Chapter 17

A s we stepped out into the wide hallway, Kerys's eyes shone with childlike wonder.

Hair whipped her face, heels clacking as she sprinted ahead, her floaty azure gown swishing around her calves. She paused at each of the large abstract paintings, hung up in neat intervals, illuminated by strategically placed sconces and skylights in the flat roof.

"Creators, these are beautiful!" she exclaimed over her shoulder, her smile striking me like a bolt of lightning to the heart, and I held back the cheesy compliment forcing itself onto my tongue.

Not as beautiful as you .

I snickered, clasping my hands behind my back, and strolled after her, tail swaying. When I least expected it, when I just allowed myself to be happy, my grin faltered. For a second, I sensed the echo of that emptiness in my chest, that void she'd left behind when she died.

I bit the inside of my lip, focusing on the taste of acrid blood to remind myself that I wasn't dreaming, that I wasn't just imagining her running through the corridors of our house.

Kerys waited in front of a particularly bright piece of artwork with swirls of orange, red, and magenta.

"I don't really like abstract art much." She cocked her head. "But all of these are brilliant! I want to reach inside the colors and fall into the frame, explore mysterious realms hidden in the canvas." She stretched a trembling hand toward the painting, shying away at the last moment, eyes sliding to me.

"You're incredibly talented, Skrain."

My jaw dropped. At my back, my tail was swishing wildly, my piercings tinkling like Gods damned cat bells.

Her brows knitted as she searched my face. "Did I … say something wrong?"

Wrapping an arm around her waist, I tugged her close, and she cuddled into my body, leaning her temple against me. I kissed the top of her hair, still damp from her bath.

"Not at all. Quite the opposite," I said.

"Then why the strange reaction?"

I squeezed her, my pulse going crazy. "I don't sign my pieces. And I didn't tell you that I was the artist."

"I remembered?" Her gaze narrowed before springing open again. "I remembered! How else could I have known!"

She squirmed out of my hold, peering up at me, a mixture of fear and tentative joy playing on her face. Her mouth opened and closed again, no words coming out. Not even a sound.

"Do you believe me now, Kerys?"

She shook her head, pouting. Just yesterday her denial would have hurt me, but this was a promising start, and for a woman who claimed she didn't believe me, she sure was enthusiastic.

Maybe all she needed was a little more time instead of that damned ritual.

Maybe she didn't need to remember everything if she was so keen to learn about her former self, about us.

She took my hand, first pulling me out of my reverie, then down the swooping stone stairs. We reached the foyer, and she glanced at sheer, red curtains billowing in a warm breeze flowing through open windows. Her stride slowed as she studied yellow-flowering plants in painted terracotta pots, decorating a sitting area with a round carpet and thick, tasseled cushions arranged around a low table.

I squinted, head tilting. Her curiosity was contagious. It let me see our home in a new light, rediscovering it alongside her.

When she took a deep breath, I did, too. I inhaled the sharp scent of herbal soap streaming from the freshly cleaned, beige stone tiles and the smell of spiced meat wafting from the kitchen to the left.

When she listened closely, so did I. I took in the banging of pots and pans, the screeching of a vulture, and the neighing of horses in the stable outside. The chatter and laughter of maids elsewhere in the manor, the creaking of the guards' armor on the other side of the front door.

I followed her gaze to the open archway leading to the sitting room. Suddenly, the plush sofas and heavy, colorful fabrics with golden thread patterns seemed brand new to me. The intricately carved wooden furnishings with their mother-of-pearl inlays held my attention longer than they had in decades, shining with renewed beauty.

"Nothing, Skrain. Absolutely nothing," she mumbled, sneering. "I thought if I looked around, really focused …"

"What do you mean, my priceless treasure?"

Her shoulders caved. "I'm not remembering anything else."

Heaviness compressed my ribs. The last thing I wanted was to turn her coming home into a sad occasion or make her feel guilty for not recalling.

I framed her cheeks with my hands and brushed a soft kiss onto her lips. "Don't be upset. Of course, I wish you'd remember, but don't feel bad if it doesn't all come back to you immediately. I've waited for you for over a century, Kerys, and I can wait as long as it takes."

A muscle in her jaw twitched against my palm as she gritted her teeth. "That's part of it. For some absurd reason, I don't want to disappoint you. When I remember something, you get that look on your face?—"

" That look?"

She stood on her tiptoes and reached up, a single finger sliding along the corner of my mouth, her touch like sparks of fire. I bent down a little, lured by her gentleness.

"First, you smile," she whispered, and I couldn't help grinning. "Then your tail … it—" She paused, biting her lip. "It wags."

Heat swept across my features as I coughed. "It, uh, it only does that for you, just so we're clear."

She snickered, dusting over my right lid, and a shiver ran up my spine.

"Then your eyes light up," she whispered.

She skimmed higher, above my brows, drawing a line between them. My breath was coming in huffs, my pulse in my throat. Such innocent touches, and yet my heart was ready to burst from my chest to sacrifice itself to her.

"And finally …" she said, tone as tender as the finest silk. "Finally, your brows lift into those cute, excited arches."

I swallowed stiffly. Her caress was like a skittish bird, and I didn't want it to stop. Slowly, her hand traveled to my horns, and I bent a bit further so she could grasp one.

"When you look like that, I just …" She chewed on her cheek, meeting my gaze. "It's stupid, and I can't explain it, but when I see you like that, butterflies fill my stomach. It makes me happier than I ever have been. I must know if it's true or if these feelings are make-believe, Skrain. I must know. At any cost."

Though hope and fear fought inside me, I smiled. I couldn't let my worry show.

"Then I'll do everything in my power to help you. For both our sakes," I said with confidence.

Her agreement, her own wish to find out the truth would make the ritual easier, but it was still not without danger. And that voice of doubt in the back of my mind had grown ever louder since she woke, wondering if it was worth the risk, asking the same pointed questions over and over.

If she would love me as she did before, did her memories matter?

But what if she didn't? What if this Kerys decided I wasn't the one? What if she left?

My thoughts swirled in a chaotic vortex of anxiety.

I couldn't lose her again. I wouldn't survive it. If she left, I would rather kill us both than let another have her.

We stood, gazing into each other's eyes, when the door to the kitchen opened and Emily stepped out. I shot upright, smoothing over my tunic before I casually slung an arm around Kerys's tensing shoulders.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," Emily said, smiling.

Another wave of fire blazed over my features. Since when did I blush? And what, in the Gods' names, did I have to be embarrassed about? Being affectionate with my own damn wife?

"You're not interrupting anything. I was just showing the new lady of the house her home. From now on, you are to follow her orders with the same respect and urgency you follow mine. And instead of the name she used as a comfort woman, you will address her by her true name, Keryssa," I said before tipping Kerys's chin up.

Her eyes were wide as I kissed her with tongue. Going by the pink on her cheeks, she seemed infected by the same embarrassment as I, but I had to set an example here.

A flicker of surprise crossed Emily's features, but her smile returned almost in an instant.

I had told none of the staff about my past, not even her. Though Emily had won my trust over the years, even used her blood magic to help create the toy I used last night, what went on between Kerys and I was my business. And I liked Emily especially because she didn't ask questions … usually.

All everyone needed to know was that Kerys was mine. I was hers. And anyone in this damn world could see.

Emily nodded at the silver tray in her hands, laden with fruit salad in a crystal bowl, two fine glasses, and a dewy carafe of sparkling white wine. "The preparations for dinner in the garden are nearly complete. I was just about to take the last refreshments out there. If you wish, you may follow me."