Smolder (Crown of Fae #3) - Sharon Ashwood Page 0,92
to fill her lungs. “You’re back.”
He stood a dozen feet away. Somehow, she knew it was to give her space. Leena took a hesitant step forward and then stopped, unsure. Perhaps he felt as unmoored as she did at that moment. Maybe he wanted to keep his distance from an entanglement he didn’t need.
But then Morran smiled, the grin uncomplicated and joyful and so different from any expression she’d ever seen on his face. As if that smile permitted her feet to move, she lunged into his arms. “You’re back.”
Her words were all but inaudible, mumbled into the front of his tunic because she was gripping him so hard.
“Evidently.” He squeezed her hard, burying his face in her hair.
“How? You disappeared. There was only the phoenix.”
“And it’s still there,” he said, signaling upward.
A flash of blazing light filled the sky, and a cry went up from the crowd. Leena craned her neck to catch sight of the firebird. It flew over the rooftops of Eldaban, sparks flying from its feathers like a rain of falling stars. It made one final lap around the city before it streaked away, as swift and bright as a shooting star. The sheer beauty of it left her awestruck.
“A fae and their familiar are bound but separate. We only join our physical forms in times of great need.” Morran smoothed a wisp of hair from her face. “I believe the episode with the temple qualified.”
“I killed you.”
“With permission. Please don’t repeat the exercise.”
“I wasn’t sure I’d see you again.” Leena kept the days and weeks of doubt from her words. To her surprise, her heart was simply glad.
“Why not?”
“You are a prince. Your obligations don’t extend to a temple dancer from Eldaban.”
She stepped back from the embrace at last. His expression was solemn, but there was laughter under the surface.
“You must think me a fool,” he said.
She folded her arms. “How so, my lord?”
“As much as I despised my jailor, he taught me an important lesson. I learned what it is to be powerless.”
Leena averted her gaze. “Then you understand my situation.”
“Not in the way you think. You showed me your great powers from the night we met, Leena, and every night after. You lifted me from despair with your kindness. Do you think it so strange that I should come back to you?”
Tongue-tied, she could only gaze into his dark eyes.
Morran leaned down, his voice confidential. “I assume you know your way around the banquet hall?”
Leena nodded in surprise.
“Then show me,” he said.
“Do you wish an introduction to the new council?” She knew most of the members, at least by sight.
He shook his head. “No, not at the moment. Take me in the back way. I would rather avoid any formality.”
A little mystified, she led him through the servant’s entrance she always used.
“These are the kitchens.” She took his hand, pulling him through the bustle of the corridor. Few paused to give them a second glance. Those who did nodded to her and regarded Morran with curiosity, but no recognition. Morran wasn’t dressed like the formidable prince who had glowered from Juradoc’s head table. He was tall and imposing and very clearly a warrior, but, if he was with Leena, he was a friend.
“And where did you go when you were to perform?” he asked.
She led him through the building, remembering the night they had met. So much had changed, yet so much had not.
She pointed out a few features of interest as they walked. He followed, nodding and asking the odd question, but it was clear he had something on his mind. When they got to the room where she’d wait her turn to perform, Morran kicked the door shut and turned to her. “At last, some privacy.”
He backed Leena against the wall, then moved in for a kiss. His lips were soft, his hands firm against the small of her back. She arched into him, tracing the line of his shoulders with her palms. His breath fanned over her cheek as his eyelashes brushed against hers. She threaded her fingers through his hair, once more learning the feel of him. They’d had such a short time together, and there was still so much to know.
He pulled away, cupping her face in his hands. “I am so sorry I left for so long, but I had to surrender to Arlanoth for a time. I had to heal, then I had to remember who and what I was.”