Bethan groaned, rubbing her eyes. ‘Elnora practically begged them to; they probably just wanted to get in her good graces so she doesn’t keep rebelling.’

She struggled to keep her eyes open. Her head felt heavy, so she did the only reasonable thing she could think of and rested her head on his shoulder. Drowsiness overtook her.

‘Are you okay? Do you need something?’ Kellan asked, a hint of franticness in his deep voice.

‘I’m not sure where this came from,’ she told him.

Kellan flung into action, forcing her head to jolt. She couldn’t see where he was going, but he returned with a pillow and a book.

She smiled at the items he placed in front of her. He had already slipped the pillow under her head. He even went as far as combing a strand of hair from in front of her eyes.

Kellan opted for a seat on the floor. She reached for the novel before laying back down. She was surprised that he remembered that she liked to read before bed, but she figured they had spent so much time together that it was impossible to not know each other’s routine. Tharin used to get mad whenever she read before bed because he hated any sort of light when he slept.

She wanted to rip those memories from her brain. She would, and she would replace them with the ones she’d forgotten.

After having read a few sentences, she dropped the book on her chest. She glanced at the fae sitting on the floor across from her, who was playing with his dog, when an idea struck her.

‘Can you read it to me?’ she asked; her voice was quiet.

He took the book from her and read aloud. It was some sort of fantasy story about a princess escaping an arranged marriage. She wasn’t really paying attention to it. It was hard to pay attention to anything besides the delicate sound of Kellan’s voice lulling her to sleep.

His deep and quiet voice softened each word like velvet. She relinquished control and let her eyes fall to a close. She visualised the vivid descriptions of the story, only to find that the blanket of sleep had finally claimed her.

chapter seventeen

bethan kore

the morning sun glowed on bethan’s face. The sudden source of light that streamed through the curtainless window was enough to pull Bethan out of her slumber. She hugged the heavy quilt tighter, pulling it over her head, knowing the winter air would hit her as soon as she left the warmth of the bed, wanting to keep herself cocooned in the sheets longer.

She let her tired eyes shut again, hoping for another few minutes of restful sleep, but she remembered not leaving Kellan’s apartment the night before.

And that this was not her bed.

She flung off the covers and found herself in a room and bed she wasn’t familiar with. Her mind raced, chest pounding. Her body shuddered, panic setting in. She lifted the blanket to her nostril, sucking in a breath.