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“Yes, have you?” I asked boldly.

“Not as many as you’d think.” He gazed into the fire. “Only one ever meant anything, and that didn’t last.”

I drank in the hard edges of his face, the tension around his eyes. “What happened?”

“She said she didn’t trust me,” he said flatly. “Could not stand the idea of being withthe Mist King. After she left, I discovered she’d been sneaking messages to Oberon, trying to work with him on a way to take me down. She was a spy. In the end, she was too cowardly to go through with it.”

“A lucky escape for you. She sounds like a terrible person.”

Kalen shifted toward me, his gaze dark. “You thought the same of me.”

“That was before I knew you.”

His gaze dropped to my lips. “I want you safe, Tessa. But for the love of the moon, there’s a part of me that hopes you don’t run.”

“Only a part of you?”

“You should go to the human kingdoms,” he said. “Away from Oberon’s cruelty. Away from these horrible fae lands.”

“Away from you?” I couldn’t help but whisper.

He wound a hand around the back of my neck, gripping tight. “You should go. Once we find your family, you should go.”

I leaned into his touch, dipping back my head to expose my lips and neck to him. “I don’t want to run from you.”

His lips were on me a second later, hungry, fierce, full of need. I gasped as his grip on me tightened, as the ache in my core flared to life. His teeth skimmed my neck. A low guttural sound rumbled in his throat.

I leaned into him and basked in the heat of his touch and—

The entire building shook with the force of a thousand angry fae.

Thirty-Six

Tessa

Kalen’s lips left my skin as he leapt to his feet. Another rumble shook the ground, knocking the chandeliers off the ceiling. They crashed to the stone floor, shattering. My heart hammered as I lurched up beside him.

“Is it the god?” I whispered.

With a sharp shake of his head, Kalen strode to the bank of windows and peered down at the ground. Outside, three storm fae stood amongst a whirlwind of debris, splinters of wood and ripped tapestries swirling around their bodies. They held out their hands before them as they stared down the onyx castle.

The floor rumbled once more.

“Not a god,” he said grimly. “The storm fae are here. If they’re attacking the castle like this, then they know I’m inside.”

Another chandelier crashed to the floor just as the wall splintered. Mist and wind and ice streamed through the crack, instantly freezing me to the bone. I shuddered as a sinking pit of fear settled in my gut.

“Can they take down the entire building?” I shouted, the wind snatching at my voice.

Kalen seized my arms and dragged me across the Great Hall. He pushed me into one of the empty inner rooms and slammed the door behind him. Still, the floor shook.

He ran a hand through his wavy hair. “This storm is far more powerful than any I’ve ever seen. It’s unnatural, and my power isn’t working against it. Not like it should. They might very well tear this building to shreds.” His jaw clenching, he made a move to open the door. “Stay in here. I’ll go do what I can.”

I grabbed his arm before he could go. “You can’t go out there and fight them on your own. You just said your power isn’t working.”

“There is no other option, Tessa,” he said roughly. “I will not hide inside and wait for my enemy to bring this building crashing down on us.”

He wound his hands around my hips, pulled me to his chest, and kissed me hard. Before I could catch my breath, he was gone.