Page 43 of Of Rime and Ruin (Sirens of Adria #2)

Chapter forty

Nahla

The Frost King is shit-faced, staring at me with wide, drunken eyes as I cradle his head in my lap.

I stroke his white hair, tracing how it falls around his forehead.

My fingers tingle as they ghost over the surface of his skin.

The curl of his ear. The hard line of his cheekbone. He’s fucking beautiful.

The fire burns low, blue flames dimming in a smoking pit of embers. One by one, the hunters turn in for the night and stagger to their shelters. Soon, we’re alone in the center of camp, with nothing but the aethersky to keep us company.

“So pretty,” Aethan says, reaching up to stroke my cheek with a clumsy finger. His smile stretches wide and crooked, white teeth glinting in the firelight. “Can I keep you forever?”

My chest tightens uncomfortably. This male—this infuriating, stupid male—is stealing my heart.

But surely he can’t mean a word of it. It’s the alcohol sogging his brain, the fading thrill of the hunt, the sex, the fight.

Tomorrow, we return to the castle. Me to my silken cage and Aethan to his cushioned throne. Captive and captor once again. Will he still look at me this way, when his world is back to normal, and I’m back in my place?

“Are you asking me to stick around? Or is that another order from the Frost King?”

He catches a loose strand of my hair between his fingers and twirls it. “Which one gets me a yes?”

“Funny,” I quip. “Let’s get you to bed, okay?”

He grins at me. “That sounds like a yes.”

I roll my eyes and shift so he has to sit up. With a series of grunts and stumbles, the king rises to his feet. His cloak hangs lopsided from his shoulders. Hair falls from his usually tidy ponytail. And despite my best judgment, my breath catches at the sight of him in disarray.

Somehow, he feels more real this way.

I loop my arm around his waist and turn him toward his shelter. “Come on, big guy.”

We stumble through the snow, leaving the warmth of the fire behind us. The wind picks up, battering our cloaks. At least his shelter is the closest; a few steps more and we reach the stooped entrance.

“Watch your head!” I caution, threading my fingers in his hair and tugging him down. Aethan narrowly misses smacking his skull on the ice.

We enter, and he collapses into the furs. His hands snag my waist, pulling me on top of him. My nose buries into his neck, and I inhale his crisp scent. A wave of desire washes over me, heat stirring in my center. His hands trail along my back, tracing sweet circles between my shoulder blades.

“You got me to bed, Nahla,” he rumbles, slurring my name. “Does that mean you’re going to stay?”

I pull away, staring into the darkness around us. Am I staying? Do I have a choice?

Carefully, I pull the furs over his chest, placing an extra barrier between us. Anything to keep my feelings under control.

I can’t do this again.

I know how this ends. I’ve been here before—who hasn’t—and nobody’s a fan of heartbreak. Overcome, I wedge the furs between us until our skin no longer touches.

His laughter rumbles into the dark. “Are you tucking me in, Sunfish?”

“Have a good night, Your Majesty.” I pat his chest once and push to my knees. He catches my wrist, yanking me in place.

“Don’t go,” he whispers. “I want to tell you a secret.”

With a sigh, I relax into the warmth of his embrace. There’s no way he’ll let me go, even if I tried. “What’s that?”

Is this the big reveal? Is he going to divulge the truth of his connection to the Beast? I study his face in the darkness, searching for clues. His eyes swim with drink. That lopsided smile still spreads his lips, mischievous and handsome.

“My library has a romance section. Thousands of books. You’re welcome to it as soon as we get home.” His breath spills over my ear, and my scales rise.

“Oh.” I’m not sure what I expected him to say, but it wasn’t that. “That’s great. I’d love to read some.”

His hand slides up my back, then grasps my hair. “I expect you to read every single one, Sunfish.” His voice takes on a panicked edge. “And when you run out, I’ll get you more. I’ll import them from across the Sea of Adria. That way, you’ll never have reason to leave me.”

It’s a sweet gesture, but his meaning leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

His voice grows quieter as he finishes, slipping into a breathless whisper.

His grip loosens, and he relaxes into the furs, all his power softened in an instant.

As sleep pulls him into its embrace, the hard creases of his perpetual frown smooth.

His lashes settle on his cheeks, like white feathers.

With each long breath, his nostrils flare and fall, the remnants of a smile on his lips.

And I’m left alone, staring into the sprawling dark as the panic settles in.

Sleep evades me. Outside, the wind shrieks and moans. Moonlight spills through the opening in the ice-shelter, shifting shadows on the ceiling as Audrina rises in the sky. All the while, Aethan lies beside me, taunting me with the ease of his slumber.

I’ve done what I said I would. I broke his silly rules, and I befriended the clawbeast. Escaped the cage. Explored his castle.

All that’s left is to leave the Rime. But Aethan will never let me go.

That way, you’ll never have reason to leave me.

Is that so bad a fate?

“Sunfish,” he whispers.

My heart lurches, and I glance at his face. His eyes are closed, twitching beneath his eyelids. Still asleep, then.

His lips part, and he exhales. He shifts within the furs, stretching his hand out until it lands heavily on my stomach. His fingers brush my skin, and he sighs. “Sunfish will stay.”

I’ve heard those words before. But it was the clawbeast’s voice, then, echoing in my head with the weight of a command.

Sunfish will stay. You will be safe.

Like I couldn’t be safe, if I didn’t obey.

My chest tightens, and I bring my hand up, rubbing at the forming pressure. A pang of yearning spasms, and I gasp as the emotion hits me like a crashing wave.

I didn’t realize how much I miss him until now. My friend. My glowering, gentle Beast. I miss the brush of his mind, the cold grasp of his emotions as they weave around my soul. The ridiculous piles of fish.

He was going to let me go that day. He broke me out of the cage and swam toward the exit. Until I mentioned the king, and he panicked.

Tears sting my eyes. This is silly, crying over the Beast, while he lies next to me. His breath spills onto my neck, and my scales rise in response.

I’ll be here whenever you need me. The ache in my chest intensifies as I remember his toothy grin, the moment he pushed me away. Pushed me toward the safety of his king’s domain.

Shit. This is so complicated. My head spins, trying to keep it straight.

Aethan’s fingers spread over my stomach, rough and warm. I turn my head to peer into his face and reach for him, pausing with my fingers a scale’s breadth away from his cheek. Is he in there, somewhere? The version of him I fell in love with first?