Page 138 of Kiss the Fae

With a malicious gleam, he whips the sheets aside. We make love again, our limbs clinging at the top of this tower, our voices ringing from the summit of a mountain.

I’d tell you we soften up after that—but I’d be lying.

Sometimes he stalks me across a bridge, the pair of us fighting, our voices clanging across the range. We bicker about the past and future, about immortals and humanity, and the balance between. When he taunts, I shout.

I’d tell you we get harsher after that—but that’s not true, either.

Most times, we debate, chuckle, and tease. I know which one it’ll be, based on the steepness of his smirk and the depths of his whispers, or the tempo of my pulse and the sass in my tone.

We’ll meet halfway. He’ll stride into a room with a ravenous glint and sly words perched on his tongue. When his lips snatch mine, I kiss him back.

I’d tell you it’s pure—but we’re not tykes anymore.

I might catch a devious tinge in his gaze, or in the notes of his flute. He might catch me in a riotous mood, venting about magic and then snapping the curtains closed in his face.

I might awaken to the wind nudging the sheets up my calves. In which case, I’ll flip on top of him before he can get sneakier.

He might dream while I watch his lashes flutter, and he’ll sense this, and he’ll reach out, lacing our fingers tightly.

There are nights when we get lost in a passionate tumult, marching from the cliffside before saying something we’ll regret. But eventually, we find our way back to each other.

Other nights? We’re too naked to get out of bed. It’s either quick and desperate, or it’s slow and agonizing. Always, it’s bliss.

We’re tender one day, raving the next. We’re mood swings and compromise, desire and kinship. We’re separate, and we’re one.

I’d tell you I know what to expect from here—but I’ve got no clue.

Don’t know what’s ahead for us, other than we’ll face it together.

Don’t know what’ll happen to my sisters, other than I’m waiting for a sign, a signal. As for the rest? Those are their fables to tell.

So I’ll just tell you one more thing. Lots of times, humans and Faeries become enemies. But every once in a while, they become something unexpected, something more.

Look closely but keep your wits as wide as the horizon. Carry a weapon but keep your heart open.

Because sometimes, they fall in love with you. And sometimes, you love them right back.

Epilogue

Cerulean

She wears the sky on her shoulders. Standing at the lip of the promontory, she gazes at the mountain range, her hair melting into the billowing sail of her nightgown. Moonlight trickles across her form, illuminating her skin so it appears as translucent as the wind.

I like seeing her this way—untouchable as a cloud.

Ah, but I’m a spoiled one. I do so favor having the privilege of touching her, nevertheless. The very thought of it stirs up a heady breeze, the flux rustling erratically across my bare chest, disturbing the tether of blue dangling over my flesh. While spying on her from the drapes of our chamber, I stroke a finger up and down the feathered tip, my mouth curling with intent.

Very careful now. Pace yourself.

I scoff. To say the least, I won’t be following my own advice.

I was born to believe humans beneath me, from their lack of magic to the shapes of their bodies, unadorned with the wonders of nature, not a single fauna trait to their credit. At best, I had deemed mortals unremarkable.

She has proven me wrong. Her hair is a wild tangle, gossamer threads whisking about her face. Her body is a cliff’s peak, slender yet strong, striving for the heavens despite her inability to fly. She’s a lark, the rare bird that sings while airborne. She’s my captor and my idol.

“Minn ó vjafnmadur,”I whisper. “My equal.”

In every sense, at every turn, she has been my undoing. And how I relish my errors, my atrocious misguidance. If not for that, I’d have forsaken the chance to discover this female. And so, I admire my love when she’s not looking. I make no apologies, for it’s my favorite way to savor, to absorb, to consume her.

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