But Brynden saw. He paid attention. The feelings she felt fell dead on her lips. What could she say to match his intensity?
Elyse hesitated. “Why did Daryn want to smell me?” The need to know caused her to blurt out the question.
“That was not what I expected you to say,” he said, taking her hand once more. “Try to forget it for now.”
Elyse pulled her hand from his grasp. “Daryn said you thought I smell like honey, peaches, and cream. That I smell likeyouChorys Dasians.” Brynden turned with a frown. “Tell me why he would say that when I smell like none of those things.”
Brynden sighed, running a hand over his hair as he thought. “I truly do not know how to explain this, Elyse, but you smell like that to me.”
“But I don’t smell like those things.”
Brynden shrugged. “I can’t explain it. You just do. Perhaps our Chorys Dasian noses are different; they can smell things that aren’t there. But please, I’m very excited about your surprise.”
Unhappy with his answer, Elyse took his hand and strode down the hallway. Honey, peaches, and cream? Was it possible for someone to smell something that was not there?
Within minutes they approached a door, Brynden opening it to a room with a wall of windows. Light from the setting sun turned the gauzy white drapes into gold, the room glowing with radiance.
To one side were plush, ornate couches and chairs of cream and crimson. What sat on the other side caused Elyse to pause with curiosity. “A piano? That’s quite the expense for a townhome you don’t live in full time.” Pianos were for important occasions. Elyse had heard a rumor of one residing within the Royal’s Wing.
“I am a male of expensive taste, my goddess. And I am also a male of many talents.”
Brynden led her to the black wooden piano, inlaid with gold and mother-of-pearl in swirling details. Before it was a matching bench that he sat on, patting the open spot. “Come, my goddess. I have a request.”
Elyse took a seat, giving Brynden some space to move as his fingers slid across the ivory and black keys, filling the room with the bright, clear sounds of the instrument. Awestruck by his playing, Brynden’s talent was unexpected, though it was nothing more than warming up his hands.
“You like to sing.” He gazed at her with a crooked smile. “I like to play the piano. Would the goddess be so gracious to gift me her voice this evening?”
Elyse’s heart hammered in her chest because of his expression shrouded in golden light and that she has never sung for anyone but her mother. “I don’t know that many songs—or popular ones. Nothing you could play along to.”
“Ah, I had a feeling you would say that. Even if it’s just a child’s nursery rhyme, I wish to play along with your voice. I’ve wished to do so since the moment you told me you like to sing.”
Elyse’s heart swelled, thinking of the songs her mother used to sing. “There is one I loved as a child that always brought my mother to tears. However, I don’t remember the name.”
“If you sing the first couple lines, I may know it.” His fingers glided over the keys with ease.
“What if you don’t, and I sound foolish singing alone?” Elyse asked, fidgeting with her cuffs.
“Though I doubt you would sound foolish, you won’t know until you try. Experience this with me.” Brynden’s eyes blazed as he took in Elyse.
She nodded, trying to shake her nervousness. With a deep breath, her sonorous singing voice called out, reciting the song from her childhood.
“In a land lush with magic and life, our old family keeps. With open ears and open hearts—”she paused, hearing the piano notes step in time with her singing.
Brynden stared at her with wide eyes, lips parted. “The number of times you have surprised me today is astounding. That is a very old song. How did you learn it?”
Elyse returned his incredulous stare. “My mother. We sang it all the time, and I would sing it to her when she could no longer do so herself.”
Brynden shook his head, smiling. “If you start again, I’ll jump in with the piano.”
Elyse took a shaky breath and started the lines again. “In a land lush with magic and life, our old family keeps. With open ears and open hearts, we can hear their weeps.”
The piano played along with the slow, melodic pace of her voice, her heart filling with the memories of her mother. “Livesof thrall and hailing calls, urging to fight that which binds, us to a land that will never be home unless we search our like kind.
“Through moonlit trees and beachy seas, by twinkling star at night, we wander a-through strangers’ worlds, by vigorous will and might. Call thee who lost, on thee who fight, on thee who set worlds alight, and draw on the spirits of the fallen to set our worlds a-right.
“Of feigned descent shed elven blood, one guided by self and a heart of gold. We sing these mourning songs so our stories ought not untold. Rise shall be the favored, a champion for a world lost. One whose choices preferred the bold, free us for that of life cost.”
Elyse opened her eyes as the piano ceased, Brynden’s gaze fixed on her. “You have the voice of a goddess, a blessing to my ears. Your existence is a gift that I am completely unworthy of.” He caressed her cheek. “If you would have me as your husband, then I promise you freedom, a life of happiness, a life of laughter and adventure. I promise you will no longer just be alive, but live. If you will have me, Elyse, I will give you the world. Let me be a part of your future.”
