Page 93 of A Queen This Fierce and Deadly

Conreth’s mouth twisted. “Fine. Temporarily.Verytemporarily.”

Lorian smiled, and he seemed lighter somehow. “In that case, brother, I will see you at the ceremony.”

Some of the tension disappeared from Conreth’s face. He nodded at both of us and walked out.

My gaze met Lorian’s. As much as I liked the thought of the brothers reconciling, I didn’t think Lorian bargaining with Conreth in order to allow him to attend our wedding was necessarily a step in the right direction.

“Trust me,” Lorian said, leaning close and nuzzling my ear as his hands began to wander. “You’ll thank me in a few days.”

Someone knocked on the door. I sighed, wishing we had time for those clever hands to continue wandering. Lorian let out a low growl, and I untangled myself from him. “That will be Telean.”

My aunt had insisted on working with Rekja’s seamstresses to create my dress. Likely, that had been what she had been whispering about with Lorian.

Clearly, she had decided we were taking too long to open the door, because she opened it herself before standing there silently, her hands on her hips.

A single wordless look was enough to reinforce her impatience. My chest lightened. Despite everything that had passed between us, she seemed willing to put our disagreement aside for today.

I gazed at Lorian. The next time I saw him…

“Go, wildcat. The quicker you get ready, the sooner you’ll be in my arms again.” He pulled me close, pressing a gentle kiss to my mouth. I soaked in the feel of him.

Telean cleared her throat, and I laughed against his lips.

“You better let me go.”

Lorian sighed, and I wiggled free, following Telean from our rooms, down the hall, and into hers.

My breath caught.

Three dresses hung near the window. Mine was a stunning amber, while she had chosen emerald green for Asinia and Madinia. Clearly, Lorian had told her I’d asked both of them to stand with me.

Looking at one of those dresses made disappointment curl in my gut. So, I focused on my dress. And on Asinia’s.

Telean crossed the room and stood next to them, watching me silently.

For all of her fury about the way I’d used my power to bring Lorian back, she’d clearly worked with him before he’d even asked me to get married here. And she’d chosen the colors of both of our eyes.

“They’re beautiful. I don’t know what to say.”

She sighed. “I won’t apologize for the things I said.”

I flicked my gaze toward the dresses hanging like a silent apology.

She ignored me.

“I suppose you believe I am too old and bitter to know anything about love.”

I frowned at her. She’d made it clear how much she loved both Demos and me, even in her no-nonsense, gruff way. “No. I don’t think that at all.”

Reaching out a hand, she checked the hem of one of the green dresses, releasing it with a pleased hum.

“I had a great love once too. I don’t talk about him. I try not to think about him. And then I feel the guilt of that decision.” She smiled at me, and her eyes lit with a joy I’d never seen from her. “Yorin would be severely unhappy about that. The man was beautiful, and he knew it. He would have expected me to tell everyone of my loss.”

My lips curved, even as my chest ached for her. “What happened?”

“He died during the invasion. He was supposed to meet us—to escape with your parents. Instead, he went back in an attempt to protect a group of hybrid children. I didn’t learn of his fate until weeks later. Each day, I had woken with the hope that he would join us.” Telean’s expression turned lost, and for a moment, she looked much older than her years.

My throat clenched tight. “I am so sorry. He sounds like an incredible man.”

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