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C ora’s request sent heat radiating through Teryn’s chest. His eyes dropped down to her full, slightly parted lips, wondering if he hadn’t imagined the words that had left them. As if in silent confirmation, she tilted her chin, lashes fluttering closed.

That was all Teryn needed. All the agonizing seconds he could resist before he lowered his mouth to hers. She met him halfway, her lips impossibly soft as they crushed against his. Her arms wound around his neck, fingertips sliding into his hair and sending a shiver down his spine. He pressed her closer to the tree, one hand snaking behind her back while the other trailed down her hair, the side of her face. Then, cradling her jaw, he gently tilted her chin, allowing their kiss to deepen. Her lips parted, and their tongues met in a languorous sweep. His hand stiffened on her back, pulling her ever closer. She yielded to him, her soft, small body somehow fitting perfectly against him. Their breaths grew heavy, sharp, and with the next sweep of his tongue, she released the most delicious of moans.

It nearly unraveled him, nearly made him slide his hands to places better left explored in private. He ached to palm her backside, to untie her apron and feel at least one less layer between them. Yet, despite his near-feverish desire, he remained vaguely aware of the two guards nearby. Guards that were surely getting an eyeful regardless of where Teryn kept his hands.

Cora arched into him, releasing another soft moan, her fingers clawing into the hair at the nape of his neck. Teryn was about to throw caution to the wind and heft her into his arms to close more of the sparse distance between them—when Cora suddenly pulled back with a gasp. And not one of pleasure. Of…something he couldn’t comprehend.

Teryn froze. Had he done something wrong? Had he let his passion get out of control after all? The tightening in his trousers suggested as much, and she certainly would have noticed that , but?—

She gasped again. Only this time he realized it wasn’t a gasp at all but a snort.

Of laughter.

Which might have been worse than whatever he’d been imagining.

Still, her smile sent a fluttery feeling to his chest, and he found his lips lifting too. Her arms were still around his neck, her body still close to his. “What is it?”

She pursed her lips, gaze lowered. Then she lifted her dark eyes to his and her smile grew. “It’s Valorre,” she said, her voice quavering with restrained laughter. “That smug little bastard is smirking.”

Teryn cast a glance over his shoulder but saw only the edge of the cliff and the wildflower meadow. The other direction revealed nothing but trees and the forest path. Well, that and the pair of guards who were absolutely looking at them. Perverts.

“I don’t see him,” he said.

“He’s not here,” she whispered, “but he is close by. I can feel him smirking.”

Awe washed over him. “You really can communicate with him, can’t you?”

Her expression turned timid, but she gave him a small smile. “Yes.”

Seven gods, she was incredible. Their moment of passion may have been broken by Cora’s sudden amusement, but it hadn’t changed his feelings. With his hand still pressed against her back, he gently stroked his thumb over the wool fabric of her dress. “I wish you didn’t have to hide who you really are. You are too godsdamned amazing for that.”

Her expression took on a teasing quality. “I think I liked it best when you called me formidable.”

“You’re always formidable.”

She leaned against the tree, placing space between them. Her hands slid from around his neck but lingered over his chest. “I never did thank you,” she said, eyes flashing toward the guards. “For keeping my secret. About my magic, about…well, a lot of things.”

He gave her a wry grin. “Yes, I seem to recall you being too busy yelling at me when last we spoke to properly thank me.”

She playfully swatted his chest, but he caught her fingers and brought them to his lips. Holding her gaze, he planted a kiss over the back of her bare, gloveless hand, right over the rounded curves of her knuckles. She bit her lower lip as if that could hide the grin splitting her face. And if it wasn’t the most beautiful godsdamned smile he’d ever seen. He didn’t think she’d ever looked at him like that, and now that he’d seen the expression, he was determined to inspire it a thousand times more.

Her face fell slightly, eyes darting toward the guards again. “We should probably get back before we lose our senses and give them another show.”

Losing his senses was exactly what Teryn wanted to do with her. Just the thought of how good she’d felt against him, against that tree, nearly had him pulling her into his arms all over again. But she was probably right. So instead of kissing her swollen lips and eliciting another one of those glorious moans of hers, he took her hand and placed it at the crook of his elbow. Angling his head toward the path, he said, “Shall we?”

They fell into silence as they made their way back toward the castle. Berol soared overhead, sometimes swooping low enough that he could hear the beat of her wings. As much as Teryn wanted to fill the void with conversation, he was grateful for the quiet, for it allowed him to simply enjoy the feel of Cora’s company, of her slender hand warm against his forearm, of the pound of his heart dancing in rhythm with their steps. A pinch of fear crept up now and then, and he’d worry their silence was shifting into the awkward sort. But then he’d glance her way and she’d grin back.

