Page 37 of Kissing Potions and Elves (Oakvale Ever After #1)

LYRION

I awaken to golden sunlight filtering through the sheer curtains. As my mind drifts to the events of last night, there’s an unfamiliar, aching warmth in my chest. Something I’ve only recently begun to admit is real.

Isobel.

I sit up in bed and run a hand over my face. Last night everything changed. Or perhaps it’s been changing all along and I hadn’t noticed. But now, I can no longer pretend that my feelings are the sole result of the kissing potion’s effects.

Not when the truth whispers insistently in my heart, louder and clearer with each passing breath. I’ve fallen for her. Completely.

I glance across the room to Rhystan’s bed, empty and already neatly made. The quiet murmur of conversation and the faint aroma of tea drifts from the adjoining sitting room.

Quickly, I ready myself for the day and then step through the half-open door. The sound of Isobel’s laughter, gentle and warm, is like sunlight spilling over my skin.

And when she turns and smiles at me, I feel as if I’m staring into the very sun itself as the morning light paints her hair a luminous gold. Her honey-brown eyes meet mine and my chest tightens with an emotion I don’t fully trust myself to name aloud.

“Good morning,” she says cheerfully.

“It’s about time you woke up, Brother,” Rhystan jokes. “I’ll go downstairs and call the Wolves while you have your tea.” He grins. “Gods know you definitely need it in the mornings, else you’ll be as grumpy as a Goblin on our journey.”

I narrow my eyes as Isobel laughs at his teasing.

He passes me a steaming cup of tea on his way out the door. As soon as he leaves, I turn my gaze back to her. There’s so much I want to say. Moon and stars, I never imagined that simply looking at someone could make me feel so vulnerable.

“Did you sleep well?” I ask, closing the distance to sit beside her.

“It’s not quite as soft as the bed back at the manor.” She grins. “In truth, I think that mattress has ruined me and Errol for all others. He’ll be quite upset when he has to go back to my straw one in our apartment.”

My heart clenches at the mention of her leaving. I want her to stay with me. More than anything. The words rise in my throat, but the fear of rejection holds them back.

What if I’m wrong and she doesn’t feel for me as I do her? What if she wants to leave once the spell is broken?

Every instinct within me wants to confess everything: my love, my fears, my hopes. But I can’t risk pushing her away. Not yet. Not until I’m certain she feels it too.

Vaelar help me, I want so much to kiss her again, but I force myself to finish my tea and toast.

“We should leave,” I murmur, inwardly cursing myself for my cowardice. I should just tell her how I feel. Put everything on the table and see what she says, but I cannot force the words past my lips. “Rhystan is probably waiting for us.”

A faint smile curls her lips. “Let’s go home.”

My heart leaps in my chest as my resolve deepens. Home. Such a simple word, yet it holds everything I now desire. Her. Us.

“Yes,” I reply. “Let’s go home.”