Bullet of Frost (An Iron Fey Fanfiction)

Chapter 11

         I laid Adne down on her bed and went to the kitchen to brew her some tea. I found some honey in the cupboard and added it to the liquid to help her throat. I was careful not to spill it as I made my way back down the dark hall. Rowan and Tabitha had not yet returned.

Adne had removed her red cloak and laid it across a chair. Her boots were beside the bed, revealing her fluffy-socked feet. I set the mug down on her nightstand and perched on the edge of the bed beside her. She didn't thank me for the tea. Smart girl.

"You could have died tonight," I began, pretending to sound worried.

She shrugged. "We all die eventually," she said flatly. She didn't drop my gaze.

Well, that was depressing. "What would I do without you?" I whispered, taking her hand and swallowing.

Adne looked away. "Move on," she said, her voice hard. Thankfully, she didn't pull her hand from mine.

"What if I couldn't move on? What if I found no other reason to—" I began but she cut me off.

"There is always another reason to live, Ash. Even if you feel as if you're all alone and there's no longer a reason for you to be alive, you're wrong!" Her eyes were glistening with tears and I watched as one spilled over onto her cheek. "Don't talk like that. Please."

I reached down with my thumb and brushed her lone tear away. "It would be awfully lonely living without you," I said, letting my finger linger on her cheek. "Like I said earlier, maybe I don't want to go home, maybe I'll stay here, start new." If I don't choke on the smell of coal first, I thought.

A long silence passed between us before Adne spoke. "Ash?" she said quietly.

I waited, holding my breath.

"I think I love you," she whispered.

There it was. Those three words that sealed her fate. My heart soared, with the fact that I was winning this game or something else, I didn't know. "Really?" I said, my voice squeaking a bit. That wasn't planned. I winced inwardly. How embarrassing.

Her eyes watered again and more tears spilled over. "No, I know I love you," she whispered. She squeezed my hand and I took her cue, leaning down and pressing my lips to hers. She opened up for me, wrapping her arms around my neck and deepening the kiss. I let my hands go where they wanted, slipping up under her linen shirt. She shivered and I caught her bottom lip between my teeth.

The only thing that stopped us from going any further was the sharp knock on the door. I swore under my breath and pulled away, but only just a little. "If that's Rowan..." I began but then Daniel's voice interrupted me.

"Dinner is ready if you two are," he said, somehow sounding like he was holding back laughter.

How did he know I was in Adne's room!? I pulled back and sighed. "We keep getting interrupted, don't we?" I said, smiling.

Adne smiled and sat up, kissing me again. "Perhaps we should try the hot springs again," she whispered in my ear. I shivered again.

"Maybe after dinner," I said, then rose from the bed and headed for the door. I looked back at her to see her smiling. She looked beautiful, I admitted. I smiled back and headed out the door to the kitchen. Adne soon followed behind, having adjusted her shirt back in place.

Unfortunately, Rowan saw the look on my face, and Adne's and grinned. It was anything but friendly. "So, you two uh, have fun?" he asked, taking a sip of warm liquid from a mug.

Mab wasn't around, and she never believed Rowan's complaints anyway, so this time I proudly flipped him the bird. Needless to say, the look on Rowan's face could've both wilted a field of roses and made a drunken man laugh at the same time.