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I fought furiously to pile good thoughts into my brain, one after the other, in spite of how little conviction I held It was all I could do to keepdepression to shole But it was hard to light a fire in the rain No aveh limmer in the water caused me to focus my vision I stared down at it, and before I could turn around to discover its source, I felt so--someone--touch me Arms slid aroundaround, I found myself face to face with a beautiful, ethereal forel as Ben

I could hardly breathe, ainst him and stood reen eyes intense as he exaaze slowly froh he were cherishing every feature His hands traveled up my back and rested at the back of my head before he leaned in and clailed at his touch I kissed hi the contours of his body

So lost was I in hi myself to part our lips for even a moment to ask him how and why he was here All I wanted in that moment was to be as close to him as I could possibly be

Too soon, his lips unclasped froaze, I felt that I was el?"

At this, a small smile crossed his lips His dimples reminded me why I had missed that smile so much

"I’m more like… a fairy, actually" His smile broadened, and it was infectious I foundhis jaw as I squinted, taking in his gorgeous face even more closely

"How about I show you?"

His hands slid downme up in his arms My heart skipped a beat as he lifted us up in the air The ground disappeared beneath us as we rose higher and higher into the dark sky, so high that the island stretched out beneath us in all its glory: the swaying sea of redwood trees, the regallakes, the lush meadows… but I could barely take in its beauty, for I was too enchanted by Ben, a far h as ere now,soain, I whispered, "I love you, Ben To the stars and back"

His right hand loosened froht position My arulfed ainst hiround Lost in his eyes, I soon forgot that ere hovering who kne round I’d never felt safer than in Ben’s strong grasp Never more secure Never more at ho my lips "There was barely an hour that passed when I didn’t think of you… You’ll never kno hard it was to be so close to you, yet unable to touch you To only be capable of reaching you in drea my own pain

His lips caressed the side ofup to ulped "And I… if I could find a way to keep this body forever… God knows, I would ask you to ht now"

His words left me winded They sent my emotions into a tailspin I barely even knehat to feel in thatwas a shot of ecstasy to e of fear washed over it What does he mean, if he could find a way to keep his body forever?

"What?" I breathed, staring into his eyes

Ben’s gaze was an, "This body is that of a fae I don’t even know much about fae myself other than that they are elemental creatures who inhabit the ether in between portals, and their constitution is similar to jinn; they can switch between subtle and physical forms But I don’t have this body forever… yet It is on loan from another fae, and I have less than three days to ain"

"What?" I staain

As he went on to explain all that had happened to him since he left the oracle’s cave, I could hardly believeas I absorbed his words Hoe ever going to pull this off?

Then, slowly,he’d said to me "And you… you just asked ht that I would consider o that I had never even had a real boyfriend But then circuh I still hadn’t even been close to considering it, now that he’dvows see in the world

Ben tucked a stray strand ofbehind his green eyes "I said I would, if I knew that I could keep this body forever"

"And… what if I said that I don’t care?"

He furrowed his brows "What?"

"Whether or not you e to meet the fae’s demand, I don’t care"