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Nereus would’ve taken er than even the Nereids’ spells, and now he and Lanthe would be rewarded

He seized her hands “Then come with o to Rothkalina”

“I need to return hoes must be made”

“You still plan to rehab him?” She dreay

He reluctantly released her “I told you I will make him see reason You will help ether, e’ve overcome, he’ll have to conclude that his views are mistaken”

“Why do you think I won’t use ht of the solution “I have ways”

“Tellto take you fully empowered to my home, because I trust you”

Clever, clever des he could’ve said

“You are trustingyou to use your sorcery in a e both can live with”

“That’s your plan?”

He lifted his chin “That’s ood person”

“Lower your voice!” Her eyes darted “If that got out”

“Co Aristo will let me stay empowered in the Skye?”

He quirked his brow “If anyone tries anything, then I’ me leave to protect myself?”

“I know you won’t harm anyone unless you ood-with-the-bad situation? If a sorceress wanted a man ould stay faithful even when bespelled and accosted by nymphs, then she had to support that man even when he believed he could rehab his douchelord brother

But Lanthe and Thronos had so many issues unsettled between thes could be i there would be like going into the belly of the beast Having actually been in the belly of the beast, she didn’t think this lightly

He curled his finger under her chin “In Pande from you I do The opportunity to protect you and treasure you” She parted her lips to argue, but he stopped her “Not only because of my instinct”

“I’d like to believe that I would But”

“Do you want to knohat Nïx’s advice was concerning you? One sentence: ‘Before Melanthe was this, she was that’ I figured it out torlds ago”

“Tell me”

“Before you were my eneo, her heart ached with yearning

“You still are,” he told her “And that is why I want you to co like Felix—or ood man He was her ive hi loss she’d felt when she’d thought he would succuhts were tangled

He must have sensed she was on the ropes He inched closer to her “When ere children, weevery happiness to folloant to look back one day and say that our plans went awry for only the first five hundred years, but not for the following millennia Lanthe, if you come with me, I’ll want to wed you This very day”

Marry hi To bind

In a flash, she understood: on this night, she would either separate from Thronos or bind her life to his

If she ith him, she would be all-in, committed to him, to them She would do her damnedest to make a future with Thronos

But could she abide Skye Hall? Could she bring her family around? And survive his?

He released her andmore, and awaited her

She sed All-in?

With his eyes gone molten silver, Thronos Talos—a fierce, sensual de Lanthe to her idea of hell, to become his bride

Like a fool in love

She took it

FORTY-FIVE

It was night in the Skye

With Thronos leading the way through the portal, he and Lanthe stepped onto a cobblestone path in the Air Territories He didn’t release her hand

She’d asked hio first—after all, she hadn’t had the best run of luck with portal directions And she had to adht be conflicted about this on soaze was drawn even higher The stars were sparkling brilliantly, arcing above theht now” He squeezed her hand

She lowered her face to behold just as wondrous a sight: Thronos s in his eyes

Just like that, the apprehension she’d felt at crossing that threshold began to fade

When she could drag her attention away fros with interest They were in a shallow, sandy vale, with treelessup on all sides White, sun-bleached buildings covered those heights, connected squares or rectangles of various sizes—like onethe structures were cobblestone streets and ays, all see down to this clearing

“What do you think?” he asked

“It’s certainlyunifore of the island?” She’d expected her fear of heights would have kicked in by now, but she felt no different than if she were standing on terra firma

“We’re about in the center”

“It truly is warm”