Page 206 of Cursed Evermore

“No. There's not a whole lot when it comes to Thayden. Except that he's the most controlling, selfish, manipulative person I've ever met. And I hope I never have to marry him.”

All traces of teasing disappeared from her face, her eyes sharpening with concern. “Oh Gods, Elariya. He sounds awful.”

“He is. I was only supposed to marry him for my family's sake. With my father gone, things got hard. People didn't want a mage or magical folk in charge of Stormfell. My mother and his father arranged our marriage to smooth things over. We'd have an easier life, and his father would take over the South in a supervisory capacity. It was a mutually beneficial agreement. Except, nothing benefited me. All that awaited me was a new life in Zyvaris, where magical folk are despised.”

Her face went grave, the lightness from moments before nowhere to be found. “I'm so sorry. I didn't know.”

“I know. I guess that's one more good thing about being here. A blessing in disguise. I was supposed to marry him at the end of next week. But I'm here.”

“Youarehere. And just for the record, I'm sure you really could choose to stay if you wished.”

I grinned at the possibility. Staying here would be like going out on my own and spreading my wings. I loved my family with all my heart, but the thought of choosing to stay here tasted like the same freedom I felt when I flew Hedion. “I'm not supposedto like being here so much. Everything about the magical realm is amazing.”

“It is. And I can tell you that although Wolfe can be a controlling asshole at times, he's different with you around.”

My pulse quickened with curiosity. “Is he?”

“Yes. He's very different. All Fae male have that stubborn, demanding, abrasive personality, but they're different with the women they like.” She gave me an endearing smile. “Wolfe may never tell you this, but I strongly believe he would have liked to meet you under different circumstances.”

A thrill raced through me that I couldn't suppress. “That would have been nice.”

Thunder rumbled overhead, silencing our conversation. We looked up in unison as fireworks bloomed across the sky. Waves of molten gold chased spirals of deep purple with colors so vivid the air shimmered with residual magic after each explosion.

“Gods, that's beautiful,” I marveled, my eyes firmly locked on each pulsing ripple that crackled ahead of us.

“It's the last Phantom Moon festival. We call it the Luminar. It's the last night when you can fully see the moon's eclipse. Everyone goes to the Silvermere Hills to make wishes and bid for good fortune. After tonight, the moon will start to fade as it passes through the celestial belt. By next week, it will be gone, and so will all celebration.”

I smiled. “There's so much to celebrate here.”

“I'd take you, but I have an errand to run with Bastian in the outlands.”

I focused on her with a wide grin, deciding it was her turn to be grilled. “Is this a real errand or adate?”

She snapped her gaze back to me and blushed. “No. Not an errand per se. Or a date.” She feigned innocence. “It might be me pretending I need help with something and him acting like he doesn't know I'm lying so I can spend time with him.”

“Oh, I see.” I stared at her, waiting for her to elaborate.

“It's complicated,” she eventually said.

“Why is that?”

“I think he finds it difficult to be with me because he's three hundred years old and has known me since I was five. Meanwhile, my little five-year-old heart loved him from the moment I first saw him.”

My heart warmed with her declaration. “That sounds like you should be with him.”

“I'd love nothing more. But Bastian is...Bastian. Remember what I said about Fae males? Stubborn. He'll watch me from afar and protect me with his life, but he'll never admit to having any feelings for me.”

“Is age really that big a deal for him? Or...anyof them?” Wolfe was three hundred years old, too. What would he want with me? At twenty years old, I must have seemed like a baby to him.

Her smile grew as she realized what I was thinking. “No.Theydon't generally tend to have problems with age. Especially when it comes to being with mages—orhalfmages—who are blessed with long life anyway.”

“I suppose that makes a lot of sense for mages.” I bit the inside of my lip, grateful for the assurance.

“It does. And look at them. The Fae get to look like they're in their twenties for close to a thousand years.”

We shared a secret smile, one that didn't need words to explain how much we'd thought about theage thing.

“What are you going to do?” I asked, eager to hear her plans.