Page 2 of Ties of Starlight (Tethered Hearts #2)

I donea slipped away back inside the castle. No one would notice or care. It wasn't against the rules for her to leave early. Besides, it was in the name of perfection.

She brushed her fingers over the diamonds embedded into the stars of her necklace and carried in her other hand a tiny star, just big enough to light her steps in front of her. It was the most magic she could do, especially with how weak their connection was to the stars, thanks to the previous failures of the Cometa Couple and Idonea’s human blood. Being able to create and control light was just the beginning of what her people could do with their magic. Healing, scrying, infusing their magic into weapons were all their own specialized fields and there were dozens of titles of each and other areas of study throughout the library.

Thankfully she knew her way even in the dark. She'd already packed everything so she could enjoy her wedding day and night and be ready to leave first thing in the morning afterwards. If she was going to add another book to her bags, she needed to do it tonight.

She reached the library, pushing the door open with one hand and stepping inside. She reached to her right and set her star in the sconce. The mirrors reflected the weak light and bounced it all over the vast room, not making much of a difference with its weak state. However, it gave her enough light to see by when combined with the glass ceiling high above that let in the moonlight and the starlight.

Seeing the stars and the sky was calming even when indoors. No Star Elf ever chose a room without windows somewhere.

The shelves wrapped around the edge of the room, creating aisles that Idonea could spend hours wandering through. She certainly had spent hours dusting and reshelving. The wealth of all the Star Elves’ knowledge was contained within this one room. Science, art, magic, economics, agriculture, history… any remote, obscure subject that could be written about, they had a book about it. Actually, they probably had twenty.

Idonea made her way to the shelf she was looking for, grabbing the rolling ladder and setting it in place. Even the elves needed it, so Idonea needed it doubly so since she was shorter than most of them. Once she had it in the right place, she gathered her skirts up in one hand as she started climbing up, using her other hand to brace herself on the ladder.

The night was cool, and her dress wasn't designed for warmth. It sufficiently covered her, thankfully. Idonea had never let anyone see the mark on her chest. She was terrified of what would happen when she had no choice but to show Olaug after their wedding. But that was a problem for tomorrow. At least the high collar, long sleeves, and full skirts warded off the chill some.

She paused halfway up the ladder, huffing and hiking her skirts up again to keep them from tangling in her ankles. She reached the shelf she needed, the second from the top. She let go of her skirts, gripping the ladder with one hand. She brushed her fingers over the spines, leaning over slightly to read the titles.

Where was it?

Captain Bror's Account of the Failed Cometa Couple.

There.

She hooked her finger around the top of the spine. She’d been avoiding this one, mostly because just seeing his name—

“You're seriously spending the night before your wedding working?”

Idonea couldn't stop herself from startling, and then her foot caught on her skirt, and she was falling right off the ladder, screaming.

But instead of landing on the library floor, a pair of arms quickly wrapped around her and kept her from shattering every bone in her body.

Her heart was still slamming up against her ribs when she slowly opened her eyes to see King Nyrunn looking down at her from where he'd caught her. The book she'd been reaching for sprawled open on the floor nearby.

“Are you trying to kill me?” Idonea hissed.

“I'm the king. If I wanted you dead, I wouldn't have to go to the trouble of startling you into breaking your fragile, half-human neck.” His eyes darted down to her neck, and she resisted the urge to reach up and cover her necklace. He adjusted his grip, one arm under her knees and the other around her back, keeping her from escaping after his threat. “ I wasn't trying to make you fall. I simply forgot how easily you startle.”

She hardly needed the reminder of how quickly he could have her killed.

“I'm not so foolish as to believe that.” Idonea shifted, only causing his grip on her to tighten as he pulled her even closer in to his chest. “You always sneak up on me.”

“Little lily, everyone sneaks up on you.” Nyrunn laughed, and the deep rumble pierced her. She couldn’t let his arrogance and condescension get under her skin. “Even if you weren't half-human, your head is always in the clouds.”

So much for him maturing. Heat rushed to her cheeks. “You haven't changed at all, have you?”

He tilted his head, staring down at her as his hair fell into his eyes. “I'm afraid you'll have to be more specific.”

“I know you were listening, when I said that you were maturing. But here you are, acting no different than you have since you were just a prince, coming here to annoy me and criticize my every action, trying to get under my skin.”

He was already succeeding. She needed to calm down and figure out how to get out of this.

“Or maybe I came here to make sure you weren't up to something you shouldn't be. Can't have you running off now, can we?” Nyrunn murmured in her ear, hand rustling in the fabric of her skirts as he hefted her up, curling her so her cheek pressed against his shoulder as he pressed her to his chest. Her heart skipped and her breath caught in her throat.

She couldn’t forget how dangerous he was.

“Put me down!” Idonea slammed her hands against his chest and pushed back, and he quickly set her on her feet, her back against the shelves as he shifted in front of her .

She straightened up, but he was still towering over her, and she had nowhere else to go with him standing in front of her and blocking the way.

“Well, you didn't answer me.” Nyrunn tilted his head. “About what you're doing here at this hour?”

“I just... wanted something to read to help me sleep. Is that a problem, Your Majesty?” Idonea did her best to keep her voice steady and devoid of emotion.

“And you needed to get a book from a shelf twice your height?” Nyrunn looked back up at the tall shelves to the top of the ladder, a smile flickering on his face. “You weren't satisfied with the selection within your reach?”

