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She stirred with her own muffled noise of complaint. ‘Tell me I imagined that racket?’

Wilder dropped a kiss to her bare shoulder, fighting every instinct to turn her over and seat himself between her legs again. ‘I’m afraid not.’

‘He said something about our party arriving? I thought they weren’t getting here till sundown?’

Wilder grimaced as his gaze shot to the window. ‘It is sundown.’ They had fucked and slept their way through the day.

‘Fuck,’ Thea muttered.

Wilder was inclined to agree. Only years of discipline and training got him out of that warm bed, and he went about stoking the fire in the hearth to life and heating water over its flames for them to wash.

He felt Thea’s gaze on him as he moved about the room naked, his hard cock bobbing in front of him. His eyes met hers. ‘Don’t get any ideas, Princess.’

She licked her lips. ‘Wouldn’t dream of it.’

He forced himself to look away, lest he start something they didn’t have time to finish, but he couldn’t help the smile that played on his lips as he went about locating the clothes they’d discarded the night before.

It was in the quiet moments as they washed themselves before the fire, smiling at each other and sharing heated glances, that the need to express himself hit Wilder. He wanted to say something, something powerful to capture everything that rushed through him as he looked upon her buttoning her shirt – such a simple act that seemed so familiar, so intimate now. It was in this suspended moment of time that he realised words were not enough, that his love for her demanded everything of him and he would gladly give it all.

Thea looked up from tucking her fate stone beneath the folds of her shirt, the sight of it tugging at Wilder’s chest. He searched for something to say, anything to relieve the swelling pressure in his heart. He was in awe of her, of everything she had fought and won for herself, of the magic he could feel humming from her even now – of the fact that she had chosenhim.

‘You’re staring,’ Thea pointed out. ‘And you’re only half dressed.’ The smile she gave him nearly broke him. ‘Not that I’m complaining,’ she added, dragging her fingertips across his bare chest. ‘But we’d best get downstairs. Torj and the others saw enough of us in Harenth, remember? Don’t fancy them barging in again.’

The memory jolted Wilder out of his trance and he chuckled, shrugging his shirt on and quietly revelling in Thea’s lustful gaze as his bare skin disappeared beneath the fabric.

They strapped their weapons in place and faced the door.

‘You ready?’ Wilder asked her, wishing more than anything that they could remain tucked away in their room.

‘I don’t think either of us are ready,’ Thea admitted. ‘But we’ll figure it out.’

Wilder offered his hand. ‘Together, then?’

Warmth bloomed in his chest as she laced her fingers through his and reached for the door with her other hand. ‘Together.’

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

THEA

With her magic simmering beneath her skin and Wilder’s hand in hers, Thea felt more like herself than she had in a long time. Despite the festering state of the midrealms, for her, the missing pieces of the puzzle had slid into place and she felt as though she could breathe again – felt that whatever came next, she could face it as she’d always intended.

Lightning sang in her every nerve ending; Wilder had made sure of that last night. As they made their way into the tavern below, more than once, Thea had to check that there were no sparks dancing off her. It was liberating to be whole again, to feel the full force of her power at her fingertips once more. She hadn’t realised how much she had become accustomed to it until it was gone.

Sensing Wilder’s gaze on her as they wove through the chairs and tables, she glanced at him.

He was smiling.

Not a slight quirk to the corner of his mouth, nor the arrogant smirk he sometimes offered to drive her mad. No, this was a true smile. The harsh lines of his fierce face softened, his dimple wasdeep, and his eyes were bright like pools of starlight rather than molten steel. Gods, he was beautiful. And he was hers.

‘Easy there, Princess,’ he murmured, his warm grip tightening around her hand.

Thea blinked at him. ‘What?’

He licked his lips and smiled wider. ‘I can feel the storm gathering in you…’

She nearly stopped in the middle of the tavern. ‘You can feel it?’

Wilder rubbed the centre of his chest. ‘Right here.’