Page 33 of Tempting the Fae Lord
“I wouldn’t offer if I thought I couldn’t.”
We take the stairs to the ground floor. I nearly trip over my feet in my enthusiasm to get outside. His low laughter sets something inside me alight.
“I take your eager departure as consent?”
“Yes.”
He sweeps me into his arms, one beneath my knees and the other beneath my shoulders. Part of me thinks I should be a little embarrassed at the position, but the rest of me settles in as if I’m right where I belong.
“I’ve got you,” he says. We’re so close his breath ghosts over my cheek. “Ready?”
I’m ready to fly, but I’ll never be ready for him to put me back down. “Ready.”
His wings snap into view from wherever he glamours them from and beat a mighty thrum I feel in my bones. One moment we’re on the ground, and the next we’re rising into the air.
I tighten my grip around his neck, but I’m not afraid.
The wind whips my cheeks with her icy tendrils. I’m more awake than I’ve ever been. It’s exhilarating. My limbs feel light, weightless, and laughter bubbles up to the surface.
The view is incredible. The fortress shrinks into the landscape with every swoosh of his wings. I see the village from here, sprawled out along the valley next to the curving creek. Under the starlight, the little cottages and farms look magical.
Ice and snow glitter silver and blue, sparkling all the more the higher up we fly. Our home is beautiful. Majestic. My heart warms as it races, beating even faster than Ezra’s wings.
We don’t talk during the short journey. I’m not sure I could hear him over the rushing wind anyway. As we approach the gate, he holds me even tighter. I bask in the closeness until the very moment his feet hit the ground, and he releases me to stand on my own.
He steadies me as I regain my balance. “As you imagined?”
“Better.” Way, way, way better. I must look silly smiling from ear to ear, pink-cheeked and giddy, clinging to his arm as the world spins around us. “Thank you.”
“My pleasure.” He sounds so genuine it melts my heart. “And now I must be on my way.”
The ups and downs of tonight are going to kill me. Reluctantly, I let go of his arm. “So soon?”
“I’m afraid so.”
I glance from him to the gate. “I still want you to take me through some day. Not when it’s dangerous. I have no desire to see an undead horde in person. But someday. To find my family.”
He casts a resigned expression my way, perhaps a bit sad, and doesn’t answer. I don’t push. This isn’t the time.
He draws the dagger from his sheath and holds it to his palm. This close, I see the chaotic lattice of scars left behind fromcountless trips through the gate. Each one represents two souls, one fae and one human.
As he slices a fresh cut, I wince. He doesn’t.
The scent makes my mouth water. I bite the inside of my cheek and ignore the desire to drink from him.
Again, his blood reddens the snow, scarlet on pure white.
I grab his wrist so he won’t leave yet.
He allows it.
“Promise you’ll be careful.”
“Of course.”
“And you’ll be home soon.”
“As soon as I can, Mooncalf. Fear not. And take care of the others while I’m away.”
