Disguised In Stardust ✔

Chapter Thirty (End)

Buckle up for the grand finale!

_

With worry muddling my mind, I barely caught the voice rumbling beside me. "We'll be out in a moment." Faelin called, to which the Faerie outside went silent.

"Prince Faelinsis? My, what ar-"

"Go now. Let us resume our cleansing." Faelin pressed curtly, cutting them short. Footsteps could be heard trailing away and down the hall. His chest parted from mine and he stepped away, leaning down to submerge himself in the water. He pulled back up with a little breath, shaking out his hair. I couldn't help but do the same, but instead my hair became a mop of slick, oily black over my shoulders.

Halfway through, Faelin drained the murky water and refilled the tub with fresh, steaming water that melted my bones all over again. I guess this was to make sure that no remnants of the last bath remained on us. Either that, or Faeries were just took their cleanliness seriously.

We stepped out of the bath together and dried up with satin towels. I wrung my hair out the best I could, but even then it was still sopping wet.

"Well, there's no time for drip drying." I suggested, "Or regular drying, for that matter. Our hair will still be wet when we attend the coronation." He gave me a quiet smirk.

"That's where you're wrong." Faelin told me, sinking down into the water to rinse the tops of his shoulders. The intoxicating floral scent of the bath must have been getting to me, for I felt heat-drunk; my mind was hazy and disjointed. Almost entranced, I reached over and washed him myself.

He seemed to like the new approach, leaning into my hands. I skimmed over his collarbone, fingers dipping low into his crest. I found myself trying to inch closer to his heat, but I pulled away before I got too ahead of myself. "Well, it takes a while for the reaction to start, but your hair does dry quickly here." he said after a while of chaste touching.

I watched as all the water left our hair at once, as if something was squeezing it all out. It then fluffed up. I ran my fingers through my hair to find it smooth and cotton-like. I looked up to Faelin in disbelief, eyes trained on the way his head went from dark and slick, to the same curly light pink.

But the room seemed much hotter afterwards. Maybe the water had actually turned into steam around us. I continued running a hand through my hair, knuckles catching on little knots. I worked them out with my fingers.

"Wow." I chuckled a bit.

He dressed immediately after drying himself, leaving no time for the steam to get us wet again. I quickly followed his lead and we exited the bathroom hand in hand.

It wasn't until we got out when I realized the coronation was going to start any minute now. I rushed forward to find the main throne hall but Faelin pulled me back, unmoving.

"What's wrong?" I asked, returning to his side. Those metallic eyes were downcast, pointed to the tessellated floor. "Are you okay?" I checked again. Concern furrowed my brow, as something else furrowed his.

"No. I... I wasn't expecting the time to come so quickly." He pouted a little, though it seemed more genuine than out of petulance.

"The assembly. My father must be looking for me." He turned on his heel and guided me through the halls. With every step, I could feel his heart thump harder. I was the one that stopped us this time-and I held him there.

"Faelin." I addressed softly. He looked up to me with an unreadable face. "Do you really want this?"

My mate shook his head. My heart throbbed in my throat, and I could only tug him close to rid of that pain. I wrapped my arms around his frame and pulled him flush against me, much like how we stood in the bath. It was my way of protecting him.