Page 305 of A Flame of the Phoenix

“It is. I want to you think of this—coming back to this. You stay alive for me to show you over and over how spectacular you are. How incredible and brave and selfless my mate is.” He teased her more with each declaration, running his handsaround her body and his mouth over her neck. “You stay alive to take the throne you were destined for.”

Faythe turned to face him.

“Promise me one thing,” he said. “I don’t want to forget. No matter what. I know you’re capable of taking my memories—you’ve done it before, haven’t you?”

Faythe’s mouth opened, stunned and wondering how long he’d known.

“I…I don’t remember the past.”

“Neither do I. Nor do I care to. All that matters is that I have you now, but promise me we’re doing this together. I don’t choose forget. I choose to follow you into the next world if our fate is to leave this one behind.”

Faythe’s brow drew together. She pushed up on her toes to kiss him deeply in promise.

She said, “Let’s give everything we have to this world. One last time.”

CHAPTER SEVENTY-NINE

Tarly

By now, Tarly and Nerida were masterful at stealth and remaining inconspicuous. For the second time, Tarly had infiltrated his own kingdom while it was crawling with dark fae. There’d been a shift in the kingdom since they were last here. Lines of soldiers marched through the streets, preparing to join the forces Reylan predicted would move in great numbers through Olmstone and pressure High Farrow through the mountain fringe that bordered their kingdoms.

Tarly couldn’t concern himself with that daunting battle to come. His focus was on retrieving Nik and Tauria.

Nerida led the way as they approached the Livre des Verres, slipping inside. The place was unguarded while the focus was on the war, and the abandoned wreck the library had been left to would never fail to inspire such sorrow in him.

He didn’t waste time on reflecting, darting down to the ground level after they climbed in through a window. The room they needed inside was locked, and Tarly used his foot to try to break the door in.

“Waterwielding would be very handy about now,” Nerida grumbled, searching for something to help.

She returned with a large rock.

“That’s not going to break through?—”

With a cry, Nerida’s arm pulled back before she slammed the rock against the handle, which broke right off. The door groaned as it casually slipped open.

Nerida smiled at him in satisfaction, and he chuckled as he followed her in. His mate was absolutely stunning in all things she did.

The room was dark, and he coughed on the thick musk of neglect when he inhaled. The only light pooled in from behind them, but it reflected off exactly what they were looking for.

“I really hope I was right,” Tarly mumbled, approaching the mirror that already pricked his skin with a sense of peculiar magick.

“Me too, but I’m also frightened.”

Nerida was rummaging through things, and he was about to question it when she beamed, producing a lasso of rope.

“What if it doesn’t let us inside?”

“The Dresair is a creature of tricks and bargains. We might have some negotiation to do.” She slung the rope around her middle, but Tarly took her wrist before she could tie it around herself.

“I’ll go inside. Please.” He couldn’t bear the thought of her facing what was within there alone, and one of them had to stay here to pull the other out.

“You’re injured.”

“You don’t have your magick.”

In truth, neither of them stood great odds of fighting in there, but he hoped it wouldn’t come to that.

“Like you said, the Dresairs are creatures of tricks and riddles. I don’t think they’ll attack.”

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