Page 81 of The Sunbound Princess
“Oh,” I said softly, relief loosening my knees. Placing one hand over hers, I used the other to give Dain a rude gesture.
Ezabell sobered. “Do you want to stay in Summer with me? Not just for now, but…forever?”
Everything stilled. The next breath I took caught between my ribs. I searched her face and found no trace of jest. Just honesty and longing. Hope.
She licked her lips. “I couldn’t have done this alone. I’ve studied the Dokimasi my whole life, preparing for the day when I’d have to complete my quest.” She drew back, her gaze taking in Dain. “Magic doesn’t bring people together without a reason. I was meant to find you two. You’re bound to me, and our connection means you can share in my immortality.” She swallowed hard. “If you want to.”
I didn’t have to look at Dain to know our answer. “Yes,” I rasped, touching her because I had to. I brushed my fingertips over her cheek, my heart beating so fast I felt lightheaded. “Yes, my queen. I would be honored.”
She turned to Dain, a question in her eyes.
His were tender as he murmured, “I would love nothing more than to stand by your side for as long as you’ll have me.”
She stepped close and lay a palm on his chest. “You’ve carried part of my magic since we met. You always felt it. Let me complete it.” She rose on tiptoe and pressed her lips to his.
He slipped an arm around her waist and hauled her close, deepening their kiss. Light started at their feet and then swirled upward, climbing in a twirling arc that finished at their heads. When they broke apart at last, Dain glowed faintly. Tiny suns gleamed on his neck and arms.
Ezabell turned to me.
Fear hit. I wasn’t elfkin. My family tree was bent and gnarled, the branches weighted down by drunkards and thieves. What if the magic rejected me? What if I couldn’t stay in Summer? I’d have to cross the Covenant. I’d return to Saldu alone, a broken man with a broken heart.
Ezabell replaced her crown.
I sucked in a breath. “Maybe this is a bad?—”
“It’s a great idea,” she said, sliding her hands into my hair. Drawing my head down, she spoke against my lips. “You were the first to call me queen. The first to kneel. You have a noble heart, Sir Nikolas.” She kissed me, swallowing my gasp of surprise. Light exploded behind my eyes. It rushed through me, finding all the dark places and burning them away. Magic sparkled inside me like the bubbling wine I’d tried after a particularly successful heist. But this rush was better. It would last.
I was still catching my breath when Ezabell pulled back, a smile on her lips and love shining in her eyes.
She lovedme. Shelovedme.Sheloved me.
No matter which way I arranged it, the realization refused to sink in.
Corvus’s voice cut across the Grove. “You’re choosingthem?” He stood inches from the bars of his cage, his fingers twitching at his sides like he longed to seize the light. “Thieves,” he spat. “Mortals.”
Ezabell took my hand, then turned and did the same to Dain. Facing Corvus, she lifted her chin. “I choose happiness. And they’re better men than you’ll ever be.” She turned to me, her smile as bright as the sunstone in her crown. “But you’re right about them being thieves. I’m afraid they’ve stolen my heart.”
I grinned.
Corvus raised his hands, light blazing in his palms. He thrust them toward the bars.
Ezabell didn’t flinch. Didn’t take her eyes off mine. With a flick of her fingers, she sent light streaking across the Grove. It struck the bars of Corvus’s cage, engulfing him in a flash of blinding gold. When the light cleared, only ash remained.
Viraxes stumbled back in his own prison, panic in his eyes. He swung toward Ezabell. “Don’t—!” His plea ended in a flash of light.
Ezabell still held my gaze, but now fury gathered in her eyes. “He hurt you,” she said, her voice low and fierce. “He made you relive a past you should have never suffered. No one will ever hurt you again, Nikolas.”
Dain came to my side, love in his eyes as he gripped my shoulder. “I know,” I told Ezabell through a tight throat.
Voices spilled into the Grove. A second later, men and women in rich clothing rushed through a doorway and onto the grass. Dozens of elves stopped in their tracks, stunnedexpressions on their faces as they stared at Ezabell’s crown. More elves appeared, the crowd rapidly growing. Murmurs rushed among them, excited voices carrying news of Ezabell’s return.
“…the queen!”
“Has the sunstone, and she…”
“Summer is saved!”
“…two humans.”
