most. She groaned and brought a leg to my hip, offering more of herself to me as her breathing changed, becoming more erratic and irregular. Then she stiffened in my arms as she pulsed and fluttered around me, sending wave after wave of tightness down my cock.
I’d meant to continue, to tease her by stroking her sensitive flesh, but I couldn’t. My balls tightened on one last thrust, and I arched my back, holding Lily against me as I gave in to my own release.
Lily pressed fresh kisses to my skin, each a mark of love rather than merely desire, and I remained standing against her, unwilling to sever our connection.
“I love you.” My voice came out gruffer than I’d intended, emotion roughening the edges. “I always will. And I’ll give my life to honoring and protecting you.”
“I love you too, Keane.” She nipped against my skin with her teeth and then said, almost casually, “In fact, I think you ought to marry me and reign alongside me as my king.”
My breath caught in my chest at the idea I might get to live out the rest of my life at Lily’s side rather than standing over her shoulder. But something like that…it was impossible. Forbidden. Simply not done. I’d never even dared hope for it.
“Is that allowed?” I didn’t know if I could bear to hear the answer.
She shrugged, but her eyes sparkled with certainty and her lips curved into a familiar smile. “I’m the Queen of Talador. I get to make the rules.”
Thirty-Six
Lily
ONE MONTH LATER
My stomach fluttered as I stared in the mirror at myself. Though I’d already declared myself queen, today was my official coronation—and my wedding.
“You look beautiful.” Rose spoke to me from the corner of my room.
I barely registered her words. “How long have I got left?”
“Not long if you want to be married at the time of the eclipse,” Rose said.
I pushed out a deep breath. An eclipse was the most holy time, and it was important to have the blessing of both the Sun and the Moon, for them both to be present as Keane and I exchanged vows and took our places as King and Queen of Talador.
Nausea spun through me, and I wobbled on my feet. So much had happened in such a short time, and my happiness was now within my grasp.
“Sit down a moment.” Rose’s voice was edged with concern. “Are you feeling well?”
“Can you tell my world’s still spinning after defeating Riala?” I pushed another pin in to hold my hair in place, conscious they’d all scatter to the floor later on as Keane released my careful construction. I’d dismissed my maid to elsewhere in the castle, wanting my time with Rose to be undisturbed.
It had been a month since the battle for the throne, and Winton Castle had recovered quickly. Occasionally, Iris looked a little haunted, like the ghost of a thought had crept into her mind, but then she shrugged it off and launched herself into more magic practice or whatever project captured her attention in that moment. My other sisters coddled her incessantly and kept her busy, as did Dahlia and Garon. I still felt guilt over killing her mother, but Iris had assured me many times that she didn’t blame me for what happened.
All of my suitors had recovered from their injuries too, except for Covack who had perished at Keane’s blade, and Hirth who had been killed during the attack. With luck, my friendships with the remaining men would be the foundations for peace between our kingdoms, and I would only have Korelan to settle with. Covack’s death was regrettable in that respect, but by far the bigger diplomatic disaster could have been Riala’s. As it was, the Archwizard wasn’t happy about the death of her cousin, but she wasn’t making any moves to retaliate against me or Talador either.
I still planned to send Iris to mage school in Korelan. Riala had exposed the faults in Father’s ban on magic. Without our Sun and Moon-given gifts, we couldn’t defend ourselves. To deny our true selves made Talador weak.
“You should eat something,” Rose said. “You haven’t touched anything all morning.”
I glanced at the tray of food resting near us and nearly gagged, bile rising to my throat. I swallowed it and shook my head. “No, definitely not. The thought of food makes me sick. Along with the smell, for that matter.”
Rose’s eyebrows jumped. “When did you last have your monthly courses?”
“I… I can’t remember.”