After checking to make sure Atheria had taken her usual nighttime post on the terrace, Rielle stumbled into her bathing rooms.
And froze, suddenly and wholly awake.
Audric sat on a settee by the far window. His hair was a mess of curls, as though he’d been running his fingers through it for hours. He stood to face her, hands clenched at his sides.
He gave her a tight smile. “Hello,” he said quietly.
Rielle stepped back into her bedroom. “Evyline,” she called over her shoulder, “I hope you don’t mind, but I wonder if you might give me some time alone.”
“My lady, it isn’t safe—”
“I’m quite safe with Atheria on my terrace.”
As if on cue, the chavaile snorted from beyond the curtains.
“Grant me this wish, would you please?”
“Just tonight,” Evyline said sternly, after a moment. “The least I can do, I suppose, after everything you’ve been through.”
“That’s right.” Rielle ushered her out as kindly as she could manage. “Good night, Evyline, and thank you for your vigilance.”
“Of course, my lady.”
Rielle shut the door, locked it, took a breath to brace herself. When she turned around, Audric was standing in the middle of the room, looking rather abashed.
“I’m sorry for sneaking in,” he said, “but I wanted to see you. I won’t make a habit of it, I promise.”
“Maybe you should,” Rielle teased—but her voice came out shaky.
Audric’s dark gaze searched her own, then fell to the floor.
A flurry of nerves danced up her breastbone. “Did you want to talk to me about something?”
“Yes, it’s—” Now his voice was the unsteady one. He cleared his throat. “I’m afraid, though, that I shouldn’t. That I’m a fool for coming here tonight.”
“You know you can tell me anything.”
“I know.”
“Then talk to me.” She reached for him. “What is it?”
He brought her hand to his lips. “Rielle,” he whispered against her skin, “Rielle, Rielle…”
“You’re frightening me. Say something other than my name. Say something real.”
“Something real.” He laughed a little and stepped away from her. “It’s just…”
When he fell silent again, Rielle thought she might scream. “Audric, if you don’t start talking this instant—”
“You understand what all of this means, don’t you?” He gestured at the castle around them. “I will be king someday, and you will be the Sun Queen.”
“Well, not if the fire trial—”
“Oh, Rielle. You’ll conquer that trial as you have all the others. You’ll be glorious, and then…” He dragged a hand through his hair, turned away, then back to her. “Then you will serve me, and if I have to send you into battle to save the kingdom, I will do it. That is the Sun Queen’s foretold purpose: to defend and protect. And I cannot stray from that simply because I love you.”
His voice caught on the last words.
Rielle approached slowly, her heart pounding. She touched his arm, and when he looked down at her, his eyes warm and troubled, she cradled his cheek in her hand.
He leaned in to her touch, cupped her hand in his, and kissed her palm. “I know I shouldn’t touch you,” he said, his voice rough. “We decided it. We had good reasons. But, God help me, I’ve been able to think of little else since that day in the gardens.”
Rielle moved closer to him, drawing his hand down to her waist. “Remember, Ludivine doesn’t care. She wants us to.”
“It’s not Lu or her family. Not anymore. Now I’m wondering…” He leaned his forehead against hers, closed his eyes. “If only I could stop loving you.”
“What are you saying?”
“As Sun Queen, you will be sacred to our people, Rielle. A symbol longed for and prayed for since the dawn of our age.”
“Let’s not call me that unless it actually happens. I’m nervous enough as it is.”
“The Archon will bless you in front of the entire city. I cannot interfere with that. I cannot tarnish it.”
She stepped back from him. “Are you saying taking me into your bed would tarnish me somehow?”
He looked at her helplessly. “I don’t know how to both love you and be the person who sends you to war.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “Are you just now realizing that could happen? What did you think the trials were for, exactly?”
He turned away, eyes bright.
She followed him. “Audric, I want you to listen to this, for I will only say it once.”
He looked up at the change in her voice.
“If you ever sent me into battle,” she said, “I would go gladly, and I would burn our enemies to ashes. But I would not do it for you—or because of the prophecy. I would do it because this is my home too. And if you tried to keep me near you for love of me, you would fail.”
He stared at her, the air between them snapping taut and furious. She lifted her chin and dared him silently to defy her.
But he didn’t. Instead he strode toward her and caught her mouth hungrily with his.
She gasped into his kiss, stumbling back from the force of it. He steadied her, hands at her hips, and moved with her until she stood pressed between the wall and his body. She opened her mouth to him, wound her fingers through his hair.
His hands were everywhere—first cradling her face, then cupping her hips to pull her closer against his body. When he trailed his lips down her neck, and lower, kissing along the neckline of her gown, Rielle arched her body up into his.
The fire popped and hissed.
“Yes,” she whispered, tugging up his shirt to find bare skin. “Yes.”
His voice was a low rumble. “Yes what, darling? Tell me where to touch you.”
“Where you did before. Please, Audric.”
He moved back to her mouth as he gathered up her skirts, then slid his palm across her thighs. At the first touch of his hand on her belly, Rielle jerked against him with a gasp.
“Spread your legs for me, Rielle,” he murmured, his voice shaking at her ear. “I’ve got you.”
She complied, and when his hand found her, stroking softly between her legs, she cried out and clutched his shirt in her fists.
The wall at her back trembled.
He slid one finger inside her, his thumb still stroking her. “Every night since that day,” he whispered against her mouth, “I’ve dreamed of this. I wake with your name on my lips.”
No matter how Rielle moved, she could not get enough of him. She dug her fingernails into the small of his back, pulling him closer. “Faster, Audric. Harder, please.”
He obeyed. “Like this?”
“Yes, yes.” She felt herself stretch around his fingers; he had added another, thrusting faster. “Like that, oh, God—” She let out a sound she had never made, a low, throaty groan that shook her to her toes.
“That’s it.” Audric kissed her temple, her hair. His voice was full of wonder. “That’s it, Rielle.”
She clung to him, ground her hips against his hand until the tingling wave that had been building deep inside her crested, sweeping across her skin and down her spine. She jerked against him, gave a sharp cry, and shattered.
The room shook around them.
The lit candles across the room sparked, jagged flames leaping inches into the air. The hearth fire snapped; embers scattered across the carpet. The walls quivered for a few seconds, as if caught in a small quake, then fell silent.
“What was that?” Audric whispered.
“It was me.” Rielle closed her eyes, her cheeks flaming. “I’m sorry.”
“You?”
“We shouldn’t have done that. Let me go, please.”
He released her, and she moved away unsteadily, straightening her gown. She could think only of her father’s voice, so many years ago:
You might lose control one day, hurt him.
The last thing Audric needs is someone like you hovering about.
“You should go,” she said, folding her arms over her chest.
Audric was quiet for a moment. “I will, of course, if that’s what you want. But first, would you tell me what happened?”
“Four trials, and I was fine. I made it through; I felt stronger than ever before. And now? A few moments with you, and I make the room fall apart.”