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Chapters (55)
  1. Title Page
  2. Dedication
  3. World Map
  4. Pronunciations
  5. Author’s Notes
  6. Table of Contents
  7. A Forbidden Fate
  8. Prologue
  9. Chapter One
  10. Chapter Two
  11. Chapter Three
  12. Chapter Four
  13. Chapter Five
  14. Chapter Six
  15. Chapter Seven
  16. Chapter Eight
  17. Chapter Nine
  18. Chapter Ten
  19. Chapter Eleven
  20. Chapter Twelve
  21. Chapter Thirteen
  22. Chapter Fourteen
  23. Chapter Fifteen
  24. Chapter Sixteen
  25. Chapter Seventeen
  26. Chapter Eighteen
  27. Chapter Nineteen
  28. Chapter Twenty
  29. Chapter Twenty-One
  30. Chapter Twenty-Two
  31. Chapter Twenty-Three
  32. Chapter Twenty-Four
  33. Chapter Twenty-Five
  34. Chapter Twenty-Six
  35. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  36. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  37. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  38. Chapter Thirty
  39. Chapter Thirty-One
  40. Chapter Thirty-Two
  41. Chapter Thirty-Three
  42. Chapter Thirty-Four
  43. Chapter Thirty-Five
  44. Chapter Thirty-Six
  45. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  46. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  47. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  48. Chapter Forty
  49. Chapter Forty-One
  50. Chapter Forty-Two
  51. Chapter Forty-Three
  52. Chapter Forty-Four
  53. Chapter Forty-Five
  54. Acknowledgements
  55. About the Author

“I will touch you as much as you will let me. As I said before, I’ll be whatever you need me to be.”

“Braizen, no. We would die! Our entire Kingdoms would fall!” I turn and face the room. “Surely you don’t believe that a single touch is worth all of that!”

“I do,” he cuts in from behind me. “I’m starting to believe it’s worth every gods damn flame, every crumbling stone, and rotting vine.”

My breath is shallow and uneven as I hear him step closer.

“Idalia, I haven’t been able to sleep in these last few days. I’m kept awake by the thought of you, of your skin. Jealous of the hair that drapes over your shoulders. Envious of the wind and how often it wraps itself around you. I would choose death— gladly choose death—if only to touch you. Just once. To hold your cheek. And trace your lips. To drag my tongue over every single part of you. Because if you really want to know what I believe, it’s that a life of being robbed of your skin against mine for even a second longer is a fate far worse than death. To not have you by my side, a misery far worse than the grave.”

His breath is warm on my nape, and I feel heat around my hips. His hands hover there, mere inches away from me. For a suspended moment, I feel them holding me. How do I always feel him? He’s waiting for my response. Slowly, I turn and lift my chin.

“So, we are both fools then.” I say softly.

The stare from his ice-blue eyes is a tidal wave sweeping over a helpless city, and I stand on the shore, knowing I can only watch as it folds over and carries me away. Our breaths meet in the tight space between us, and I know I should be fighting with every fiber of my being not to feel this way.

I know to be near him, to desire his closeness, is to choose death. But when he looks at me like this, time slows. My heartbeat quickens, and tears threaten to spill down my cheeks. My limbs burn; the truth lingering in the back of my throat thrashes and begs to be spoken aloud.

To be with him is to die. But to be without him is no way to live.

Chapter Thirty-Six

Chapter Thirty-Six

Braizen

I’ve spent most of my life wandering Baelliles’ forests. I’ve scoured beneath trees and observed all forms of life. But I’ve never witnessed anything as precious as the Little Sparrow. I feel her warm spirit reaching out to me. I want to snatch it, and I would…I would hold it close to me if I could. But this is not her gentle way. She would not risk the lives of our Kingdoms, nor would she risk my beating heart.