“Clearly not.” Idonea took a deep breath. She would not let him rattle her. She’d survived far worse than Nyrunn. “Otherwise, I wouldn't have been up there.”

He pulled his gaze back down to hers. “And what book was so important you had to risk breaking your neck to read tonight of all nights?”

Thankfully it was on the ground behind him, so he couldn't see it.

She tried to laugh, but all that came out was a soft huff. “Don't you have more important things to be worrying about than my choice of literature, Your Majesty?”

His lips twitched up and something flickered in his eyes. “There is nothing more important than you, little lily.”

Her skin crawled, and she pushed down the bile rising in her throat. If she never heard anyone call her “lily” ever again it would still be too soon. But she had more important issues.

If she didn't do this perfectly—

Wait.

“That's what this is about?”

His eyes widened, and she heard his breath hitch, but she advanced on him, stepping forward .

“Staring at me all night? Following me here? You think I'm going to ruin this, don't you?” Now she was the one backing him into a corner. “You think I'm going to fail. Or worse, that I’m—I’ll be some kind of Inga? That I'm going to be the reason our people's magic continues to become more disconnected from the comet? That I'm going to be the reason we're weak and fall to the Moon Elves when they set their sights on us?”

Nyrunn’s steps faltered. “What—”

“You couldn't be more wrong!” Idonea’s frenzy increased with every word. “I know exactly what I'm doing, and I'm going to get it right this time. This is the time everything goes perfectly. So your effort is wasted, Your Majesty. Because tomorrow my wedding will go perfectly. The rituals will go perfectly. Everything is finally going to be perfect!”

King Nyrunn had stepped back as she'd advanced until he was the one with his back to a shelf, pinned in by a half-elf half his size.

She heard the echo of her voice bounce off the shelves and she realized how loud she'd gotten in her frantic ramblings.

The book was now also by her feet.

Nyrunn's eyes landed on it as she shifted back, her skirts brushing over it.

“My uncle's account,” Nyrunn said, his voice soft, but it caused Idonea's heart to start hammering in her chest. “I see.”

He did? Oh no. Had she just given herself away in her crazed ramblings?

But he just stepped forward again, coming right up to her before he slowly bent down, carefully brushing his fingers over her full skirts. He carefully shifted them off the book so he could pick it up without lifting them even an inch off the ground. But as he knelt on the ground in front of her, a truly bizarre pose for a king to take, especially in front of someone like her, he didn't pick it up or move to stand immediately. He brushed his fingers over the word Cometa .

His hair fell into his face, and the way the starlight landed on it brought out the dark purple mixed in with the dark blue, and the light reflected off the little silver flecks, making it resemble the night sky constellations when one looked closely. Idonea seethed in jealousy every time she looked at a full elf's hair.

Hers had no shine, no stars hidden in the strands. It was just plain black and boring.

Nyrunn's face was hidden by his annoyingly perfect hair, so she couldn't see his expression, but he did finally take a deep, long breath before rising to his feet and holding the book out to her.

“If this is what you want...” King Nyrunn paused, his grip tightening for a moment. “This is what you want, right?”

He wasn't talking about the book.

“To be part of the Cometa Couple?” Idonea couldn’t help the breathy air to her voice. “Of course this is what I want. The happiest day of my life was when I was selected. You remember, I’m sure—I wouldn't let even you and your needling ruin my mood that day. I've never wanted anything more than this. Not that you should care about my wants.”

Nyrunn was still looking down at the book. “I—I need to be sure.”

“You have nothing to worry about, Your Majesty.” Idonea reached out to take the book from him, but his grip on it only tightened. “I know how much is riding on this going perfectly. I know you need my wedding and the rituals to go perfectly for Adastra. I'm not running away. For the first time, we want the same thing. Nothing is going to make me happier than to get this right.”

He looked up. The other elves were excellent at hiding their true feelings, or maybe she just wasn't good at reading them. Both the Star Elves and the Moon Elves were more reserved than the other elf races.

He said, “This isn't just about the magic.”

Idonea’s grip on the book slackened and her voice dropped to a whisper. His eyes pierced hers, and she couldn’t look away despite the intensity building in them. “What else would you care about?”

His voice was raspy, scraping the air desperately as he asked, “You'll be happy?”

Had he fallen and hit his head? Where was any of this coming from? What… What kind of act was this?

“Nothing changes if my answer was no. I still have to do this for our people even if I'd be miserable, and as king, you know that.” At her words, something shifted in his eyes, and his lips parted, but she finished, saying, “But—even though you shouldn't be concerning yourself with the desires and happiness of one insignificant half-elf—yes, Your Majesty. I will be happier than I've ever been when I marry Olaug tomorrow. I'm going to have a perfect life starting tomorrow with the elf I love. What more could I ever want?”

“Then that's what matters.” Nyrunn let go of the book and pulled away. He started to walk backwards, keeping her still in his sight as he said, “I wouldn't torture yourself reading that, little lily. It'll do you no good. Let the past stay there. What does it have to do with you anyhow?”

Idonea just dropped into a respectful curtsy before pressing the book to her chest and saying, “Have a good night, Your Majesty.”

She turned on her heel and hurried out of the library, leaving him leaning against the shelf, ready to hide away in her room until it was time for her to marry the love of her life.