a feeling I haven’t had in cycles.

Rather than answer, I untie my mask and pass him the thin fabric. He loops the band around his wrist before takingmy hands in his. He’s smiling now, that same giddy grin from earlier.

“Gods, you’re so pretty,” he whispers. He captures my mouth in his, not seeming to care that we’re in front of his sister. I’m pretty sure I’m blushing from head to toe by the time he pulls away.

“You’re supposed to wait until after you sign,” Tora says pointedly, but her expression changes from skepticism to curiosity. Harrick pulls away from me, still grinning, and roughs her hair. Then leaning into me again, he whispers, “Are you ready? Say the word, and we don’t do this.”

“I’m ready. I want to,” I say, breath shaky. “I’m just…scared.”

“You’re safe with me.” Harrick tucks my hair behind my ear. “Give yourself time, sweetheart. One day,soon, you won’t be scared of anything.”

That seems impossible, but I believe him anyway. I breathe through my nose and close my eyes. When I open them again, I push onto my toes, pressing a quick kiss against his stubbled cheek. Harrick smiles, and I do my best to block out the rising nerves.

Whatever happens after this, I could never regrethim.

“Rune Ealde,” Tora says. “With your word and your name, do you vow to protect my brother’s heart and love him for the remainder of your days?”

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