A Court of Heart and Fealty | Rhysand

Chapter 67: Summer Thrills

Cassian swung Mor under his arm looking over the Sidra. Azriel leant against the railing next to them.

"I've never been so happy," she whispered, so low that he had to tip his head down. "I keep thinking to myself—what more could I possibly want?"

"Is there something want?" Rhys asked, hearing the inflection that suggested the contradiction in her own proclamation. "Your birthday is next week. That's still a lot of time to make something happen."

Her lips twitched into a smile. Galadriel turned, shoulder fitting under his arm. "What about you?" she said. "You've had this for so long. What else do you want?"

Rhysand had thought long and hard about his future. The gaps that had been filled in since he first conjured that image as a young boy. The friends, the crown, the partner. It felt greedy to ask for anything more when so many others had so little. They hadn't talked about the one thing he would admit craving, though. But ruining her day was the least of his desires if she didn't share the same wish. "I'm happy how things are."

"What if things change?"

"Like what?"

She looked up at him through those light lashes, derisively, as if to scold his attempts of missing the intended destination of this conversation. He scoured through her mind, grasping at her thoughts so he could be certain it was what she wanted to talk about. "I can't read your mind," she said just as he retreated from hers.

"Then just ask me what you want to."

"Children, Rhys. A child."

"Are you asking me whether I want one, or telling me that you do?"

She pushed away from him. "You are frustrating." Rhys laughed and caught her hands, so she swung back on her heels, tipping her head back towards the sky. "Both," she replied after a heartbeat.

Happiness swelled in him. "You want a child?"

"I do." She only met his eye for a moment, glancing over her shoulder as whitewash sprayed through the air, a deep whoop with it. By the sudden disappearance of Cassian, it wasn't difficult to deduce what had happened. "But you haven't brought it up so I want to know whether I should forget—"

Rhys pinched her chin, dragging her face back to his. He thought about teasing her some more but he couldn't bring himself to prolong the expression on her face. "I want that. With you. I want a child with you. I haven't brought it up because I didn't think you would be ready to start thinking of a family."

She sighed and pulled herself back into him. "I have lived a life already. I am ready for the next."

"How many?"

Her eyes shone. "I haven't thought that far ahead."

Arms around her waist, he walked her backwards across the deck. "What names have you picked out?"

She laughed, throwing her arms around his neck as he backed her against the railing. "You're too excited already. We haven't even started trying."

He picked her up by the thighs, situating her on the flat wood of the railing, pulling her knees around his hips. Over her shoulder, he espied Azriel in the Sidra with Cassian, Mor leaning over the barrier to shout down at them. The barge had stopped some time ago, anchoring in a little cove of an area where there was no water traffic.

"We could start right here," he spoke into her ear. Her chest pressed into his in response and it was only the knowledge of the public eye that restrained his hand from reaching up to cup one of those swells. The way her lips brushed the pulse point on his neck had the beat of his heart lowering down into his stomach.