Chapter 29

Tidun didn't come back until after dinner the next day. When I got the call telling me he was in the parking lot, I ran to him like my life depended on it.

He was walking toward the entrance, and it was like the first moment I met him again. This tall, deadly handsome man who'd completely captured my heart was in front of me, and I ran faster until I reached him and jumped into his arms.

He caught me like I knew he would. Our mouths were smashed together before either of us could get a word in, tongues tangled in a fierce dance, where we just reveled in the taste of each other.

"I missed you so much," I said when we pulled apart.

"Fuck, I missed you too."

Giggles had us pulling apart, and it was only then that I noticed Naial was here too. "I'll leave you two be," she said then continued onto the circus grounds.

"Should we help her find Ai?" I asked.

Tidun shook his head. "She can manage on her own. She'll call if anything comes up."

I took a good look at him and noticed the dark circles were still there.

"Are you okay?" I asked and rubbed my thumb under his eye.

"Tired, but I'll manage. I'm just so happy to see you again," he said with a soft smile. He pulled out the arm that was around my back and handed me a bouquet of red roses. "I got you something."

"They're so beautiful," I said, accepting them. I brought them to my nose and inhaled a lungful of their scent. "I'm sorry. I didn't get you anything."

He wrapped his arms around me. "Having you in my arms is already present enough."

I laughed and had to get another kiss in. I was about to say screw the rest of the night and drag him back home and fuck the hell out of him, but he broke our messy kiss.

"Wait, Conall." His words came out in pants, his chest heaved with obvious need. Which begged the question why he'd stopped the kiss.

I hummed in reply and kissed his cheek down to his neck. Tidun loved working my neck, causing me to wear turtlenecks all week to cover the marks that still hadn't faded. I thought payback was appropriate as I sucked a claim onto his skin.

He moaned and called out my name again, this time pulling my head back so I couldn't kiss more of his skin.

"Wait, stop. Stop or I'm not gonna want to keep my hands off of you."

"Sounds good to me," I said and puckered my lips for another kiss. He gave me a quick peck that felt like he was just appeasing me.

"Conall, you texted about how excited you are for tonight. You said you had the best spot to see the fireworks?"

I was very excited about seeing the fireworks with Tidun, so I reluctantly pulled back and got back to my feet.

He instantly grabbed my hand again. I asked if he had eaten yet. He hadn't, so we got him some food while we chatted about what had happened over these last few days.

I told him about work and meeting the cute couple from Austin, and he told me he and his sisters had been planning something that would solve a huge problem their kingdom had, something that he needed to do.

And if they were successful, Corelyn wouldn't have to be forced into an arranged marriage. No wonder he'd looked so tired.

Twenty minutes before the fireworks show, I guided Tidun to the Ferris wheel. He raised a brow at me in question, but didn't object when Kain helped us into one of the capsules and took us to the top. Kain was heading back to his place but assured me he'd have his phone on standby for when we were ready to come down.

At the top, we admired the view. We could see the whole circus from here. People buzzed around like little ants, and a haze of sparkling lights cast them all in a romantic glow.

"Isn't it beautiful?" I asked as I watched the scene outside.

"Breathtaking," Tidun replied. He was sitting beside me and when I looked over at him, I found him already looking at me.

"I meant the view from here," I teased.

"I know, but I still stand by my answer."

I couldn't keep the smile off my face even if I wanted to. That was until Tidun's expression turned serious. He tucked my hand in his and played with them on his lap.

The sinking feeling from yesterday appeared again, telling me he was about to say something I wasn't going to like. I hated it when my gut was right about these things.

"I need to talk to you about something," he said, his voice soft but serious.

At least he didn't use the dreaded phrase ‘we need to talk'.

"It's not about us!" he quickly added. "I have no doubt about us, but my kingdom..."

I scooted closer to him. I wasn't afraid of the Ferris wheel capsule tipping over from too much weight on one end, since everything in our circus was spelled. Why have magic if we weren't going to use it, right?

"Tell me," I said.

"You know how I said my sisters and I were working on a plan that would benefit our kingdom? One that would let Corelyn be with whoever she wanted?" he started.

I nodded, and he took that as a cue to continue speaking. "Well, the main issue we have is how isolated we are. That's the whole reason they wanted the arranged marriage—to gain a connection with the humpback whale shifters and have a strong backing if anything happens. But if we found a way to form those connections without needing to sacrifice my sister..."

It took me a second to process his words. "Are you saying you're going to talk with the other whale shifters and create some kind of counsel?"

He nodded. "I'm surprised nobody thought to do this earlier, but all of our species have been too isolated for too long. We may be large, but there aren't many of us left. We have much better chances if we band together."

"You need to do this," I stated, and he nodded again.

He played with my fingers again, then looked up to meet my eyes. He'd told me he wanted to help his people, and this was how he was going to do it. I could see how much it meant to him.

"It's all thanks to you, you know? For helping me figure my shit out, what I'm good at," he said.

I laughed and flipped my hand around so our fingers tangled together. "I didn't do anything. That was all you. I just helped you believe in yourself."

He smiled, but his expression said that he didn't agree with my statement.

"When do you have to leave?" I asked.

He hesitated, then said, "Tomorrow."

"So soon?"

"I'm sorry. I would stay longer if I could, but Corelyn wants this done before she officially cancels the wedding in case the other whales aren't receptive to it."

"Hey, this plan is going to work. I know you'll make it work," I said, looking him straight in the eye so he knew I meant every word.

"Thank you. That means more than you'll ever know," he whispered. I leaned in close and kissed his cheek.

"I'll be waiting for you. At the circus," I said.

"I'll come back. I'll always come back to you."

"Yeah. I know you will."

We pressed our foreheads together, and that was when the fireworks started. Bursts of dazzling color filled the sky. We were so close that our entire bodies were bathed in the light.

But neither of us paid attention to the show. Our mouths sealed together again, softly, slowly, until we couldn't tell whose breath was whose.

Legend said couples who kissed at the top of the Ferris wheel would stay together forever.

While Tidun and I might have to part for now, I knew we were the end goal. We were forever.

And I didn't need a legend to tell me that.