My wings flared out behind me as I moved closer to her. A hairsbreadth of space was between us as the air thickened. My heart raced and my fangs ached as I raised a hand slowly, cupping Luna’s cheek. Her skin was warm beneath my touch, soft in a way that only females seemed to be.
She drew in a breath, her eyes searching mine. “Sebastian…“
I ran my thumb over her cheek, and she shivered. “I’ll take you to the mountains, Luna.”
“You will?” Her lips stretched into a smile, and it only added to her beauty. “Truly?”
Keeping my eyes on her, I nodded. “I promise. You deserve to see anything you want.”
Her lips parted, and her eyes searched mine. The air between us was charged as I bent, brushing my lips over the corner of her mouth. The feather-light touch resonated through my entire body.
I whispered, “There are many beautiful things here.”
Luna’s words were little more than a breath as she whispered, “I see.”
Was it wrong to feel this way about a female I barely knew? One that was married to me not by choice but by obligation?
Maybe.
But the way her brown eyes stared up at me made me feel like it didn’t matter.
It was at that moment that I realized I was well and truly ruined. This human was going to be the death of me. I could already feel her hands on my heart, pulling it away from me.
We were allies. For now. Perhaps one day, we might be something more.
“I will take you wherever you want to go,” I whispered hoarsely.
A beat went by as the two of us stared at each other. The space between us was at once far too much, and not enough.
Eventually, a bell rang somewhere in the castle, marking the change of the guard. Forcing myself to take a step back, I blew out a long breath. The night was drawing on, and there were places we needed to be.
As if she thought the same thing, Luna moved out of my reach. She ran her hands down her black dress, clearing her throat. “I suppose we should go to the library.”
She was right. Conversations like this—feelings like this—weren’t as important as breaking the Tether. Everything else would have to be dealt with later.
Forcing a small smile on my face, I sketched a bow and held out my hand. “Are you coming, Princess?”
Luna’s cheeks flushed, but she didn’t say a word as she put her palm in mine. Wrapping my fingers around her much smaller ones, I drew her against my chest before calling on my shadows. They swirled around me, pooling at my feet before pulling us into the darkness that was proof of my power.
One moment, we were in the bedroom. The next, we stood in the middle of the looming stacks of bookshelves that made up the largest library in Castle Sanguis.
The shadows settled within my skin, and I remained still as Luna clutched my hand. Some people had trouble moving through the darkness, and by the paleness of her face and the trembling that overtook her every time we shadow-walked, I knew Luna was one of them.
I rubbed my thumb over the back of her hand, waiting until the trembling stopped. Shielding her with my wings, I brushed a lock of hair back from her forehead. “Are you all right?”
“Yes,” she said in a shaky voice, drawing in a deep breath. “It’s just… I don’t love that shadow thing you do.”
I chuckled. “You have time to get used to it.”
A lot of time.
Practically an eternity.
Luna groaned. “I hope so, because that was not fun.” She let go of my hand, turning in a slow circle. “But this.Thisis incredible.”
Tilting her head, Luna let out a soft gasp as she took in the glass-domed roof that covered the three-story library. Hundreds of stars twinkled, lending their light to those of us who called the night their own. The library housed hundreds of thousands of books from all across the Four Kingdoms and beyond. Lit by dozens of violet orbs scattered through the space, it had a welcoming atmosphere and was one of my favorite places in the castle.
Stepping towards a nearby shelf, Luna ran her hands down the spines of several books with the air of someone who appreciated the written word. She inhaled sharply, her shoulders loosening before she turned back to me and grinned. “It really is magnificent, Sebastian.”