Page 520 of Flirting with Darkness

“No, he doesn’t seem bad at all.” I said. My cheeks flushed as I tried to clarify. “That’s not it. He’s just… not you.”

He looked at me with what looked like affection in his gaze, and the anxiety that had wound through my limbs started to unspool.

“You really are damaged.”

The words were so unexpected after my heartfelt confession that I let out a surprised laugh, and his own smile spread in response.

“I’ve loved you since we were children,” he admitted.

“How come you never came back?”

“King Hier told me that I had done enough damage. He posted guards at the place where I came through, where the veil was so thin when it rained.”

Then he admitted, “I came to see you. I tricked my way around the guards many times until my father made a spell that prevents Fae traveling easily. But time moves quickly, and you grew up before I managed to return.”

“You grew up too,” I answered because he had said it like an accusation.

“But growing up for you meant stopping believing, despite my best efforts,” he said gently, as if he were telling me a truth he knew I wouldn’t want to hear. “At least, you stopped believing except for in the twilight between sleep and waking. Then, for a moment, you surfaced.”

“How do you know?” I whispered.

“I know you. We’re connected.”

“And why can’t we just be together, why do I have to marry this idiot prince?”

He grinned. “The people won’t accept me on the throne. But you and I will be together in our own way, if you marry him. It won’t be perfect, but let’s be honest, Bethany. It was never going to be perfect. Sometimes it’s a relief to embrace the chaos.”

“What would it be like, if I stayed?”

“The prince will spend his life trying to make you happy, in this strange place. I think you will find happiness here. You would be safe, and you would rule, and I think you would keep the mortal world safe. And you and I would see each other every day, and I would still get to do this…”

His hand settled on my hip. It was so big I could feel his talons resting ever-so-gently at the smell of my back. He could snap his claws together and they would sink deep through my skin, and I would be dead in a second. and yet, when he touched me so gently, I was safe, safer than I had ever been anywhere else in my life.

His kiss was tentative, unlike the prince’s. The dead half of his mouth stayed still as we traded kisses, but his tongue was quick and responsive as it swept into my own mouth. I kissed both halves of his mouth, with a little curve where he smiled and the side that perpetually seemed straight and angry.

After a while, he pulled away. “I’d better walk you back to my to your rooms.”

“But the prince would let me keep on kissing you if we stayed?” I asked, and his lip quirked slightly at thewe.

I wanted him to run away with me. I didn’t care where we went. I just wanted to be with my childhood monster, my childhood nightmare, my childhood protector.

“He would let you keep on kissing me,” he affirmed. “Our world does not look like yours, and the prince and I have a… different relationship.”

“Every time you answer some of my questions, I have a million more.”

“Welcome to the Fae world.”

For the first time, I thought I might actually feel welcome.

He walked me to my door. I opened it, then turned around to find him looming over me. He leaned in to kiss me, and without hesitating I rose onto my tiptoes, my hands pressing the hard, warm planes of his chest. He wrapped his hands gently around my forearms and pressed his lips to mine. His kisses were softer, more tender, than the prince’s wild claiming, but they ignited the same heat low in my belly.

My lips parted, welcoming him in. My hips swayed against his, my body pressing itself to his as if it needed his warmth. His hands tightened on my wrists as if it took everything for him to pull himself away.

“Goodnight, Bethany.” His voice came out a low growl, barely controlled. His eyes were lit with dangerous fire, and all it made me want to do was pull him closer, into my room. I wanted to see him lose control.

“Goodnight.” My voice was breathless. He watched me step back into my room, and he didn’t move a muscle until I closed the door between us.

I felt light and happy in a way I hadn’t felt it seemed in all my life. I rested my hand lightly on the door, feeling a grin spread across my face. Then I turned and—after checking there were no helpful servants standing in my room—I danced across the room, raising my arms in the air. I only stopped twirling when I remembered the wardrobe was magic and I didn’t entirely trust it not to judge me.

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