Page 12 of Seas and Scepters

When we came together, her sharp intake of breath reminded me of her innocence, and I stilled, letting her adjust to the sensation of our joining.Her eyes were wide and wondering, pupils dilated with desire and something deeper.

"Are you all right?"I whispered, brushing damp strands of hair from her face.

"More than all right," she breathed, her hips moving experimentally beneath mine."I feel...complete.Like I was missing a piece of myself and just found it."

We moved together in harmony, our bodies learning the rhythm of pleasure with startling swiftness.Every touch, every kiss, seemed to unlock something profound in both of us.The intensity of our connection overwhelmed me—not just physical, but something that defied logic, something that felt dangerously close to the love I had given up hope of ever finding.

She cried out my name as waves of pleasure crashed over her, her body trembling in my arms like a bowstring released.The sight of her abandon, the knowledge that I had given her this gift, sent me tumbling over the edge after her, my own release more powerful than anything I had ever experienced.

Afterward, we lay entwined in the candlelight, our breathing gradually returning to normal.She was quiet against my chest, her fingers tracing lazy patterns on my skin.The silence was comfortable, peaceful in a way I hadn't experienced in years.

"Tell me about your life," she said eventually, her voice soft and drowsy."Your real life, not the one others expect you to live."

I found myself talking more freely than I had with anyone in years.I told her about the loneliness that had been my constant companion since childhood, about the burden of being heir to a throne I sometimes didn't want.I spoke of my mother's death in childbirth and how it had changed my father, making him harder and more calculating.I even told her about the upcoming wedding, though I couldn't bring myself to speak Princess Astrid's name aloud.

"Do you love her?"Selene asked quietly."This woman you're to marry?"

"No," I admitted."I barely know her.It's a political arrangement, nothing more.She can hardly stand to look at me."

Selene was quiet for a long moment.When she spoke again, her voice was carefully controlled."And if you could choose?If duty weren't a factor?"

I looked down at her, struck by the sudden intensity in her question."If I could choose," I said slowly, "I would want someone who could see past the surface.Someone who understood that the nature of one’s form doesn’t always equate with that of the spirit."

Her fingers stilled on my chest."And do you think such a person exists?"

"I didn't," I replied honestly."Until tonight."

She looked up at me then, her eyes wide and startled.I could see conflict warring in their green depths.

"You don't know me," she whispered."Not really.I'm not what I seem."

"None of us are," I replied, stroking her hair."We're all more complicated than we appear.But I know what I felt tonight, Selene.I know that for the first time in my life, someone has looked at me without flinching."

Tears gathered in her eyes again, and this time she let them fall."You're going to hate me," she whispered."When you learn the truth about what I am, you're going to wish you'd never met me."

"Impossible," I said firmly, wiping away her tears with gentle fingers."Whatever secrets you're carrying, whatever shame you think defines you—it doesn't matter.Not to me."

She stared at me for a long moment, her expression unreadable.Then she pressed her face against my chest, her body shaking with suppressed emotion.

"I wish that were true," she murmured against my skin."I wish I could be the woman you think I am."

"You are," I insisted."You're perfect exactly as you are."

But even as I spoke the words, I could feel her pulling away from me, as if she were retreating behind walls I couldn't see.Something was troubling her—something deeper than the usual shame and secrets that brought people to places like this.

Dawn was beginning to creep through the windows, painting the room in shades of gold and rose.Soon, I would have to return to the palace, to the endless rounds of wedding preparations and political maneuvering.The thought filled me with a despair so profound it nearly crushed me.

"I have to go," I said reluctantly, though every fiber of my being wanted to stay in this perfect bubble we had created.

She nodded without looking at me."I know."

I dressed slowly, reluctant to break the spell that surrounded us.When I was ready to leave, I pulled a purse from my coat—far more gold than was customary, but nothing seemed adequate compensation for the gift she had given me.

"Will you...may I see you again?"I asked, hating the uncertainty in my voice.

She finally looked at me, and I was struck by the pain in her expression."If that's what you want."

"It is," I said fiercely."More than anything."

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