Page 29 of Solstice

I shook my head as she came to stand next to me, wrapping her arms around my waist. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say it was the queen. But Miri’s thistles still held, and neither the queen nor the king could enter this side of the realm. Not without breaking their curse first or finding a key.

“Nothing,” I said, squeezing my eyes shut. “I’m just tired.”

Miri laughed and tugged me back inside, shutting the doors behind us. “Me too, darling. I could have sworn I felt the queen’s presence.”

I froze. “Are you serious?”

She shivered and tucked her head into my chest. “I wouldn’t forget magic like that. It’s…overwhelming.”

“You don’t sense it anymore?”

She shook her head and looked up at me. “I imagined it.”

I leaned down to whisper in her ear. “I saw her.”

Miri pulled back to look at me, furrowing her brows when she realized I was serious. “Do you think she’s here?”

I shrugged. “If she was…she’s gone now.”

“Lex…I…I don’t feel them anymore.” She looked down at her hands, opening and closing them.

I narrowed my gaze on her. “Feel what?”

“The thistles.” Tears welled in her eyes as she stared up at me, a sob catching in her throat. “Oh, bloody hell. I think they’re gone.”

“Gone?” My heart pounded as I leaned down to look at her. “What do you mean gone?”

“I don’t know.” Miri shook her head, wrapping her arms around me, holding on to me for strength.

I didn’t know what else to do or say, so I tugged her close and let her lean on me, the ramifications of her confession soaking in. Even if the thistles were down, there was nothing we could do about it. If she couldn’t feel them and she couldn’t rebuild them, we had to pray the king never found a way through the Veil.

We huddled together, looking out those doors, holding each other like the sun might never rise, but the vision never returned. Eventually, we went back to the couch and rekindled the fire, deciding to stay the night down there just in case.

“We’ll tell Ivy and Carter in the morning,” I said. Even then, I didn’t know what we could do about it. The thistles being gone only meant we had to be more defensive and strategic about what we did next.

Miri nodded and smiled, poking at the logs with the metal rod while I sat with my arms outstretched to the side and memorized the way the light flickered over her soft features.

Ivy told me about her conversation with Miri, how our princess might end up marrying that ancient prick sometime soon. It enraged me and disappointed me at the same time. I couldn’t stop her, none of us could, but maybe I could talk some sense into her. “The Prince of Monaco.”

She made a sad laugh and stood. “Ivy told you, did she?”

“She did.” Ivy and I didn’t keep much from each other these days.

“And?” Miri’s eyes sparkled as she sauntered closer, put her knees on either side of my hips, and sank onto my lap. She linked her fingers behind my neck and pressed her forehead to mine, and her flowery scent permeated the tense space between us.

God, how I adore her.

“And I look forward to hearing how you plan to hide your three lovers from him.”

She pressed her lips to mine in a chaste embrace. “With pretty lies and sugar-sweet kisses.”

“Miri.” I put my hands on her wrists, forcing her to look up at me. Not for the first time, I wished I had Ivy’s gift. I wished I could dig around in her head until I figured out what she was hiding behind that contemplative stare. Something about her was off. I sensed it like a splinter in my mind. “You don’t have to do this.”

“We both know that’s not true.”

“Marry Carter,” I suggested. “Or better yet, marry no one and move here anyway.”

She rolled her eyes. “I can’t do that for the same reasons as you.”

---