Page 33 of Straw and Gold
He nodded and left, taking both books with him.
“I mean that I’ve never met another Ravenfae who was as weak as I am.”
My gaze darted to her hand on my arm. “You think you’re weak?”
She took her hand away and I felt the absence of it. “I know I am. I could never fly as long as the others. I could never expand my wings fully.”
She demonstrated, stepping back and spanning her wings across her back. They lifted wobbly, one lower than the other as her face bunched in the effort. “See? They just didn’t grow right or something.”
“Has it always been this way?” I asked in a steady tone.
“Yes. Korven tried to strengthen them through exercises, but… I just never excelled at flying. It’s why he’s the Cursebringer of Revelry and I am not. Even though the title should have landed with me after my mother. But Korven ensured I wouldn’t have to take it. He knew I’d never be able to…to deliver curses all across the land.” She shrugged in feigned acceptance. “And that’s part of how I ended up here. In this marriage.” Her eyes, flecked in gold, landed on mine. “With you.”
I suppressed a shiver and the urge to go to her. Instead, I held out the thistle nut in my palm. “When did you discover these helped you?”
“When I was around ten.”
“You don’t know why they help?”
“I assume it’s because of what’s in them.”
“And what is that?”
“I have no idea.”
“You haven’t researched it?”
“No.”
“Why?”
She shrugged. “They’ve always been available to me and helped, so I haven’t put much thought into them.”
I tossed the blue stained nut back into her trunk. “You’re not spinning today.”
“Yes, I am.”
“You’re going to get into your bed and rest.”
“I’ll do just that later tonight. After you kiss me.”
I swept forward so fast, she couldn't react in time. Sliding my hand behind the small of her back, I pulled her close, holding the back of her neck. I pressed my lips to hers, taking my height over her as leverage and deepening my kiss, engulfing her completely. A short “oomph” came from under my mouth somewhere, before she squeezed my arms, pulling me closer.
Over too soon, I pulled away, guiding her to her bed as she tried to regain her breath. She plopped onto the sheets and I pulled a blanket over her legs. “Get some rest. Goodnight, Moh Dhóches.”
Stunned, she stared as I backed away. “But it’s not even midday!” she called as I reached the study door. I didn’t respond, my mind already spiraling with finding answers. The study door shut firmly behind me.
CHAPTER 19
Morella
“Tha mu re…reamher agama.”I pointed across the words, doing my absolute best to sound them out, which was an absolute shit job. In the common tongue, I repeated the sentence. “I have a large pig.” I rolled my eyes, slamming volume one shut and tossing it on the pillow next to me.
I highly doubted Killian’s true name was “pig” or “large” or any of the other simple words that littered the pages ofCéaduah, Language of the Changelingfae. I crossed my arms and huffed like an impudent child sent to her bed early.
Too early.
I’d spent far too many hours stuck in bed with volumes of a language I was never going to learn well without actually hearing it regularly and practicing with my husband. Maybe I had a knack for it, but true understanding would never come from a dusty old book that hadn’t been cracked open in a century.