Perhaps there was some awkwardness to their silence, but it was a good kind. One that marked new beginnings. Two people getting to know one another in an entirely new way.

In fact, all of this was new to Teryn. While he’d had his share of lovers, he’d never entertained anything serious. His marriage prospects had always been filtered through political advantage. Which, of course, had resulted in his engagement to Mareleau. Regardless, he’d always been resigned to his fate. After seeing what love had done to his parents and his kingdom, he’d been determined to accept his duty with a cold heart.

But meeting Cora…

She’d changed him in such a short time. He’d made mistakes with her, ones that taught him the dangers of blindly following what he thought was his duty and going against his heart.

Now his duty and his heart were aligned. Because Cora was both.

“What will you do now?” Cora asked, finally breaking their silence. Ridine’s towers peeked over the trees in the distance.

“Well, I…” Teryn frowned. “I don’t actually know. My mind has been so consumed with simply getting here and speaking with you about our engagement, I haven’t thought about what comes next now that the alliance is secure.”

She arched a teasing brow. “Oh, so the alliance is all you came here for?”

“You know I came for more than that,” he said. It was true, although he’d never expected their conversation would end in a kiss. He’d intended to tell Cora the truth. That regardless of her feelings, or lack thereof, his own ran deeper than politics. He hadn’t realized just how deep they ran until she’d refused to entertain such a notion at all. Until he was forced to spell it out—both to himself and her—that he wanted their union to be a romantic one. A passionate one.

Had she told him she wanted to keep things platonic between them, he’d have agreed. Grudgingly, yes, but respectfully. But gods, was he thrilled she’d accepted his affection. He wasn’t ready to call it love. Not yet?—

“Will you stay?”

Teryn glanced at Cora and found her worrying a corner of her lip.

“Now that you’ve secured the…the alliance, will you return to Dermaine Palace, or will you…stay? For a while at least? Maybe until the peace pact is signed?”

He paused and turned toward her. “I’ll stay. For as long as I can.”

He hoped it would be long indeed and that Verdian and his brothers wouldn’t interfere. He hated that they had a stranglehold on Ridine Castle and the kingdom at large. On Cora’s kingdom. He hated that they treated her and her brother like they were still prisoners. Perhaps now that the engagement was secure, they’d respect her title more.

“I’d like that,” she said.

A tendril of dark hair unraveled from her messy updo and fell onto her cheek, but before she could sweep it away, he gently took hold of it. He ran the silken lock between his fingers before tucking it behind her ear.

“My hair is probably a mess right now,” she said, cheeks flushing.

“I like when it’s a mess.” And for the love of all things, he liked it when she blushed. The fact that he could make this fierce, gorgeous little creature blush made his stomach tighten.

She averted her gaze with a poorly hidden smile, and they proceeded toward the castle once more.

By the time Teryn returned Cora to the stairwell leading up to the tower room, she’d told him about the task she’d taken on. It gave him no small amount of terror to imagine her in that room surrounded by a dead mage’s possibly enchanted belongings. He knew better than to ask her to stop her work. All he could do was offer his help, which she’d predictably refused.

At least she said yes to dinner tonight.

Teryn let that warm his heart as he left the stairwell, left Cora to proceed with her work alone, but it did little to calm his nerves. He trusted Cora’s powers, knew she was so much stronger than anyone gave her credit for. And yet, he couldn’t shake how she’d looked when he’d first climbed the staircase and saw her standing frozen, staring at…

At…

Teryn’s mind went blank.

Hadn’t she been staring at something? Something she’d held in her hand? The more he tried to remember, the hazier his thoughts became. That in itself was worrisome, not to mention the fate of Cora’s lady’s maid, Lurel. His muscles tightened, begging him to turn around. Begging him to take up post next to her useless guards and ensure she was safe every moment she spent in there.

But he couldn’t.

He wouldn’t.

He’d trust her. Believe in her.

Because he knew there were few others who did right now.

He released his worries in a heavy sigh and made his way through the castle halls…only to realize he hadn’t a clue where he was going. This was only his second time at Ridine, and the first had been so fraught with tension that he’d hardly paid heed to the castle’s layout. This time, his arrival had been overshadowed by his single-minded focus to find Cora. Master Arther had greeted him, given him a room, and set an appointment for him to be received by King Dimetreus that evening, but he’d evaded every question Teryn had asked about Cora’s whereabouts. Which had left Teryn to investigate on his own. Thankfully, other members of the castle staff had been far more amenable to his inquiries, especially when they realized who he was. It seemed some respected royal title over the influence of two self-righteous lords who’d been given more power than they deserved.

