“Silene and I have spent every minute of our engagement the last year trying to get out of it,” I rush out before she can get away. “If you believe nothing else I tell you, believe that. What I told you before was the truth. And I can assure you that Silene has no interest in being Queen. But you don’t have to take my word. Speak with Silene. She will tell you the same.” She tries to protest again, but I rush onward, determined to get this out before she can object again. “My father—aethers, Laurel, I know. I know. My father is the vilest male to ever live. I hate him with the same intensity that you do. You think that us being mates makes you vulnerable to him, and it might, but it also makes you stronger. We’re mates. We’re the two most powerful fae alive, and together, we have so much more magic than him. Don’t you think there has to be a reason for a bond like this to emerge in the world after all this time?”

Her eyes glimmer with the tiniest spark of hope. It’s the same window I’ve seen open so many times before it slams shut again, but now it’s cracked, and that gives me the confidence to continue. My body shakes, knowing I need to tell her how I feel. It scares me, being this open and vulnerable. But if anyone in all the Four Kingdoms deserves this, it’s her.

“I find you to be the most alluring female I’ve ever encountered. My mind doesn’t wander to you, because you’re always in it. I feel it when you walk in the room, sense you when you aren’t near. The mating bond is hard to believe, but so is the fact that I didn’t guess what we were to one another right away. You’re in my dreams every night, and every morning I fight to stay asleep to keep you with me for just another moment. For the longest time, I tried to deny what I felt for you. Tried to convince myself that I wasn’t seeking you out at every opportunity. My whole being orbits around you, and it has since the moment I met you. Please believe me, witchling.” As always, her expression is unreadable. I pull her hands to my chest, stroking gently over her thumbs. “Say something, please. Let me into that unreachable mind.” The words are a plea.

“But—you and Silene. I’ve seen her come out of your bedroom,” she finally says.

I furrow my brow in confusion. “My bedroom?”

She nods. “The primary bedroom in the apartment. The large one. With gold everywhere.”