“Well,” he said again. “I suppose I’ll have to bring my family here to meet you, instead.”
She stared at him. “What?”
“Well, I assume if you’re the Castle, you can let people in who don’t want a destiny, or whatever it is you do with questers now, and let them go home again. I could probably bring your family here too, now that I know where the tree is. I don’t suppose you can control where the door opens? It would be far more convenient if I didn’t have to walk three weeks to get back to my parents’ house. And when we have children, we’ll need a midwife—oh, I should probably have asked if you want children before I started making that plan.” He looked worried. “You do want children, don’t you? Or will being the Castle make that unlikely?”
Ailanthe’s head spun. “Coren—”
“Ailanthe, the whole time you were talking, you had this look that said you were waiting for me to flee screaming just because you’ve changed a little. I told you. You’re still you. I still see you behind those beautiful eyes of yours.” Coren laid his hand gently along her cheek. “I love you. If you can still love me now that you’re a powerful magical being as well as a woman, then I don’t think we have a problem.”
“Coren,” Ailanthe said again, this time laughing.
He ran his thumb across her cheek again. “More tears,” he said. “It’s enough to make a lesser man nervous.”
She buried her face in his chest. “I love you,” she said.
“I love you, Ailanthe.” He held her close for a moment, then stood and swept her up off the chair and into his arms, making her shriek with laughter. “Now, can you tell the Castle to stop watching for a while? Because I’m not sure I want an audience for what I’m planning next.”
“I’m the Castle, Coren. She always knows what I’m thinking.”
He kissed her, slowly, sending her heart racing. “Then I guess we’ll give her a show.”
About the Author
Melissa McShane is the author of more than twenty fantasy novels, including the novels of Tremontane, the first of which is Servant of the Crown; The Extraordinaries series, beginning with Burning Bright; and The Book of Secrets, first book in The Last Oracle series. She lives in the shelter of the mountains out West with her husband, four children and a niece, and three very needy cats. She wrote reviews and critical essays for many years before turning to fiction, which is much more fun than anyone ought to be allowed to have.
You can visit her at her website www.melissamcshanewrites.com for more information on other books.
For news on upcoming releases, bonus material, and other fun stuff, sign up for Melissa’s newsletter at http://eepurl.com/brannP
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