I never thought of myself as“adorable”, but I don’t even fight him on it, because what the hell. We’re kissing in the rain, drunk on cherin, and he’s a prince. I won’t be denying myself this moment.
Chapter 30
Kyran
Following my first-ever hangover, I promised myself to nevereverhave more than one cup of cherin at a time. The second half of the Ardournalia are brief flashes of memory, and I spent the greater part of the following day ailing in bed. I don’t even remember riding back home, and while it was embarrassing to have Luke see me in such a pathetic state, he insisted on nursing me back to health.
I rested my head in his lap, and he stroked it while reading my mother’s notes on bats and despairs. He insisted he had experience dealing with the state I was in, and there must have been something to it, because I let him decide when and what I should eat and drink, and he managed to get me back on my feet sooner than it would usually have taken for my brother after a night of hard drinking.
Another week has passed since, and while we’ve known one another for such a short time, I can no longer imagine spending the rest of my life without him. Despite our union being essential to the safety of my people, a part of me is grateful we did not end up marrying after only a day together, because it will feel different now. I have such a fondness for him that the marriage no longer feels like an obligation, something for me to thrust upon him. I cannot wait to wrap my fingers around the midnight rose and call him truly mine. But he’s still uncertain, and I’m prepared for anything to show him that this realm is where he belongs.
With me.
I can give him what he needs—peace, care, safety, passion. He only needs to let me. Now that I’ve known him for almost a month, I realize he wears armor around his heart,but I’ve managed to crack it here and there. Like when he told me about his mother, or when he laughs with me, or when he moans my name.
I want everything. I want to know his every interest, find out where his pleasure lies, and learn about any sorrow he might have experienced. I will be like shadow and sneak in through the cracks in his pride, so by our wedding, he won’t even know how it happened, yet will realize I’m in his heart.
And during today’s hunt, I will take one step closer to making him mine when I give him what he craves.
I need to make sure I’m not too distracted by the way his ass rides up and down in his saddle, or I will have no chance of hunting down the Stag of Sunrise. He looks as good in regal riding clothes and a light breastplate as he does in a nightshirt, but with his hair braided back and my crest on his torso, it’s obvious to me that he belongs here.
Belongs with me.
Today, I will bond him to my realm in a way he won’t be able to resist.
Kelpies are too large for this dense forest, so we’re both riding our own horses, especially since I need to be as swift and mobile as possible for this challenge. I made sure Luke’s mare was sufficiently docile after being fed some boiled calmshrooms, so his lack of experience with riding shouldn’t result in falling off and breaking his neck. In fact, they seemed to have become friends, and he’s petting her mane and smiling blissfully unaware of what’s at stake today.
But I am, and I will be the one to hunt down the stag, even though it’s invulnerable to my signature weapon—the shadow. A crossbow with silver bolts will have to suffice. At least unlike in the ocean, I’m able to dip in and out of the shadowild in the royal forest, which might come in handy.
I’m not the only one to feel like this event has their future hanging in the balance. All the Goldweeds are here, as well as all the Bloodweeds, and a flurry of other nobles bearing their sharpest blades and swiftest arrows. Those who cannot participate are to wait for the hunting party in the camp made up of large tents, where we might spend the night if the beast remains unslain until moondown. Refreshments are being served by dozens of servants, and musicians play a merry tune for the highborn children who run around without a care in the world.
Those are all trifles, distractions, and no battle has ever been won in a comfortable chair.
The moon is rising, and its glow will guide us through the forest, but when I look up, all I can think of is just how close I am to marrying Luke. And on the night of the Blood Moon at that! Maybe the thwarted wedding was destiny at work after all?
When I see Luke glancing up, I wonder if he’s thinking about the same thing, imagining us holding that rose together as I vow to protect him, and he shares his shadow with me for eternity.
The weather’s perfect for riding through the forest, with a cloudless sky and barely any wind to disturb the ancient trees reaching for the moon with their leafy claws. Several hunting parties are forming, each meant to penetrate a different part of the woods. Most consist of those who believe they might get lucky and hunt down the stag and elves who accompany them to help, entertain, or secretly thwart the others’ efforts.
I tried to keep my own party small for that very reason. Elven longevity can breed plans so long in scope I can’t be certain of anyone’s true intentions. Though Tristan has proven himself loyal, and I am relatively sure he will not try to rip the prize out of my grasp for an elusive promise of more power. He’s coming with us. To aid me and to protect Luke, who will be my priority today, regardless of how the event goes.
I’m lost in my thoughts when Luke rides up to me and nudges me with his foot. “Maybe we could go with them?” he suggests, pointing out a group of four, consisting of Lady Guinevere, her Dark Companion, Carol, Marquise Coralis, and Prince Sylvan Goldweed.
It’s only natural that Luke wants to chat with the only other human present, but he can do that later, when we gather to celebrate a successful hunt. I don’t want to be anywhere near Sylvan after the hunting horn blows. He might carry the bored expression of someone who is only attending the hunt as part of his royal duties, but his future is at stake too. Born without much talent for shadowcraft, he resorted to studying alchemy in order to compensate for his meager skill. If he manages to capture the stag’s heart today, the power gained from the beast might pull him out from under his older brother’s heel and make him a player in his own right.
Even his presence in the same party as Carol is strategic, because the Stag of Sunrise is always drawn to the scent of a human. Having one around in the woods improves the chance of setting one’s eyes on the beast.
When Sylvan’s cold, sapphire gaze cuts into Luke, I ride up to my promised from the side, to shield him from the cursed eye. I open my mouth, but when MarquiseCoralis rides up to us with long hair pulled into a tight bundle at the back of her head, and in a sharp suit meant for comfortable riding, I speak to her instead. “I’d rather not join them, but the Marquise would surely want to ride with her dear brother?”
The glare she sends me feels like a shard of ice stuck in my chest. “He and I are not on speaking terms, Your Highness. I would think you of all people should remember why,” she says in a voice made of razors.
I stall, and in the brief time it takes for us to make this exchange, Sylvan’s group rides off, with Anatole as its final member. His remaining sister, Elodie, is arguing about something with her father, Baron Gabriel, who is a skilled hunter. A man who often traverses the forest for days on end, he might be one of my biggest competitors. My guess has always been that he does it to avoid his wife, but it’s a habit that resulted in him knowing the area better than any other noble.
“Oh… my apologies,” I mumble. I don’t feel it necessary to appease my twin’s former lover, but I don’t hate her either. The last thing I want is for this uncomfortable situation to continue. She should know by now where my interests lie.
Luke stares after the group longingly, which makes me want to hide him in the palace and never let him as much as gaze upon another man. I know it is unreasonable. He’s not interested in the Goldweeds. If anything, he’s wary of them because their sister almost killed us, but I can’t help myself.
It’s the Marquise’s presence that makes me so scattered, which is doubly frustrating because I should be focused on the stag only.
