Page 94 of Midwinter Wiles & Valerian Dreams
I clamp my jaw. I refuse to swallow. She can’t do this!
Then ice clogs my nose.
I can’t breathe.
Reaching for magic to counter hers, I blast ice pellets outward, only to have them arc around her. She’s too strong. Lungs burning, my last thought is of Lark. I’m going to let him down.
I won’t be there for the play. More importantly, I’ll miss the hearing. What if Lark loses the kids because I couldn’t keep up my end of our bargain?
And I never got to tell him the truth of who I am. I never got to tell him my true feelings. I never got to tell him…I love you.
Storms. I love him.
I’m in love with Lark.
My lungs spasm, and a desperate gasp leaves me choking on plumot-flavored potion. It slides down my throat, a cold poison that pools in my belly. Ice spreads through my veins, and my eyelids fall, too heavy to keep open. The last thing I see only freezes me more—a flash of cabbage purple.
I failed.
Chapter 33
Lark
They should be here by now. For the tenth time, I wander to the edge of the festival to scan in the inn's direction, but there’s nothing but frosty awnings and stragglers making their way toward the noise and bustle of Ylvara’s town square.
She said they’d be right behind us.
Now the stage is ready, the props are in place, and Katja is trying to charm the mule into not sitting down mid-scene again. And still no sign of Val and Aili. Where are they?
Worst-case scenarios and worries play through my mind before I close that door. Aili probably lost her shoes or had a full-blown wardrobe meltdown. I’d worry more about Grumpy’s tantrums if Val hadn’t proved time and time again that she can handle things with the kids. I can trust her. She’s better with Aili than I am.
They’ll be here. The knot in my chest might nag at me, but I have to focus on making this play a success, on reaching thequeen’s frozen heart so that Val—no, Princess Talvie—can go home where she belongs.
Juani’s balancing on a crate he’s definitely not supposed to stand on. Helkki is crouched overI-don’t-want-to-know-what, and Johannes is arguing with Mikael about his entrance timing. I should be focused on fixing all of it and making sure everything goes perfectly, but my mind is stuck onher.
I can’t help remembering the way she looked in the glasshouse last night. It was our first chance to sneak away since the day we had the cottage to ourselves, and my body goes hot at the memory. We haven’t been able to keep our hands off each other since that day, but a busy, crowded cottage means it never gets much past scorching kisses and wandering hands, cut off far too quickly in those stolen moments.
When she had to run to the glasshouse for the evening watering, I jumped at the chance to accompany her. The kids had all eaten, the little ones already asleep, so I could afford to slip away. I intended to tell her about my magic’s mirror ability and admit I know the truth about her. But with how her face glowed in the low light of the glasshouse, joy flushing her cheeks at being among flowering, growing things, I couldn’t find the words. Then she set down the watering cans and kissed me.
Before I knew it, she frosted the lower windows for privacy, and we came together with a desperation I’ve never known before. We had to be quick, so it was hands and mouths and mutual pleasure, and it was still enough to leave my heart thumping, my soul torn open, and that gut-wrenchingknowingin my heart that I’m only just finding something I need to survive, but am destined to lose.
I got lost in the warmth of her hands and the way she uttered my name. We both ended up with dirty knees and breathless laughs, but I’ve never felt more whole than I did as we ran out ofthere holding hands and giggling when Ludo came to investigate the suddenly frosty windows.
I want to give her the truth, now more than ever. Maybe even more than I to feel her around me one more time. To find the perfection I felt in filling her, like I was carving out a home for myself. To see the special smile she wears after she falls apart, the one that’s sated and shattered at the same time.
But mostly, I want her here, now, for this moment. I want to give her back the family she lost when Queen Taynia locked herself away from her stepdaughter. I want Princess Talvie to have everything she deserves…and more. Even if it means leaving me behind.
Katja appears at my side. “Still no sign of them?”
I shake my head, sharing the worry in her voice.
“Want me to fly back there and find them?”
“You can’t,” I say, even as my heart shoutsyes. “The queen will be here any—”
A sharp intake of breath and voices interrupt me. The crowd gathered for the performance ripples and surges as villagers shuffle to clear a path for the royal entourage spilling into the square. Rustling velvet and clanking armor accompany Point Fae nobles and guards, fanning out with practiced precision to reveal the figure at their centre.
The queen is here.
