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“Why?” she asked, her eyes flitting up to his.

“Because I do not know how it will look in the end.”

Scarlett’s nose scrunched in confusion. “Aren’t you its creator? Don’t you get to decide how it will look in the end?”

“Yes, but it’s not the end yet, is it?”

Scarlett rolled her eyes. “These Fae customs are extremely profound.”

Sorin only leaned forward and pressed a quick kiss to her brow. “Let me show you your home, Love.”

SORIN

Sorin led Scarlett through the various halls and chambers of his Fiera Palace. He showed her the meeting rooms where they met for councils, and the offices where he normally worked. Although, he admitted, a large majority of his work was done in his chambers at night. He showed her the grand hall where they held festivities and balls. He took her out to the grounds and showed her the soldiers’ quarters where some of his men stayed. He took her to the training rings and the stables. He took her through the gardens and the kitchens. He took in her delight that the flowers still bloomed way up in the mountains and stared at her in wonder as she greeted each servant and asked their name. He had no doubt she would remember each and every one.

“This is the guest wing,” he explained, leading her down a hall in the eastern side of the palace.

“The rooms are huge,” Scarlett exclaimed as they passed by one with an open door. She paused at the threshold. “May I?”

“Of course,” Sorin replied, gesturing for her to enter. She turned slowly in place,taking in the sitting room, game room off to the left, and the door leading back to the bedroom.

“You certainly know how to treat guests,” she said, her hands going to her hips. He tried not to notice how her fingers grazed the strip of midriff her top left exposed or how his hand had been on that skin while she sat in his lap kissing him earlier. He tried to forget that he had turned her down when he’d wanted to carry her to his bed and touch her anywhere she asked. Gods, she had figured out the scent of his arousal faster than he’d expected. Not that he should really be surprised by that, he supposed, but if his mind lingered on that idea too long…

“Can I have this one?” she asked, jerking him from those thoughts.

“Can you what?” He blurted out, unable to hide his shock. She couldn’t be serious. Sleep in the guest wing?

“Well, I’m assuming I get a room,” Scarlett said slowly, watching him carefully.

“You have a room. You’ve been sleeping in it for days.” Fuck propriety. She wasn’t sleeping on the other side of the palace. It was out of the question.

Scarlett tilted her head to the side, her long hair swaying over her shoulder. “I am a guest, am I not? Besides, isn’t thatyourroom?”

“This is your home, Scarlett,” he replied. She still had those damn hands on her hips, standing there like the princess she was.

She pursed her lips, contemplating his words. She was standing near one of the room's armchairs, and she ran a finger over the ornate embroidery of the fabric, tracing one of the gold-threaded designs. Finally, she said quietly, “I do not know what it is like to have a home any more. I have not had one since my mother died. Not really.”

“This can be your home, Scarlett. If you want it to be.” He tried not to shift under her scrutinizing stare as she brought her eyes back to his and her shadows stretched towards him.

“Live here? With you?”

“That is your choice,” he said. “If you’d rather a place in the city, I can arrange that, too.”

“In the private wing of the palace? Where your chambers are?”

He couldn’t decide where she was going with this. He had learned where to look to read her emotions over the past few months. How her fingers curled when she was irritated. How her nose scrunched when she was confused. How her eyes narrowed when she was not impressed. How they shone when she was blissfully happy, although he’d only seen that a handful of times. Her face now, though, was nearly unreadable, like it had been since she’d awoke, as if she were somewhere he could not reach. “I can find you another suite in the private wing, or you may live in my chambers if you wish.”

“Then where will you live?”

“I will live wherever I need to live so that you are not alone,” he replied, stepping towards her. She looked up at him, the golden flecks bright in her icy blue eyes today.

“Hmm,” she said dismissively, stepping back after a moment. “I do rather prefer the sofa in your chambers. Besides, I’d hate for you to be alone in that big wing all by yourself.” He saw it for what it was. She was trying. She was trying so damn hard to dredge up who she was, who she had been.

“What makes you think I live here by myself?” he asked, following her out of the guest chamber and taking the lead once more.

“Others live here? Besides the help?” she asked, peering at him as they walked side-by-side. His hand brushed hers, and she didn’t yank it back. The closeness of her made his blood hum. While he could have throttled himself for turning her down earlier, he knew she would have regretted it. She’d wanted a distraction from all the trauma she’d repressed for years. That he’d only added to. No, he didn’t deserve to touch her at all.

He laughed at her questions now, though. “Yes, Scarlett. I am not some solitary prince living in a huge palace by himself.”