Page 22 of Tempting the Fae Lord
Darkness crept over me like a cluster of ants, their tiny feet prickling every inch of my frostbitten skin, but with it came my savior.
I’d have died there if it weren’t for the Gatekeeper coming to my rescue, yet again. Such was to be a theme of our relationship.
“Gale.” My name from his lips felt important. Like I was important. Not a nuisance to be herded away but something precious to be cared for.
He swept me up into his big, strong arms and tucked me tight to his chest. His hair fell soft across my face. I breathed him in, loved the scent of him, snow and pine and crispy clean and earthly, like the first deep breath of fresh air upon steppingoutside in the morning. I inhaled it greedily, still trembling with cold but knowing I was safe in his embrace.
I think I fell asleep after that.
Or passed out.
All I know is that there’s a gap in my memory.
When I came to, I was still in his arms, clinging like a vine around its tree trunk, and we were inside, him trying to set me down to be checked over, me refusing to be let go.
There was a great deal of fuss. Hands peeling away the frozen fabric of my clothes. Warm water in my hair. A stoked fire blazing in the hearth. Voices around me, everyone I knew except for him.
My god, child, you could have died.
What were you thinking?
Why would you leave the safety of the keep?
Lucky to be alive.
What would we do without you?
I searched past them all for him. He who stood in the corner, one hand to his mouth, chewing on a nail. Worried dark eyes, face scrunched, lines on his forehead that I’d never noticed, hair a mess, dressed only in his house clothes, no cloak, no surcoat, as if he’d come straight from bed, racing after me the instant he was able.
I suppose that’s exactly what he did.
Eulayla’s cry was the only thing that could tear my attention away from him. I’d never seen her cry before, and I’ve never seen her do it since. But she cried that night, then opened her arms to him and stammered.
“Oh, thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Ezra.”
A captivating name for an even more captivating man.
Ezra.
“Ezra!”I throw his name at him the way he hurled mine at me, then again gently. “Ezra, please?”
He scowls. “Using that relic of the past won’t help your cause.”
He’s never made that face at me. I feel it like an open wound, aching with need of care. “But you let Eulayla use it.”
“I don’tletEulayla do anything, you know that as well as I. She does as she pleases.”
I guess I haven’t earned the same privilege in his eyes. “I’m sorry.”
After an uncomfortable silence, he sighs. “You’re forgiven. If I let you stay, you must promise you’ll return to the keep after I’ve crossed.”
“Promise.”
“Let me clarify,” he says. “Somewhere indoors.”
“Yes, indoors.”
“Then watch if you must. But don’t interfere, and stand back.”
