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January 6 - January 7, 2025
But is it not the most unsuspecting people who do the most extraordinary things?
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People are often threatened by love when they realize both the absence and power of it. What is love if not the one thing in this world that defies logic? Love is the emotion that can make someone run toward danger, but those threatened by it sometimes become the danger.
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“Elowen Atarah, queen of Aestilian and princess of Imirath. I, Cayden Veles, Commander of Vareveth, vow to protect you from harm from this day until my last.” He briefly glances down at my parted lips. “Your enemies are my enemies. My sword is yours.”
“Cayden Veles, Commander of Vareveth. I, Elowen Atarah, queen of Aestilian and princess of Imirath, vow to fight beside you in the upcoming war as a true ally. My knives and dragon fire are yours,”
“If any of you touch her, you die,” Cayden declares while stretching his broadsword before me, “and I promise to make it painful.”
“Make them fear the flames of a queen.” She pauses for a moment. “We will meet again, Queen of Fire.”
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“She is strong,” Finnian growls. “She can be strong and have anxiety. She’s not made of stone.”
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“So, am I not allowed to speak to any men while I’m here?” Taunting him is far too inviting. “I’m a man. Talk to me.”
“Elowen.” The way Cayden says my name forces my gaze to his again. “I swear on all that I have and all that I’ve lost, you will see your dragons again.”
“You don’t need to surprise me with knives, angel. I’ll bleed for you if you ask nicely.”
“I didn’t realize you paid such close attention to me.” “What makes you think I’ve ever looked away?”
“You came,” I whisper with relief I didn’t realize I’d feel from his presence. “I’ll always come for you, angel.”
“Cayden?” “Yes, El.” “I think I missed you.” I feel the bed shift, and something soft presses into my forehead. “I missed you more than I should have, love.”
“Elowen, so help me gods.” He runs a hand through his hair, but the simple act holds my focus. “The only way another man is staying in that suite is if I’m dead, and even then, there will need to be some negotiation.”
I will always hunt down anyone who harms you even if you’re repulsed by me. I don’t regret a single scream I stole from him; I savor them.”
“Careful, angel. You give a man a taste of salvation, and he might keep coming back for more.” His arms are shaking from restraint. “Is that what I am to you? Your salvation?” I whisper, brushing my lips against his. “If you are to be my damnation, it’s an end I’ll happily meet.”
“I’m not above biting you!” “Don’t tease me with empty promises, angel,”
It doesn’t hit me until later that night that Cayden was the person to make my burden feel lighter, and to make me laugh when hopelessness surrounded me.
You’re not a queen because you were born into it. You’re a queen because you lead with your heart but wield your intelligence like the sharpest blade.”
“You look…” His husky tone makes my toes curl. “Beautiful is too mundane a word.” “You gifted me this gown,” I say. My original was green and gold as an ode to Vareveth. I thought there was a mistake when I opened the dress box, until I realized each detail was plucked and polished solely for me, down to the heels with straps that climb up my legs like vines. “You designed it.” He shakes his head. “Must have been someone else.” “You’re the only one I speak of my dragons with. Nobody else close to me would know what these colors mean.”
“I’m your king!” “I don’t give a fuck if you’re a god. If I see you reach another hand toward her, I will happily cut it off.” Cayden’s voice is laced with lethality. It’s dark and cold, just like one would imagine death to sound.
“It’s just you and me, angel. You keep those pretty eyes on me,” he whispers close to my lips, giving me the urge to close the gap despite the prying eyes.
“I don’t want you getting confused about what I am.” The next song begins, and I don’t step away. I know we’re being watched, but I want to be selfish. “What are you?” “A monster, but for you, never to you.”
A smile plucks at my lips. “I might get too tired to walk out of here if you keep me dancing all night.” “Then I’ll carry you.” “Even if I step on your toes?” “Always.”
He twirls me until the only person in the ballroom I can see is him.
His eyes drink me in like a dehydrated man who has found a lake after trekking through a desert for months.
“I’m greedy for the sight of you and starved for the taste of you.”
“That sounds like your problem, so let me figure out mine.” I struggle against his hold to no avail. “If you wanted a docile queen, then you should’ve made a deal with someone else.” “Yes, you are my problem.” His chuckle vibrates my back. “But I’d never waste my time on someone lesser than you.”
“You can’t expect me to love you for half my life and be happy to see you here,” I say to Finnian. He steps forward again, close enough to squeeze my shoulders. “And you can’t expect me to watch you leave.”
“He hardly touched me.” “Oh, love.” He chuckles. “Even if a man even hardly touches you, it’ll be the last thing he does in this life. I told you not to make me into a better man than I am. For you, Elowen, I’ll become the worst version of myself.”
He growls, backing me up against the tavern and placing his hands on either side of my head, forcing me to look up at him. “Why do you believe I would let anything keep me from you? I’ve searched for you since I was a boy, when the whole world thought you were dead, when it seemed hopeless—I searched for you.”
He shakes his head, wrapping one hand around my chin. “We’ve become deeper than power. You’ve driven me to madness. You haunt me while I sleep and you’re there when I wake. Your presence is agonizing and yet I’ll beg for the pain if it means I can have a moment with you.”
“Your fire captivates me.”
“I didn’t know I had a soul until you stole it from me,” he says.
Cayden is the first to speak. “I personally find it admirable to be wanted in a kingdom as a thief, murderer, and princess.” “Only you would view that as an accomplishment,” Ryder grumbles.
“Don’t retreat into your mind unless you’re taking me there with you.”
“Do you believe the dragons will still want me?” “I find it hard to imagine a reality where you could be unwanted.”
“I’ll never leave you behind. It’s you and me until the end—whatever end that may be. If you’re to die with a blade in your hand, then I’m to die by your side with a sword in mine.”
“You are the most exquisite creature I’ve ever met.”
“Power kneels to me, love.” His dark chuckle dances along my neck. “You wish to reduce this place to ash or rip it apart stone by stone? Done. I’ll be right there with you.”
“Make another pass at her again, and the last thing you’ll see is a knife flying straight between your eyes. You should know I adore her violent streak and don’t mind cleaning up her messes.”
“I’ve looked for you anywhere I ended up in the world for as long as I can remember.”
“You’ve been a light through my darkest times. Granted, as I got older your power was a big incentive, and I had no intention of falling for you, but now I know you, and you’re…everything. Sometimes I look at you and I think I’m dreaming but I know that’s impossible because you’re more than I ever imagined.”
“You’ve ruined me in this life, the next, and any that follow.” Those full lips curl into an almost-smile, and his jaw clenches anxiously as his emerald gaze watches me intently. “I’m irrevocably lost in you, and it’s the only place I want to be. I’ll hurt anyone for you, including myself.”
“I’ve never been a religious man, but I will worship you in ways the gods will envy.”
“Every part of you, every scar, both visible and invisible, is utterly beautiful to me.”
“I’ll find a way to gift you the stars if you wish for them. You can have anything you want, love.”
“If anyone could turn lethal, fire-breathing beasts into oversized dogs, it’s you,” he mutters.
“Oh, Ellie.” He sighs like he’s about to tell me the fairies that leave presents for us on the winter solstice are a myth. “That man can’t keep his eyes off you and looks for you even when you’re not in a room. But when he does find you…it’s like he’s always seeing you for the first time.”
