Page 55 of A Court So Dark
I opened my eyes to see where she had taken us. The place was familiar, a patch of forest with supple ground covered in soft moss. A circle of trees surrounded us, creating our own private space. The scent of wild flowers floated in the air and triggered a host of blissful memories. We were at the clearing near Mount Ruin, where we’d mated for the first time.
Reluctantly, I pulled away and held her at arm’s length. I scanned her face, drinking each and every one of her features.
Gods, she was beautiful, even in her altered Fae state, which still remained.
Suddenly, she regarded me with a determined expression. With stern focus, she began examining me. She grabbed my chin and turned my face left and right. Her tender hands slid down my neck, palpating me, prodding my pectoral muscles and my abdomen. Then she took my hands in hers and examined each digit carefully.
“They’re swollen,” she said.
The healing energy she’d poured into me when she first arrived in my prison had healed most of my injuries, leaving only remnants that I could easily disregard. I’d been through worse pain than Runik and Mythorne put me through. I had learned to compartmentalize, to detach myself and go elsewhere, even as my body was ravaged by pain.
But none of that mattered right now. Only Daniella did.
“What happened to your fingers?” she demanded.
“Nothing,” I lied and batted her hand away.
She frowned, her mouth twisting to one side in disapproval.
“I’m fine, woman. I’m only worried about you. How? How are you here? How did you wake up? I thought… I thought…” I couldn’t finish. Instead, I pulled her to me and crushed her against my chest.
She remained stiff but only for a second, then her body molded to mine.
“I thought the same,” she said. “Thought I’d never see you again.”
Slowly, I sat down on the moss-covered ground, pulling her down with me. “You must tell me everything.”
“You first.”
I shook my head. “There’s nothing worth telling.”
“They… tortured you.” Her eyes wavered with unshed tears.
“Don’t fret about it. I’m fine.”
She reached over and pressed a hand to my cheek. “Your body, yes, but what about your mind? Your spirit?”
My heart swelled with love for her. Though young, she was wise beyond her years. “I promise I’m fine. You’re not only the salve for my bruises. You are the light that shines through all the darkness.”
She bit her lower lip, a sign that she didn’t quite believe me.
“Wölfe was with me,” I added. “The beast is strong. It made things easier.” It wasn’t a lie.
She seemed doubtful still, but her misgivings seemed to ease, if only a little.
“Now, will you tell me everything?” I insisted.
And she did. She explained how she’d slowly siphoned energy from the flowers Larina kept at her bedside, gaining strength little by little. She’d awakened the very day Cardian took me, and since then, she and the Sub Rosa hadn’t stopped looking for me. She explained how Cardian had, once more, installed himself as the Seelie King, a post I would gladly let him have if he weren’t so bent on destruction. When she was done explaining, I stared at her in awe.
“You have changed a lot, melynthi,” I said.
She pondered for a moment, then said, “I have. I hope that’s not a problem.”
I blew air through my nose. “Not at all. I always knew you were fierce. A trait I admire. You have only grown fiercer. The way I always imagined my queen would be.”
One of her eyes twitched at the wordqueen. She had faced Runik and a host of guards without flinching, but the mention of wearing the Seelie crown was enough to cause the tic.
“Destitute queen, perhaps,” she said. “Because your court is full of traitors. I have a feeling they have outnumbered those loyal to you. And with your mother… gone, without her support, I have a feeling going back wouldn’t work the way it did last time, would it?”
