Page 100 of Court of Secrets and Flames

My heart begins to race. “What are you saying?”

Closing the distance between us, Sterling ghosts his thumb along my jaw, staring into my eyes as if I’m the most important thing in the entire world. “I love you, Duchess. I love your courage, your loyalty, and the way you care for people, even those who don’t fucking deserve so much as a scrap of your affection. I love how you piss me off with that smart mouth of yours, and how you stand up to me when others are afraid to look me in the eye. I love you even though I’ve tried my best not to and refuse to live without you now, even though we both know you deserve better. The thought of anyone hurting you, be it king or commoner or mutant rabbit, infuriates me to the point that I want to set them on fire and let you bathe in their ashes. There’s only one thing in this entire world that could keep me from your side…and that’s you telling me you don’t want me anymore.”

His declaration stuns the oxygen from my lungs. My eyes burn, and a lump swells in my throat. “I can’t…”

The remaining words get stuck as a single tear slips down my cheek.

Sterling presses a kiss to the damp skin. “It’s okay if you don’t. I understand. Just, please, don’t cry. Not for me. I’m not worth a single one of your tears.”

The raw pain and disappointment in his voice shreds my heart, launching me into action. I grab his hand and squeeze. “You didn’t let me finish. What I was trying to say was, I can’tbelieve you admitted that you love how I piss you off. You know I’ll never let you live that down.”

The look he directs at me is cautiously hopeful. “And the rest?”

Releasing his hand, I reach up to cup his cheeks. “Of course, I want you…because I love you too. I loved you even when you were my grumpy flight instructor and took entirely too much joy in making me muck out stalls. I loved you even when I believed you’d betrayed me in the worst way back at Flighthaven, and even after I thought you betrayed me again by abducting me to Tirene. I love you because I know you do deserve me and that we deserve to find happiness with each other. I love how much you care about your kingdom and its people and how you love your asshole of a brother even after he sent you away. And since I don’t foresee any circumstances where I wouldn’t want you, I guess that means you’re stuck with me.”

As I speak, the disbelief on his face gradually shifts into a radiant smile, and I swear, I’ve never witnessed anything more beautiful in my entire life. “There’s no place I’d rather be than by your side.”

I return his smile and arch a brow. “Mutant rabbit?” I tease.

His cheekbones flush pink. “I was just trying to get my point across.”

“Well, you definitely succeeded.”

He laughs softly as his hand finds mine, the touch a promise that needs no words. Brown speckled with gold sparkles at me, and the tension that had built up within me relaxes at the sight. “By all the gods, I do love you. I never imagined it would turn out like this. Or that my brother would become so obsessed with you. I almost regret it.”

My heart stutters in my chest at his admission. For a fleeting moment, the stars are aligned, and everything feels right. The rest of the world fades as our lips meet.

Then, it seizes me again.

The invisible specter of dread.

A shiver vibrates through me, and my muscles tighten.

Sterling senses the shift instantly, his eyes searching mine. “Lark? What’s wrong?”

Fly!My mind screams, though no words escape my lips.Hide!

Adrenaline floods my veins in a merciless tide, urging me to flee. To escape unseen peril that claws at the edges of my consciousness. Squeezing Sterling’s hand tight, I tell myself not to do this again. I cannot hurt him again.

“Something’s wrong!”

The terror—so real I can taste it on my tongue—latches on to every shuddering breath.

But if I flee, I will see that pain in Sterling’s rich brown eyes, which should only ever sparkle because of me and never brim with heartache.

Before sense can form from chaos, a thunderous roar splits the heavens. The dragons, a tempest of scales and fire, barrel toward us in a maelstrom of primal fear. The mated pair, with talons locked in flight, swerve away mere breaths from collision. Chirean drags Dame along to fly even faster.

“Fly away!” I scream, my voice lost amid the cacophony. Desperation fuels my plea as I reach out through the bond while simultaneously tugging on Sterling’s fingers and flapping my wings to propel into the sky.

Sweat forms and trickles down my back. I don’t know which way to go or what to do, only that if we don’t flee, something terrible will happen.

The warm hand holding mine suddenly turns frigid. The abrupt temperature change pierces my terror, and I blink rapidly.

“Lark! What’s wrong?” The chill from his skin enters my body, seeping into my bloodstream and traveling to my lungs to slow my rapid breaths.

“I…don’t know.” Clutching his wrist, I twist, watching the dragons as they continue their flight to safety. “It’s happening again. I feel their emotions…and just like before, they’re terrified.”

Confusion reigns supreme as they alter course erratically, their panic an infectious rhythm that beats wildly across the skies. One moment, they surge forward. The next, they scatter like leaves before a storm, driven by an invisible menace.

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