Page 155 of Hidden Kingdoms

“A dick?” I offered.

After a moment, he conceded, a small smile on his lips that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Yeah, a dick.”

“I didn’t ask for any of this.”

“I know.” Kaius brushed a strand of white hair from my face, tucking it behind my ear, fingertips tracing along the row of goldbands stacked through my lobe, before his hand cupped the side of my face.

“But neither did you,” I sighed, closing my eyes at the truth.

Because it was the truth; they had pinned all their hope on something to help them. A weapon to save the kingdom. And got me.

He bowed his head, forehead pressing against mine, and I breathed in a lungful of his earthy scent, the hint of sharpness that drifted along the edges, and that tight edge that had gripped me since before I slammed the door on that dark room eased.

Gently he pressed a kiss to my lips, his thumb trailing a line of heat as it traced my jaw. It wasn’t the heated passion from the cave; this was raw in its tenderness, and my stomach tightened as his tongue teased at mine, a gentle caress that set me burning. Stealing the air from my lungs as I matched his torturously slow movements. Magik built beneath my fingers, desperate to find his as that pull in my chest ached just a little. Behind my closed eyes, the room darkened. Then all too soon, it was over.

“Stay,” I murmured breathlessly. Stupidly.

“I can’t.” Just the whisper of words against my lips, and my heart stumbled. Pulling back, I blinked up at the eyes that burned like liquid silver, saw the regret in them. “I have somewhere I have to be.”

“Right,” I said, turning away, taking a step to put space between us. The sting of his rejection hit me hard before his fingers grabbed my chin and turned me back to face him.

“Stop pulling away from me, Goldie.” The plea was clear on his face.

“I don’t know how not to,” I replied honestly, taking that final step back, our hands falling away.

A knock boomed through the room, and I slippedA Hundred Tales of the Fae of Oldunder the sofa cushion. Considering it was now the only thing I had, I wanted to keep it safe. Crossing the room reluctantly, the blanket I had been cocooned in draped over my shoulders like a cape as it brushed across the floor. There was little chance it would be Kaius changing his mind, and I sent a silent plea to whatever gods were playing witness to my life that it wasn’t Bastian back to try and crack open my mind.

I opened the door an inch, and I couldn’t help but smile as I found Alouette. I opened it wider, finding her leaning against the frame, red hair curling over her shoulder and a bag held up in her hand.

“You up for going out for some fun? I think you deserve it,” she asked.

“I can leave?” Excitement bubbled inside me at the thought.

Without waiting for an invitation, she stepped into the room. Tossing the bag onto the table, she twisted around to see me still standing with my hand on the door.

“Who’s going to stop you if you’re with me?”

I got the message loud and clear that on my own, no, I would definitely not be stepping outside the palace. But I found I didn’t much care, because going out with Alouette seemed like the best thing that had happened in a very long time.

55

CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE

KAIUS

Even the taste of Elodie on my tongue didn’t make walking away from her any better. I told her to stop pulling away, and yet here I was—leaving.

It wasn’t a choice, not really.

I’d be back.

This was important; it was for her after all. For answers, for justice.

Though any justice served would come in my own brand of righteousness, and that would include a lot of screaming and some of my favourite daggers. The dark shadows that filled my blood quivered in anticipation, desperate to be freed from the cage I kept them in. Soon enough, they would be.

Then I’d be back with Goldie.

Finding out her affinity meant nothing really, and it would have become obvious once she gained more control over her powers. If she had trusted me enough to tell me more about herself, maybe we could have figured it out earlier.

---