Was Teryn bitter at seeing Cora’s castle swarming with Ulrich’s and Kevan’s guards and staff? Yes. Yes, he was. And was he perhaps growing just a little too protective over her? Also yes, but that simply couldn’t be helped, not after they’d shared that heated, incredible, mind-blowing kiss?—

He rounded the next corner and almost collided with a figure coming his way. A feminine yelp had him leaping back a step, but it was followed by a familiar aggrieved tone.

“Ugh. You.” Mareleau’s lip curled at the sight of him.

Teryn returned her sentiment with a flat look. “Ugh. Likewise.” He offered a shallow bow and stepped aside for her to pass. She started to sweep by but faced him with a roll of her eyes.

“I suppose you found her then, with no trouble from my uncles?” Her tone suggested she couldn’t care less, but if that were the case, she could have said nothing at all.

“I did.” He’d meant to keep his expression stony, but admitting he’d found Cora filled his mind with the memory of her lips.

Mareleau’s eyes went wide. “Seven devils, I know that look.”

His cheeks flushed. “What look?”

Her expression softened the slightest bit. “Larylis gets the same one sometimes.”

“And?”

She popped a hip to the side with a huff, as if their continued conversation were becoming more and more offensive to her by the second. Finally, she deigned to answer him, her face impassive while her voice held a note of genuine curiosity. “You like her, don’t you? The princess.”

He gave her a pointed look. “Did you think I was going through all this trouble to see her because I barely tolerated her?”

She shrugged. “I assumed you were tasked with formalizing a betrothal to her now that Larylis was no longer an option. But just because you were assigned as her groom didn’t mean you had to like it.”

He gave her a humorless grin. “We’d both know a thing or two about that situation, wouldn’t we? Regardless of politics, I do like her. She’s part of the reason I was so set against marrying you. That and your revolting personality, of course.”

She scoffed, but she seemed to take his insult in stride. “I’d be offended were I not so completely and utterly grateful for your dislike of me. I suppose we’re even then? You have your beloved and I have mine.”

He gave an exaggerated wince. “Not quite. You see, you and Larylis are already married, while Cora and I must wait a year. So how about we call it even on my wedding night? In the meantime, you can work off your debt to me by directing me toward the keep.”

She crossed her arms. “I’m your queen, not your servant. Besides, I’m going to the kitchen.”

The kitchen. That was on his list of places to visit too. He’d asked Cora to dine with him, but he hoped he could arrange something a little better than a public meal in the dining hall. Something to make up for everything Cora had missed when she’d refused to meet him in the garden at Verlot. He may not have access to a harpist or an elegant candlelit alcove, but he could do something to show her the efforts she hadn’t gotten to see.

“You know where the kitchen is?” he asked.

“No, of course I don’t. But I’m determined to find it, if only to prove to my maids just how incompetent they are. They’ve assured me there’s no chocolate in this castle. Can you imagine? There has to be chocolate. At least chocolate cake.”

Teryn resisted the urge to bark a laugh. Of course the pampered Mareleau wouldn’t realize just what a luxury chocolate was in some places. However, he recalled seeing a chocolatier’s shop in one of the cities he’d traveled through on his way here. He’d stopped before the window and considered going inside to buy a peace offering for Cora. Before he could act on it, he’d talked himself out of the idea, reminding himself that Cora might send him packing before he even got the chance to offer gifts.

Oh, how wrong he’d been…

He shook his head before memories of a kiss beneath a tree—of Cora’s body against that tree—could render him brainless.

“How about this,” he said. “I’ll place an order for chocolate if you do me a favor tonight.”

She threw back her head with a groan. “For the love of the seven gods, not again.”

“It’s a small favor,” Teryn rushed to say. “I need to talk to the royal chef. If all goes well, I’ll simply need your help procuring a spare table and maybe some candles. Perhaps a nice cloth. And, if you’re feeling generous, you can locate somewhere Cora and I might dine undisturbed tonight too.”

“Oh, that’s all,” she muttered with sarcasm. “Why do you call her Cora, anyway? And why can’t you do any of this yourself?”

He ignored the first question, but it served as a reminder to call Cora by her royal name in front of others. To address her second question, he said, “I still have an audience with King Dimetreus to attend once he returns from his hunt, and I’m not entirely convinced your uncles won’t thwart my efforts to enjoy myself while I’m here. They are your father’s brothers, after all.”

She nodded as if to admit fair enough .

“If you do it,” he said, “you can tell your uncles it’s for the sake of teaching the princess proper dinner etiquette. They’ll believe that.”

She narrowed her eyes and tapped her foot rapidly against the flagstones. Finally, she blew out a long breath and said, “You’re lucky I’m bored.”

“And you’re lucky I know of a place that sells cream-filled truffles. Now, sister, if you don’t mind, let us make haste to the kitchen where our mutual schemes might be realized.”

She burned him with a scowl but it lacked venom. “Very well…brother.”