floated up to kiss him. In the last few days, she’d come to care for him deeply. If they survived this misadventure, it was her hope that he would invite her to come back to Viren Hold with him. Even if she could find a way back to her world, Lily wasn’t sure that was what she wanted. Not anymore.
“Nudity is not so taboo for my people as it is for yours. I will make you a promise though. Others might see me tonight, but no one else will touch me but you.”
“If anyone lays a hand on you, I’ll break it off,” he declared and hauled her into his arms for a dizzying kiss.
Kel didn’t want to let her go. This plan was reckless and foolhardy, and if he’d been able to come up with anything better then he wouldn’t have agreed to it at all. The trouble was, they were out of time. They had put a price on his head so high that he couldn’t trust anyone. Every day more people joined the hunt for the murderous mercenary who had dared to kill a nobleman in his own bed. He had to let the truth be known before they came after his men and made them pay for his actions.
“It’s dark, Kel. It’s time for me to go,” she whispered the words against his lips, but her arms stayed fastened around his neck.
“You need my signet ring first. Are you certain it’s not too heavy for you to carry?”
“I’ll manage. Just keep yourself safe. I’ll be back before you know it.”
“I’m going to count every heartbeat until you’re back here,” he told her, lifting his head so he could look into her beautiful eyes. “I need you to come back to me, Lily.”
She answered with a smile that filled his heart and a flicker of light that danced joyfully over her wings before winking out again. “I will always come back to you.”
If they survived the next few hours, Kel knew he’d have to tell her the truth. The full truth.
Gods help them both, he loved her.
She didn’t bother leaving his arms before transforming. One moment he was holding an armful of soft, sweet-smelling fae, and the next his arms were empty and she was hovering near his shoulder, her tiny arms outstretched and waiting. The ring was large enough she slipped an arm through it and settled it on her shoulder the same way a man might carry a coil of rope.
“Be careful, little one.”
Lily nodded and blew him a kiss before rising up and away, swiftly vanishing into the night sky above. Once she was gone, Kel began to pace again.
It was going to be a very long wait.
****
Lily flew straight up until she could see the distant flicker of lamps and torches that marked the capital city. At its center she would find a castle, and within its heavily fortified walls would be the man she had to find, the King. Kel had sketched out the layout of city and castle in the dirt, but they both knew that memories were imperfect, and too much time had passed for his recollections to be more than a starting point. She was going to have to find her way as best she could, without being seen.
There were patrols on the roads and a few small camps of men scattered along her path, and Lily was grateful that she had chosen to make the journey in her smaller form. It might take longer and require more effort, but there was far less chance she would be seen. The ones hunting for them were looking for a renegade and an exotic pleasure slave, and no one expected either of those to be flying over their heads. It was one of the few advantages they had. Well, that and the fact that no one knew that Kel was the son of the King. That would certainly help to protect them both.
If she could get to him in time.
The Hunter’s moon was well past its zenith by the time she flew over the city walls and it had been joined by the smaller, red moon known as the Hare. Fortunately the red moon was barely more than a crescent, leaving enough darkness and shadow for her to hide in. The city was still well lit and even better guarded, despite the lateness of the hour.
It was nothing at
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