Page 34 of The Shadow Fae Rhapsody
Shock doesn’t begin to explain what I feel right now. My uncle has long suspected there are traitors in the council, scheming for Aelfheim’s demise. I just didn’t expect for it to be the Elders themselves.
A heaviness settles in my chest as my mind races. I recall that power hungry invitation he made to Svenn yesterday…
“Hey, I don’t like this look on you,” he says, pulling me tighter against him.
“I’m all right, Svenn. I really am.” I lay my head on his chest, basking in his warmth to calm myself.
He searches my face for the truth. “How do I make you feel better?”
Svenn already made me feel better by staying here with me. I share with him what little I understand of the Shadow Fae and a small part of my childhood.
“So, you see, you’ve already given me so much…” I swallow thickly. I can’t even begin to thank him for what he did. Svenn has killed someone that has haunted my nightmares for years.
“Thank you for the gift in the council room,” I murmur quietly. I didn’t get a chance to thank him for that last night.
“Do you like it?” he asks. The usual cadence in his tone wavers with the question, as if there is an actual possibility I might resent his present.
“I love it.” I smile at him.
It’d be more awesome if I could see Garrett and him working together to make that chair.
He exhales slowly over my answer, relief etched into his features. “I do have another gift for you. Technically it’s from Coinneach—Ken.”
“Well, give it to me then,” I demand, even though it’s not my birthday yet.
“I don’t know. It seems inappropriate. I think you’ll hate it,” he says, uncertainty playing on his face.
“I won’t, Svenn.”
He stares at me for a long moment, the russet in his eyes glowing like heated metal. “Better put on your hunting leathers then.”
Chapter 5 Rhianelle
“Ready?”
Svenn’s deep, smooth voice owns my attention instantly.
I nod.
He pulls me in close, his hand resting on the small of my back. I know he doesn’t mean for it to be an intimate gesture. There’s no reason for my heart to beat this fast, but it does exactly that, thumping and throwing acrobatics in my chest.
“We don’t have to do this,” he whispers in my ear. “You can still change your mind.”
Fear flutters in my pulse as I look to the ground from the rooftop of our tower. “Let’s hurry before I change my mind then.”
A dark chuckle leaves him.
He has different kinds of wings on him today, not the dark membranous ones I saw last night. The one flaring wide behind him is almost angelic, like a giant eagle. I smooth my hand on the black feathers, loving how soft they are. It’s probably rude but I can’t resist the urge to play with them.
I must thank Lady Deirdre for crafting the fighting leathers specifically to fit Svenn’s need. Maybe she’s just tired of having to tailor new clothes for him each time he rips one.
I loop my hands around his neck easily, and he lifts me into his arms.
“Here goes,” he whispers.
My stomach dips the moment Svenn leaps from the roof. But I don’t scream at the free fall.
Not this time.
