Urian stared at her unblinkingly for a moment.
“Think of all the hours we wouldn’t be kissing . . .” She had started this train of thought to explain that he was enough for her, but as she continued, she started to think about it practically. “I might be monstrous for saying this, but I don’t want to share youat all. I mean, I’m not planning on locking you in a tower, but it’s not the worst idea I’ve ever had.”
He chuckled. “And what would you do with me if you had me locked away?”
“Shall I demonstrate?” She pushed him backward, and a flash of shadows raised up around them, like an inky veil covered in shimmering lights.Sunlight,she realized. Shadows and light.
“Privacy,” he muttered. “I might not seem it, but I was born in a time when you don’t let people look at your lady.”
This time it was her that laughed. “My wicked, wicked gentleman. I thought you mentioned voyeurism earlier . . . Who knew you had a jealous streak?”
“Just with you.”
And that, she thought, was wonderful.
She felt a little more okay with her selfishness knowing that he felt possessive over her, too. Surely that meant that he could leave off this desire for a throne, and then everything would be fine.
ChapterTwenty-Two
Aislinn
Aislinn felt restless. It wasn’t unheard of to feel that way. She was the embodiment of Summer, impulsive where Winter was calm. At least that’s what she used to think. Having fought alongside the current Winter Queen, Aislinn was no longer entirely sure that Winter was any calmer than Summer.
Maybe it was a question of what provoked sunlight and what provoked shadow more than anything.
“Where’s your paramour?” Tavish asked as he walked into the aviary where Aislinn had been thinking.
“His place.”
“And you are here because?” Tavish prompted. Had anyone else been so impertinent, she might have reprimanded them, but he was her advisor, her friend, her brother by choice.
“Thinking.”
“About?” He stood at attention, despite their friendship.
The Summer Queen nodded at a bench she’d braided out of vines earlier while she was pondering.
Tavish sat, although his relaxed posture was still stiff.
“Would it be possible to hand my court over to Urian?” Aislinn asked. “Could I be a mortal? Or solitary? I mean, Keenan handed it over. Could I? Could Niall?”
“Theoretically?”
She nodded.
“Yes,” Tavish said simply. “Why, though?”
“If it’s that or another war . . .” Aislinn looked at him. “I don’t want that again. I don’t think proposing it to Niall would be wise, but if I just . . . I don’t know . . . let go. Would it be so bad?”
“Go see your love,” Tavish suggested. “Summer is meant for rejoicing, Ash. And I can’t offer you anything to turn this mood away. A person who would sacrifice for their court, that’s the definition of a ruler. You are asking yourself hard questions to keep us safe. That tells me thatyouare the queen we need.”
She nodded.
“But right now, whatyouneed we cannot give you.” Tavish stood and held out a hand. “Go to Seth.”
Aislinn left the loft and walked through Huntsdale toward the trainyard. Seth spent most nights in the loft, but sometimes his logical side needed the calm of his own home—and Aislinn was grateful for it, especially on days like this.
For a moment, when she walked toward the train that had once been her haven, that wasstillher haven if she were honest, she paused to marvel at the odd home he’d fashioned. He’d bought a few train cars years ago, and through a mix of ingenuity and engineering had converted them into a trailer-house.