Page 52 of My Faire Lady

Reluctantly, she lifts her eyes to mine.

Time slows—creeps to a standstill. And while the crowd continues cheering, their shouts don’t carry to my ears. Scarlet’s thumb drags across the back of my hand, and she lifts her scarred brow.

A question.

I swallow and nod.

Her lips part with the barest hint of a smile, and my heart forgets an entire beat as she leans forward and weaves her hand through my hair, cradling the nape of my neck. The air thickens between us, turning to honey, and rain beads at the ends of her lashes. Her eyes hold mine, and she eases me closer, wrapping her other arm around the small of my waist.

“Lavender,” she whispers, gaze dipping to my lips.

My core tightens. She rubs her thumb in a soothing circle along my spine and pulls me close enough for our chests to touch.

She hesitates, catching a breath that doesn’t fill her chest, and presses her lips to mine.

The air buzzes between our lips. She stiffens, as if the sparks are winding their way through her body, too. But she doesn’t pull back. Her body loosens, and she parts her lips against mine, tilting my head back as she deepens the kiss.

Warmth builds at the space behind my navel, and I lift a hand to her cheek, cupping it within my palm as I press forward.

The rest of the world slips away as her tongue drags across my bottom teeth. A groan builds in the back of my throat, and I pull her closer, as if I can dissolve the space between us, test this kiss against the ones we’ve shared in my dreams.

She pulls back.

Hand secure at my nape, she presses her forehead to mine and closes her eyes. The shouts of the crowd pierce my ears, jerking me back to the present, where I’m playing a princess and she’s the knight in a scripted joust.

I drop my hand from her face, and an entirely different heat licks up the sides of my neck as I untangle myself from her. It was for the joust, that’s all. I messed up, and Boden thought quick, rewriting the script.

And judging by the way the crowd is cheering for us and tapping the rims of their tankards together, they loved it.

Something chills behind Scarlet’s eyes, and she stands, extending a hand to me. I accept it, and my balance wavers from the weight of my sodden skirt, but her hold steadies me.

“Thank you,” I whisper.

She hums and scoops her helmet from the mud. The fairgoers are near screaming, their voices buzzing in my mind. I turn on my heel, scanning the people—their wide smiles and drenched clothes.

I turn back to Scarlet. “They really⁠—"

But the helmet is on her head, visor shielding her face as she swings onto her horse.

She disappears into the stables without a second glance.

19

“She has to be the key,” Jeremy says, easing the unicorn into her stall for the night. “When you kissed at the joust this morning, I felt the magic flood into the land. Everyone did.”

“I felt it, too, but I have no idea what it means.” I hang my helmet beside Shadow’s stall and comb my fingers through my tangled hair. “But Boden and I have searched for magic within her lineage, and there’s nothing.”

“What if…” he starts, but his voice trails off. The rest of his question hangs between the rays of falling dust.

I turn to him. “Say it.”

He chews on his lip. “Could it be the way you feel about her? Maybe it has an influence on the magic?”

I shrug out of my armor and wring the rainwater from my hair. “Even if it did, she’ll be gone by the end of the summer.”

“Unless you ask her to stay.”

My stomach churns, and I shake my head. “I can’t. You know that.”