Of Flame and Fury: A Fae Fantasy Romance (Fae of Tíria Book 3) by K. A. Riley

Author:K. A. Riley [Riley, K. A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-06-18T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

When Lark had flown off, Thalanir closed the windows.

“Is there anything you need?” he asked, turning my way. He was all business again—the Valdfae hired to look after me, rather than the one I’d kissed passionately not so long ago. But something in him was changed. The coldness he had so often exhibited toward me was gone, replaced by a sort of tentative warmth.

I stretched my arms over my head. “A bath,” I said, my eyes taking in a large copper tub sitting at the room’s far end. I stepped over and sighed at seeing that it was empty. When Thalanir sensed my disappointment, he moved close and gestured lightly with his hand, his eyes landing on mine.

The tub instantly filled with a bath of hot, soapy water, and my heart surged with wonder and awe—and affection.

“I’ll take my leave for a little,” he told me, his voice gentle. “So you can have some privacy.”

I nodded, disappointed but understanding. Things were still confusing between us, and unsettled. I couldn’t very well just strip naked and climb into the bath in front of him, could I?

Much as I wanted to…

A minute later, Thalanir had left, and I had settled into the copper tub, soaking away every anxiety, every fear, every stress that had eaten away at me over the last several days. I pressed my head back and closed my eyes, allowing my mind to wander to another vivid waking dream.

Gallia had returned, as if it was Thalanir who had summoned her.

I saw myself—or her, rather—standing in a familiar vast field. Long, blowing grass and wildflowers surrounded me. I lay back, the sun stroking my skin, and then he was over me, kissing me. I could smell him, taste him, all over again.

A smile slipped over my lips.

“I want you,” he said, and I beamed up at him as he pulled back, silhouetted, his face in shadow.

“And I want you,” I echoed, pulling him closer. “Too much for my own good.”

“Yes,” he replied, his eyes turning cold. “Too much.”

“What is it?” I asked. “What’s wrong?”

He turned away, shaking his head. “Why have you done this? Why have you forced this upon us all?”

“Forced what?” I wanted to ask, but Gallia was in control of this memory, forcing it upon me. I had no say in what words were spoken; I was merely an observer.

“It’s my fate,” she said through my lips. “And my choice.”

“It will be your end.” His voice had turned to ice.

“No. It is only my beginning.”

Agony assaulted me, a spasm of searing pain in my gut.

I let out a cry as my eyes opened.

I was still in the tub, now surrounded by darkness, as if I had drifted off hours ago…though as usual, the memory had only seemed to last a few seconds.

“Lahnan,” a voice said from behind me.

The water was cold by now, the bubbles gone, and I crossed my arms over my bare chest, turning to see him standing close by.

Thalanir was looking down at me, his eyes like two lights shining in the room’s shadows.

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