Page 260 of Cursed Evermore

“Have you decided yet where you’re going to live?” Mischief lit up her eyes.

I smirked. “What do you mean, Arielle?”

“You’re not going back to the mortal lands, are you?” As she looked at me, she seemed to see straight through to my heart, and the question felt like it was really about who I wanted to be and the life I’d always wanted.

“No.” My voice was barely above a whisper. “How did you know that’s what I wanted?”

“I knew from the first time we met.”

“How? Things were so different then.”

“Your heart yearned to be where it always belonged. I knew from the moment we got here that you’d have a very difficult time leaving. I guess, though, that maybe Wolfe is one more reason to stay. That’s if he gives you a choice. He’d be a fool to let you go.”

Her words settled over me, warming my heart.

I was about to say something more, but a tingle rippled through my chest, sharp enough to steal my breath. Then it moved through me, whispering desire through my soul. The sensation compelled me to look back toward the manor. When I did, I knew he was there. Wolfe was there. And he wanted me to go to him.

What I was feeling was him. Not just magic. His essence. It was like a touch ghosting over my entire being. The scent of cedar and storms still tangled in my hair came to my mind, and the memory of his kisses graced my lips. My body, marked in ways only I knew, yearned for him.

I glanced back at Arielle, who was already smiling at me.

“Go,” she said, seeming to figure out what was happening.

“How did you?—”

“People who want to be together always know where the other one is.”

I smiled at that, my pulse quickening. Days ago, Wolfe told me I’d figure out how to find him. I just did. Desire had become my compass.

And gods, I was ready to lose myself in him again. No matter the cost.

Chapter 51

Elariya

“Where Shadow and Desire Burn”

Itook the last set of stairs, the pull toward Wolfe guiding me like an invisible chain wrapped around my heart. Feeling him through the shackle was completely different from this. This magnetic pull was a living map blooming inside me, drawing me toward him like a tide.

My footsteps echoed as I stepped onto the landing. I’d only been in the highest tower of the manor once before, on my tour with Arielle. Wolfe held meetings up here, so I’d stayed away. Now, with each step closer, I couldn’t shake the worry that he’d chosen a business setting for a reason. To break bad news.

It would be cruel to live out the last days of this reset watching him prepare to marry someone else. Crueler still to forget him and somehow, deep down, still feel like I was meant to be his.

The door to his study clicked open, cutting through my thoughts.

I stepped inside, the pull tightening with every stride. When I rounded the bookshelf, I found Wolfe standing at the long glasswindow, his back to me as he gazed at the mountains in the distance.

He seemed taller today, his shoulders broader. And I couldn’t look at him without picturing the ink and muscle I’d traced with my hands last night, or remembering the things he’d made me feel, things I’d never imagined giving to anyone. The memory alone sent a tremor through my core, and damn it, I was wet.

As if sensing my thoughts, Wolfe cocked his head. His hair was in a half-up, half-down style, revealing just enough of his profile for me to catch what might have been a faint smile.

I stopped before the desk, my nerves spiking. My heart pounded like it would leap out of my chest and keep running. Suspense gnawed at me, and it only deepened when he turned slowly to face me.

“You figured it out, Ziyka. You found me.” His eyes lit with fascination.

“I did. I felt… you.”

“But did you figure outwhy, little mage?”