“Alone at last,” Rhyian said, just a hint of his wicked smile showing as he retrieved the carafe of mjed and filled their glasses. He handed her one and held his up in a toast. “To you, Salena, the most extraordinary woman I know.”
She felt her face heat, the keen pleasure of his praise almost more than she could bear. Rhyian’s opinion had always mattered to her. It had mattered too much, which was one part of why his casual dismissal of her and what they’d shared had been so devastating. Knowing now that he had been in love with her… She accepted the toast and drank, the mjed burning on its way down.
Rhy smiled at her, then cast his gaze to the clearing sky. The magic tugged at her, holding steady for now, though it would get more difficult to hold the artificial bubble around them as time passed. “I don’t see this famous crystalline moon,” he said, frowning at the bright quadrant of the sky where the moon’s silver rays streamed, silhouetting the boiling black clouds.
“I’m keeping that cloud bank in place until the relighting,” she explained, “then I’ll pull it back for a grand reveal at midnight.”
“What is this relighting?” he asked, and she paused in surprise. Of course the Tala observances differed from theirs. And even in Nahanau, they didn’t celebrate the light from darkness as people did in the colder, darker regions.
“You’ll see,” she replied with a coy smile. “It’s a better surprise to experience it for the first time.”
“True of many things,” he said in a low, warm voice, edging closer to her. She didn’t have much room to evade him in that corner between the tower wall and the parapet—nor did she have the willpower to do so. Temptation, thy name is Rhyian. He slid his fingers down a lock of her hair as if savoring the texture, then wound it loosely around his finger. “Have I told you that you’re more beautiful now than ever?”
“No,” she breathed. He meant it, too. One thing about Rhyian—he didn’t flatter idly. If anything, he was too honest about his feelings, both the delightful and the cruel. This was dangerous, and yet she couldn’t make herself put a stop to it. She’d missed him. Despite everything, she’d missed him. And this.
He took the glass from her and set it beside his on the parapet. Turning back to her, he slipped both hands into her hair, combing it back from her face, his gaze rapt. “You are,” he said, almost in wonder. “You were always so vivid, so lovely as a girl, but now…” His gaze wandered over her face. “You’re extraordinary. Wise. Magical. Incredibly gorgeous.”
Salena couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t seem to summon any sense. Rhyian’s hands in her hair brought back visceral memories of how he’d made her moan and plead for more, exploring together those first sweet pleasures of the flesh. His mouth shaped the seductive words, tempting her to taste them. She’d been with men since him—a few men, none of them so darkly alluring—and not one had kissed her like Rhyian. Something that had infuriated her. Now, she only craved one more taste. Gently, he tugged her hair, tipping her head back slightly, his expression enthralling as he looked at her.
“I can’t stop looking at you,” he murmured.
He was going to kiss her, and she couldn’t put two thoughts together to decide what that would mean. Just tonight. One night when we forget… She wanted that. “Would you like to see the moon?” she whispered.
“What I would love is to see you in the moonlight,” he purred, stirring that tenderness deep inside her. “Salena, my moon.”
Shivering and steaming at once, she sent a tendril of magic to pull the clouds away, unveiling the crystalline moon. The darkness around them fled, chased by light nearly as bright as day. The enormous moon, crystal clear and luminously silver, hovered just over their heads, seeming close enough to touch. Even Rhyian had no words, staring with a reverence at odds with his usual flippant self. “It’s beautiful,” he breathed, then turned his gaze to hers. “Thank you.”
“Just for us,” she told him. “Just for tonight.”
“Is there no future?” he asked.
She nearly said he’d been the one to decide that, but she didn’t want to lose this moment. “I can only offer you now.”
“I’ll take now.” His eyes, catching the moonlight, glowed from within. Moranu’s dark and silvered fingers loving on her chosen, stirred his gleaming hair, highlighting his gorgeous face. “A kiss?”
“Rhyian…” Her chest felt too tight, her heart too hopeful, too afraid.
“Please,” he murmured, gaze going to her mouth. “One kiss.”
“Yes.” The word escaped her, a plea from the unthinking part of her that yearned for him still, after all this time, against all reason.
“Yes,” he echoed with a crooked smile, once again that sweet-hearted lover of her youth, the one who’d shown her everything of himself with artless honesty.
She’d expected him to swoop in, to seize the kiss, but he moved slowly, one hand in her hair still, cupping her head, the other sliding down her back to embrace and support her. He brushed his lips over hers, a light taste, like butterfly wings, and she almost whimpered in protest at that being all there was to it.
But it was only a beginning. His lips lingered on hers, never breaking contact, gradually deepening and intensifying the kiss, his tongue brushing the tender inside of her upper lip, extracting a bone-deep sigh from her. She clung to his shoulders, but all the rest of her melted, yielding in bliss to the feeling of being against her beloved again. He gathered her up, supporting her with his easy shapeshifter strength, bowing her back over his arm and holding her head as he plundered her mouth. He drank from her like a starving man, and she shuddered in primal need, wanting to give him everything, needing to take everything.
The moon shone with silvery intensity, haloing his dark head, and she dug her fingers through his hair, his body humming against hers like a storm building and about to break. She moaned as his hand left her head to trail down her throat, tracing the curve of her breast and then dipping inside her bodice to brush her nipple. She cried out at the shock of intense pleasure, and he swallowed it, echoing with a low groan of his own. “Salena, my love,” he murmured into her mouth. A sharp and chilly breeze caught his hair, tossing it wildly.
“Oh!” She pushed him away, rapidly restoring the magic to wall out the wind and heat the air around her. Pulling the cloud cover over the moon again, she reinforced the circle of overcast, ensuring clear skies overhead. Fortunately, her work had only frayed a little around the edges. Rhyian still held her in his arms but had his head tipped back to watch the sky, the line of his jaw fine as cut glass, the long column of his throat so enticing she wanted to kiss him there.
As if sensing her desire, he lowered his face, smiling at her. “I thought you didn’t need to concentrate,” he said with silky satisfaction. His gaze trailed lower, and she realized her breasts were still exposed.
With a groan of frustrated exasperation, she wriggled free of him and adjusted her gown.
“Do you need help?” Rhy asked, widening his eyes in innocence when she glared at him.
“I thought we said one kiss,” she hissed at him.
“Not to be pedantic,” he replied smoothly, “but it was one, very long kiss. And you didn’t seem to mind a moment ago.”
No, because she’d lost her head, as she always had with him. She gazed back at him helplessly. “Rhyian, I…”
The guard hut door burst open, and a cascade of festively dressed people poured through, light and laughter flowing with them. Everywhere on the battlements, torches blazed, showing rivers of people taking their places. The three queens, Andromeda at the lead, glided in their direction. Maybe Lena imagined Andi’s keen attention on them, but she tugged her hand free of Rhyian’s anyway.
“Later,” she said. “It’s showtime.”
“All of tonight,” he insisted, oddly serious.
“Until dawn,” she promised, feeling reckless. She’d likely regret this, but for now she couldn’t seem to think about the future.
“Until dawn, at least,” he agreed, snagging her hand to kiss it before stepping aside.
“Lena,” Queen Andromeda said, opening her arms. “It’s been so long.”
“Too long,” she agreed, embracing her with fervent delight. She’d let her estrangement with Rhyian keep her away from too many people she loved.
Andi released her, gazing on her fondly, then glanced at Rhyian behind her, giving him a warm smile. “It’s so good to see all of you together tonight. Are you ready?”
“Yes,” Lena agreed. “I’ll follow your cues.”