Page 66 of This Midsummer Heart
“A fortnight ago, we heard you were coming to Nox to establish a new house of the dark elves,” Karsten explains. “We mean to join you.”
“I hope it’s to be a proper royal house this time,” Leonora adds. “No, it must be. I’ll talk you into it if it isn’t.”
I gape at them. “But how—who told you I was coming?”
“It’s common knowledge across Nox,” Captain Sindarn answers, beaming with pride. “Imagine how good it was to hear the news, that King Auberon was traveling south, with no retinue to aid him, of his own might, to reclaim his place as king. Your father would’ve been so proud, may he walk peacefully in the Ever Lands!”
I manage one stilted breath before the truth dawns on me.Robin the puk. You’ve been spreading rumors about me, haven’t you? Rumors designed to keep me from wringing your neck when I get to Nox.
I’m so close now, I’m not sure my anger will cool in time to save him. Distilling gossip across the watering holes of Nox so I can save face is the least he can do.
But then I realize: I don’t need any of that. I have the Blade of Hedril at full magic. I have a body filled with royal chaos magic—the first elven king to say that in generations.
And I have Titaine.
“I didn’t travel alone,” I correct them. “I had my bride with me.”
Silence falls over the gathered dark elves. Then Leonora barks a laugh. “You always had a thing for fae women, didn’t you?”
The others regard her with widened eyes, as if she’s just spoken sacrilege.
“No,” I correct her. “Really just the one fae woman.”
“Course you did. You were always fascinated by them. I wasn’t surprised at all when you married one—especially that fae in particular!”
Furrowing my brow, I ask her, “What does that mean?”
“Don’t you remember? We were probably eight or so. That retinue of fae led by the fae lady of the sun came through Glowarian Forest to negotiate with your father. There was this little golden fae with them, always with her nose in a book. I don’t think she even noticed any of us were there. I thought it was silly for anyone to take that many books on a journey, but you couldn’t stop gawking at her.”
My eyes widen. “No. No, that couldn’t be.”
“It was and is. Titaine, daughter of the lady of the sun. Who else could it be, silly?”
Again, she very much sounds like she wants to call me something other than silly. And she’d be perfectly right to.
“Excuse me. I need to see to my bride.”
“We’ll wait here,” Karsten says, only to cringe as a small fae lady appears behind him, fluttering her wings as she frowns at him before dropping a disdainful, “excuse me.”
“We’ll wait in the courtyard,” Karsten amends.
I offer them a hasty nod before stopping the fierce little fae. “The fae lady I brought here—”
“Over there,” she says, pointing with her chin over the stack of fresh bed linens in her arms. “She’s been asking for you.”
I need no further invitation. The fae woman growls at me as I sprint down the hall, throwing open the door to Titaine’s room and completely forgetting to knock.
Titaine is sitting on her bed, legs folded beneath her, dressed in a red linen shift that reminds me so much of the dress she wore that night in the fire swamp, my breath catches in my throat. She’s lifting a shard of crystal, her brow furrowed in concentration as she holds it in the light streaming through her window.
When notices sees me, the line between her brows vanishes. Her face transforms from a worried grimace to relief and something I dared not hope I’d ever see again.
I can’t help myself. A foolish half grin slips over my face as I lean casually against the doorframe. “You still love me,” I say, drawing out the words.
My chest warms just saying it. All of me grows warmer, the trials of the past few weeks—the past fiveyearsall but forgotten.
Titaine twists her mouth, but I can tell her heart isn’t in the rebuke. “Who says I still love you? Maybe I love you a second time.”
“You’re right.” My grin widens. “What’s past is now gone. I’ve loved and chosen you every time I’ve met you. There’s nothing left now but to make up for lost time, and to build a proper future together.”
